<p>So I'm a sophomore in highschool and with the NMST/PSAT coming up, I started looking at the SAT. I bought some books, and started practicing, and I found that pretty much, I suck at the SAT compared to my ACT. I have a 34 (35/31/33/36) on my ACT, and my PSAT is only 177 and on a practice SAT I got an 1800. Straighforward, what is going on!!!??!? Even cold turkey I pulled of a 30 on the ACT freshman year!! HELP!!!</p>
<p>Some people are better at one test than the other. My ACT score (32) was slightly better than my SAT score (2070). It has to do with the fact that the questions on ACT are a little more straightforward, that there is a science section, and that there are only 4 sections as opposed to 10 (I know I’d rather take one long reading section than keep switching from section to section).</p>
<p>Most people do best on one or the other. Most schools (almost anywhere most people want to go) accept ACT scores. Several schools exempt you from SAT II tests if you do the ACT with writing. An 1800 is an above average score, and with studying you could increase your score significantly, but if I were you I would just focus on the ACT because you can even improve your score there. No worries! Lots of people only take one test.</p>
<p>So even if you are going out of state, you can use ACT scores?? People keep telling me if I go out of state I should focus on the SAT, but I really don’t know why!! Is there a reason, because I do think I am going out of state, and if I do need the SAT I could have an issue. Thats such a huge gap… And also I would like to do NMST so I really have to work on my SAT. My guess is that I do so much better on the ACT because I’m really analytical. I read graphs well and get questions that are straight to the point, but I struggle with theory (which is the “best”… In my opinion I can justify several of them!!!) and I am also bad with the vocab, but I downloaded an SAT vocab list with like 1000 words that I will look over and will hopefully help. We really don’t do vocab at my school and I know I’m behind, and it reflects in the scores!!</p>
<p>Doesn’t matter, don’t take the SAT again. Just focus on the ACT as you obviously have a skill set or you would not have gotten a 34. All colleges take the SAT and ACT equally.</p>
<p>If this makes you feel any better, I am in a similar boat as you: I had a 34 ACT / 1910 SAT. I just finished my freshman year of college (CS major) and I got a 3.925 first semester and a 4.0 second semester. I’m noting this because the SAT and ACT are meant to predict first year of college GPA. Obviously the SAT failed.</p>
<p>Smart people do well on the SAT; smart people do well on the ACT. There are two tests because there’s not a “one size fits all” approach to intelligence.</p>
<p>Some people tell me that the ACT’s geared towards scientists/engineers. Not only because there’s a science section, but also b/c the questions are more straightforward. I kind of agree…</p>
<p>Some people do better on the ACT than the SAT or vise versa. ← this is simply fact. </p>
<p>To compare them…</p>
<p>SAT reading to ACT reading…</p>
<p>SAT reading can tell you if you can read at a college level… </p>
<p>ACT reading tests competency in reading… </p>
<p>They are completely inverse of each other, but one is required more or less for the other. </p>
<p>SAT math is more creative math thinking again, one is impossible without the other. </p>
<p>while ACT math is much more straight forward… (testing of concepts/rules) there’s generally an odd ball question or two to prevent a large amount of 36’s. </p>
<p>English in the ACT is tested by using 9th grade reading passages…</p>
<p>Learning the rules so very well taught by the ACT english exam lets you go into CW on the SAT and apply those rules to college level writing. </p>
<p>ACT science… it’s meant to mess people up. The graphs are so horribly convoluted that discuss the most obscure concepts. </p>
<p>Oh wait… you never needed to read that graph… Many questions are simply logic questions quite simply as extending the line on a graph to make a prediction. </p>
<p>Fluency in english/being well read + knowledge that science part isn’t scary = high science score + intuitive scientific inquiry. </p>
<p>You might mess up the design of an experience in Bio 101 in college, but the ACT science experiments are perfectly done so what is being tested is common scientific sense.</p>
