<p>My senior D has never been a particularly good test taker. She's had solid grades and been in the top 5 or 10% of her class since middle school. 3.5 UW/4.0W, almost all honors and a few APs. Our district does not offer a lot, maybe 5 or 6 total?</p>
<p>Here's the situation. She's taken the ACT once (4/08) and the SAT once (6/08). Far from most CCers score-wise, she got a 22 (25M, 25S, 21E, 18R, 10E, 22.25 avg) and a 1490 (590M, 490W, 410CR, 9E). The ACT is in the 63%, while the newly released SAT data shows her to be in the 48%.</p>
<p>She is registered for the Sept 13th ACT, and she's been working with the Red Book for a month now, plus continuing to read a lot. Her first go around used only the practice test in the ACT and SAT pamphlets, and that just barely. With the sudden realization that as a senior, time is of the essence, she knows she needs to step up and soon. </p>
<p>We were thinking to see what happens on this ACT then decide whether to try one more ACT or a second shot at the SAT. After reviewing this data though, it seems to me that she should just go for the ACT and forget the SAT. In every area, she has scored at a higher % rank on the ACT than the SAT. The 63% for SAT would be 1615 or so, meaning she's need 125 points just to get to where she was on the ACT. Should she pick up some on the reading on ACT and pick up a total of 5 points, that could raise her to a 23.5, or 24 composite. That would be 75% level and 1730 SAT-wise.</p>
<p>It seems silly to spend a lot of effort studying for both tests when that extra time could just be put to the October ACT and just let the chips fall where they may. </p>
<p>That sounds very reasonable. Is she studying alone? She would probably do better if she had a tutor to help her. She needs to learn some tips and tricks and she should have someone explain to her why she missed the questions that she missed.</p>
<p>She has been studying alone (we’re rural, she doesn’t drive). HS is not very competitive, and we are in SAT land, so finding someone else to study with is not going to happen. </p>
<p>We’ve been going over her practice questions together and looking for patterns. I think she’s making progress, and I believe she can get in the 25-27 range if she has a good day. For the schools she’s interested in, that would be solid. It would be nice to pick it up a little for some merit considerations. One school she likes would add about $3K a year for a 24 and another $2K for a 27.</p>
<p>Crazy thing is she’s always done well in English, just missed an A in AP this year, taken creative writing, etc, but is just in regular academic math, no calculus in HS. So she does well in math, but just tanks both reading sections. She reads a ton, and she likes to write and has good essays, it will be interesting to see how she does this time around. Our HS doesn’t start until next Tuesday, so I am a little worried she might not be in “school mode” enough by this first ACT, but I am thinking end of October might be her best shot.</p>
<p>Buy her the Princeton Review book for English, Math, and Science strategies (Reading strategies for Princeton Review suck); buy her the Kaplan Book for the decent reading strategies, and the tests are harder than the actual ACT, which should give her better practice.</p>
<p>Overall, she has to work on her reading speed and comprehension. On the ACT, it’s all about timing. Keep taking practice tests, and reviewing the wrong answers afterwards.</p>
<p>I am comfortable with her plan as far as improving her score, that’s not the issue. </p>
<p>My question is if we’re looking at this the right way? For the online conversion charts I see her 22 as roughly a 1530 on most charts. I am not sure why that is when according to CollegeBoard, that is the 53%, and the 22 is the 63% based on ACT’s data. It seems like the % rank should be “equivalent” for an “equivalent” score. Despite the fact that her ACT at this point is 15% higher than her current SAT, are colleges that are more SAT focused just going to look on a chart and figure that 22 (63%) is worth a 1530 (53%) because that’s what the charts all say or around 1610-1620 (62-64%) which is where the % ranks falls? Does it just come down to the individual school?</p>
<p>I wish I knew the answer for you, father05. Just for the sake of her sanity and lessening the stress on her, yes, I would suggest that she just focus on the ACT. I’m not aware of schools, even here in SAT land, that won’t accept an ACT in lieu of SAT… Take some deep breaths…with her scores and other activities, I think it’s safe to say that she’ll be very competitive in the MAJORITY of schools in the US. Maybe not HYPS, etc. but there’s thousands of schools that give her a great undergrad experience. CC tends to be a bit “snobbish” in terms of the top universities, but I think it’s healthy to do a “reality check” every once in a while.</p>
<p>My daughter also wants to forget the SAT although I want her to take it to see how she does and go from there. She did well on her sophomore ACT (29 with no prep, but tanked the math section) and based on her PSAT, her ACT will be higher than the corresponding SAT. Some colleges don’t really consider the new writing section on the SAT, so the math would hurt her more on that test.</p>
<p>Another advantage of the ACT is that many colleges that require subject tests with the SAT don’t require them with the ACT plus writing. Almost everyone at her school is taking the SAT, but more and more kids are taking both and using the best score.</p>
<p>You might also be interested in the B+ parents thread on the Parent Forum. Good luck!</p>
<p>Your story sounds very similar to ours. We decided to concentrate on the ACT. Another good prep book is called “The Real ACT”. Is there any way you can squeeze in 2 more rounds of the ACT? My son even went to another state one month, when our state didn’t offer the test. My son ended up taking the SAT once and the ACT four times. His respective ACT scores were 21,21, 23, and 24. Still nowhere near what a 3.5 GPA student should be capable of scoring!</p>
<p>The Real ACT Prep Guide is the “red book”, which is what she’s using. I think we’re just going to go for ACT in Sept and Oct and hope for the best there.</p>
<p>father05: Percentages between the SAT and ACT tests aren’t comparable because the ACT is taken by a more diverse test population. 100% of students take the ACT in Colorado, for example, while 17% take it in Massachusetts. Your daughter is probably naturally strong in math and science. Her Reading score is lower than it should be for someone applying to a selective college. The College Readiness Benchmark is 21 and your daughter scored 18. Could she have some very subtle reading issues when reading small print or be a slow reader? I think the ACT a better test for her than the SAT, but have her put extra practice with more workbooks on the Reading section.</p>