<p>I'm a rising senior and so far, I've never considered the ACT.
That was until my friend told me about it and I actually looked at sample questions.
They didn't seem anything like SAT questions, more straightforward than tricky.
I'm leaning towards taking practice tests like mad from the day I get the test prep books and going for the actual exam in September.</p>
<p>My main questions are:
1. Is it doable?
2. Is the October 27 test date in time for the UCs?
3. I've read posts that you can send whichever ACT scores you want. If you only take it once, and say you do bad, then do you still have to report it to colleges? If not, then I have nothing to lose in taking it right?</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat, except I'm not looking at the UCs. I'm pretty sure it is doable; just take some practice tests. I don't know about #2. And #3, yes. The ACT is nice that way. :)</p>
<p>I hope you don't mind if I pin my question here, too, as it is (sort of) relevant.</p>
<p>Many of the schools that I'm looking at want either:
(1) the SAT plus two SAT Subject Tests, OR
(2) the ACT w/Writing.</p>
<p>I've heard from random sources that adcoms question why a student does not submit SAT scores if said student is in an SAT-dominant area (which I am, on the East Coast). Is this true? It seems that most colleges say the two tests are interchangeable, and I really think I can get a 33-35 on the ACT this fall, which is better than my SAT (2110) and SAT Subject Tests (scores around 690).</p>
<p>OP-
1) Yes, but you won't get to see your scores before they're sent (which could cause a problem if you bomb it).
2) No idea, but see number 1.
3) Yes, you can pick and choose which scores to send, only if you don't report any schools to send the scores to beforehand. Which could then cause problems for reporting scores if you're applying anywhere early (besides UC's).</p>
<p>Roxy- from what adcoms have said, they don't care one bit which test you send in, no matter where you're from.</p>
<p>I haven't listed any colleges for the score to be sent to when I registered for the September exam. Will I then be able to see the score I received before I decide whether or not to send them to colleges?</p>
<p>You can see your score (minus the writing) as early as 10 days before you send it.
That should be plenty of time to send it off to any college.</p>
<p>nb- it costs $8 to see it online 10 days after the exam. Otherwise you may not get your results for another 3-4 weeks (or longer). Mind you, that still may be enough time.</p>
<p>RaNe--Strongly consider taking the ACT. It's a different kind of test than the SAT, and as you pointed out, more straightforward than tricky. My older daughter did notably better on the ACT (32) than the SAT (1960). My younger also loved the ACT (35). These days schools that used to only consider the SAT are also looking at the ACT. Take both! (Also, you do not have to send a "bad" score to your colleges, although our school included SAT and ACT scores on the transcripts.</p>