<p>Every college now accepts either the ACT or the SAT without prejudice. Your 34 ACT is outstanding. Go with it. A small number of colleges will want you to take SAT subject tests whether you take the ACT or the SAT; most will accept ACT with writing in lieu of both the SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Tests, but you should look at the requirements for particular schools you might be interested in. </p>
<p>You already have a 34 on the ACT (99th percentile) as a sophomore. You could try to improve it to a 35 or 36, but frankly, most colleges are going to treat a 34 the same as a 35 or 36, so any marginal benefit will be slender.</p>
<p>An 1800 on the SAT is a pretty good score, well above average, but at the 82d percentile it’s nowhere near the strength of your ACT score. With work you might be able to improve it, but the question I’d have is, why bother? You’re better off concentrating on SAT Subject Tests and nailing those.</p>
<p>36 one take, 2170/2240 two take. Scores from 4 years ago.</p>
<p>One thing I know is that ACT verbal is noticeably easier.</p>
<p>“If this makes you feel any better, I am in a similar boat as you: I had a 34 ACT / 1910 SAT. I just finished my freshman year of college (CS major) and I got a 3.925 first semester and a 4.0 second semester. I’m noting this because the SAT and ACT are meant to predict first year of college GPA. Obviously the SAT failed.”</p>
<p>This make me feel much better. My son who wants to be a computer science major made a 34 on the ACT and a 1990 on the SAT . He really liked the ACT better. So it will be ok.</p>
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<p>Who are “people”? </p>
<p>(1) If they’re other high school students, they’re idiots. Ignore them.</p>
<p>(2) If they’re your high school guidance counselors . . . see comment (1) above.</p>
<p>And don’t worry about the PSAT/NMSF - there are plenty of schools that will be happy to give you a merit scholarship based on high ACT scores! Look at [this</a> thread](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html) about guaranteed scholarships.</p>
<p>newkid…first of all, I don’t know any schools anymore than only take one or other, so you should be fine with just ACT. If your grades/GPA backs up your higher ACT you are definitely fine. Having said that, you are only a sophmore. My D SAT scores increased a lot between taking it as sophmore to junior to senior (from 1390 to 1530 CR/M). I would advise to keep taking it. </p>
<p>Couple of notes. How as SAT score distributed? Did you do about same on all sections? Most schools still just use critical reading plus math. If one section is really low, focus on that. Remember PSAT doesn’t include writing, so for purpose of NMerit, focus on math and critical reading. Just keep doing practice tests.</p>
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<p>I disagree. There is NO reason to keep taking the SAT when you’ve already scored a 34 on the ACT. Why waste your time?</p>
<p>With quite a bit less effort, if you wanted to, you could probably increase your lower ACT section scores up to 35-36 and nail the thing!</p>
<p>Dodgers mom… It’s actually been guidance. My schools guidance is terrible and I should have known better that to listen to them. We only have one guidance and she is an ex-teacher that doesn’t really know how to do guidance!!</p>
<p>Scmom… I have a good gpa (4.0 unweighted/4.25 weighted) and take all the honors my school offers (we only have 3 APs total and a handful of honors) as well as an online AP course too because I got bored sophomore year!! </p>
<p>As for how my sat was distributed, my PSAT was pretty even… 60 cr 57 math 67 writing. However I hadnt had some of the math courses I needed yet (algebra 2/trig) so the math will be higher when I take it again…</p>
<p>As usual, I agree with dodgersmom. You have an excellent ACT score and GPA already. There’s no sense in continuing to take the SAT. Spend your time instead on keeping your grades up and doing the EC’s that you really enjoy.</p>
<p>Back in the Dark Ages, when I went to high school, it was true about some colleges accepting only the ACT or only the SAT. (It generally depended on “East Coast” vs “West Coast”.) That, however, changed many years ago and schools will accept either one equally. So relax! Be happy that you can put all the worrying about testing behind you and can now focus on more important things. :)</p>