<p>What does this mean? Is there any truth to it?</p>
<p>All I've been told is that the ACT tests what you know and the SAT tests ability...</p>
<p>Oh, and my counselor told me that if my weakest section on the SAT was math, then I would do better on the ACT since there are more sections on it and math isn't 1/3 of the score...true?</p>
<p>Basically, the ACT benefits students who can work quickly enough so that time constraints do not adversely affect their scores. Generally, the ACT is easier, especially in English and Reading, although the Math is debatable. Also, the math on the SAT pretty much accounts for half the score (assuming a college looks at only math and critical reading) whereas the math on the ACT, although it is more curriculum-based, only accounts for 1/4 of the total score. Personally, I am relatively awful at math, but I think I did better on the ACT than i did on the SAT (haven’t gotten my ACT scores back yet)…</p>
<p>I got a 1910 on my last SAT, I got a 700 on CR, 650 on writing (i wrote a pretty hurried essay), and a…560 on math…:(</p>
<p>I don’t know why I can’t get the SAT math down, I’ve taken dual enrollment classes at school and had no problem.</p>
<p>I guess I should try the ACT then. :)</p>
<p>The ACT is much more straight-forward, involving questions that actually relate to school work rather than some of the ones on the SAT that seem to come from nowhere.
If you can work with the time constraint, the ACT may be better for you.
(I had a 730 sat math with a 35 act math- with a few practices of math sections before math and no practice before the act…).</p>
<p>Yes, the ACT is for kids who work faster, and it’s less tricky. However, in my opinion, it is still harder to prepare for. Tricks can be learned.. skills cannot. Furthermore, while test-taking speed can be increased through practice, some kids will never be as fast as others when it comes to standardized tests, so that’s just another reason that I find the ACT harder to study for.</p>
<p>Thanks, this is all helping</p>
<p>Well my problem on the SAT is I have a lot of time leftover from my CR and Writing, and I run out of time or come close to it for Math. </p>
<p>I heard we also can spend as much time as we want on each section…which I’m sure if I could do on the SAT would help my score.</p>
<p>^ That’s completely false that you spend as much time as you want on each section. For the science section, which was especially vicious in October, you have 7 sections of reading with about 5-6 questions per section. Timing is the killer on the ACT. Also, if you run out of SAT math time, you’ll probably also run out of time on ACT math.</p>
<p>I didn’t study for either and did a lot better on the ACT… If that means anything…</p>
<p>Thanks for clearing that up, chaz.</p>
<p>ah, you give me hope, notthatgood. although i plan on studying. :)</p>
<p>I feel like I did much better on the ACT although I haven’t gotten my scores back yet.</p>
<p>The ACT actually tests what you know. The SAT judges how well you can take the SAT.</p>
<p>I think colleges should stop requiring the SAT…they’re trying to figure out what you learned in high school, not how many SAT tricks you learned.</p>
<p>TBH I don’t understand the whole “SAT is evil and you can only do well if you study” thing. I did much better on SAT than ACT and studied for neither. Honestly, every student should just take both and you can send whichever one you want.</p>
<p>ACT is a better test of ability except science. Reading graphs and understanding experiences under crazy time restraints tests nothing. However, in all my experience, I would say that the SAT math is tougher than ACT math. It has tricks you need to figure out. ACT math is more like math questions you’ll see on your high school math test. </p>
<p>All in all, i found the ACT a lot easier. The grammar problems are 100 times more obvious than SAT ones. You just need to make sure you can do it under those timed conditions. If you’re slower, id say SAT</p>
<p>1980 SAT, 34 ACT to give you more hope Tostito…</p>
<p>One tip I would give on the math is to not double check your answers if you think you got it right. Just go with it.</p>
<p>thanks A LOT notthatgood!</p>
<p>i’m psyched for the ACT now. :)</p>
<p>Ugh i would take a practice test just in case you know. You may be psyched, but you really need to grasp the type of time constraints put on you. Otherwise, despite whether it’s easier or not, you won’t finish on time. (unless u are a natural speed demon lol)</p>
<p>at first i studied a TON for the SAT, but did really bad on attempt #1 (1960 (700M, 600R, 660W)), so i gave the ACT a shot without studying and got a 32 (36M, 35R, 33E, 24S). I was still disappointed with these scores so i took both the tests in the fall again without studying anymore and got 2200 SAT (780M, 660R, 760W) and 33 ACT (34M, 34E, 32R, 32S), which were much better.</p>
<p>I learned three things from my days of testing (which are now over thank god)…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Studying will increase your score, but over studying wont help you and may harm you by causing you to over think the questions and waste time. </p></li>
<li><p>If you take each test at least twice, its really likely that the scores will come out pretty comparable. </p></li>
<li><p>Finally and most importantly, luck is an undeniable factor in testing. When one question on the SAT can mean 20 points of difference in the score, luck HAS to be a player. Also, i think that the ACT is much more of a “guessers” test. At least in math and reading sections, there is a clear answer to each question, and the questions are clear. In the reading there is rarely instances where the questions are confusing or two of the answer choices seem identical (an often occurance on the SAT CR). If you read efficiently, understand the passage reasonable well, and don’t freak out, ACT reading is easy. Not true for SAT reading. This makes it easier to guess quickly with what seems right, where doing this on the SAT will probably hurt you because it is tricky tricky tricky, and the correct answer is rarely the obvious one.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>hope that helps/makes any sense.</p>
<p>You’ll do well on both if you’re actually smart.</p>
<p>i got a 1650 on the SAT
retook it and got a 1660 ><
i took the ACT and got a 28
retook it and got a 31</p>
<p>i was a slacker, cheater, and procrastinator in freshmen and sophomore year, and it ultimately showed my abilities on the sat. however, i did learn in school and kept everything in memory. so, in my opinion, the act is better for those who remember a lot from school work.</p>
<p>What exactly are the time constraints? Is it divided into equal quarters? An hour for each?</p>
<p>No. In fact, you only get an hour for the math. the rest you get less time.</p>