<p>I'm currently facing a dilemma. I need to take the SAT, but although I get stellar grades, I simply do not fare well when encountering a standardized test. My guidance counselor suggested that maybe the ACT would be a better option. Besides having no idea which test to take, I'm also wondering whether the ACT is not as ... "well-regarded" as the SAT from the colleges' perspectives. Any suggestiones?
Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Nobody cares anymore as far as I know, unless it is listed in the indivisdual college entrance requirements. There are some people that do better on one vs the other, so you can always take both.</p>
<p>Well, the ACT also has a science portion (where reasoning and logic won’t get you as far - lots of it are things you had to have learned in school), and the SAT is mostly reasoning. I did much better on the SAT. The ACT is a bit shorter though.
Also, the ACT is more common in the midwest, but the SAT in the northeast. Good luck with everything!</p>
<p>The ACT science section is all about reasoning and reading. You are given brief passages about experiments and data in the form of charts and graphs. Then they ask you to interpret it all.</p>
<p>I did much better on the ACT than on the SAT,but I have only taken the SAT once.</p>
<p>I recommend that you take both and send the better score. Both the College Board and ACT offer a chart that translates scores.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! The only reason why I would choose the ACT over the SAT would be because I just find the SAT critical reading really difficult, as English is not my first language. And I briefly looked over some questions on the ACT reading section and 1. there were only 4 options, and 2. I didn’t see any vocabulary questions (like fill-ins)
Any advice?</p>
<p>Definitely take both. Both tests are accepted at virtually every school and they are equally reputable. The ACT test will always give 4 choices for answers. I can’t remember perfectly, but I believe that there are some vocab questions on the ACT, but not as many or as seemingly as obscure as those on the SAT.</p>
<p>There are no SAT style vocab questions on the ACT. In the writing MC section you are sometimes asked to choose better/best diction though.</p>
<p>But let’s say I get a good ACT score (higher than 32). Should I still take the SAT in order to be eligible for a top school? Also, is Barron’s 36 good?</p>
<p>Well, the SAT is easier for me than the ACT.</p>
<p>However, taking the SAT would leave many options open (if you have the means to do so)</p>
<p>And Barron’s 36 is pretty good I think. I’ve read the crash course from Princeton Review, and it was pretty good too. Quick, but informative.</p>