So my ACT is clearly better than either of my SAT scores, but a lot of the colleges I’m applying to superscore the SAT, and my SAT superscore of 2220 is very comparable to my ACT score of 34. According to the ACT website, a 2220 and a 34 are very similar, with the score of 34 very slightly better. So which do you think I should send? ACT only or both? I know sending both gives colleges are better holistic view of me as a student, but would it benefit me more to just send my slightly better ACT score rather than both?
I’m looking to apply to some Ivy Leagues and the better UC’s, just as a side note. Thanks a lot.
If affording cost of sending is not an issue for you, you should consider sending both. it will not hurt to do so and the college will choose the score, ACT or SAT, that it believes is better for you in determining admission. You are assuming that the comparison tables for SAT and ACT scores you find online are necessarily ones used by colleges. Those are guidelines not rules. Any particular college that does comparisons could have somewhat different comparable scores and you usually will not know what those differences are when you apply. Also, there are a number of colleges that believe ACT math and English scores are the more important scores from the test and unless those are your two highest section scores on the test, sending both would be the choice. You should also note that if the ivies to which you intend to apply include Penn, it requires you to provide both all SAT and all ACT scores that you have; likewise if you are considering Stanford or Georgetown.
Thanks for the detailed reply! There’s a lot of information regarding SAT and ACT scores in general and whether certain scores are good enough for ives, UC’s, etc. Some argue to keep taking the tests to get the best possible results (I could retake both tests again this fall), while others say that once you reach a 34+ for example on the ACT, all the scores are treated nearly the same. What’s your take on that?
I have never found reason to agree with anyone to retake an ACT after getting a 34 except where the math was the low one of the section scores and the desire was to apply to Caltech and MIT where most everyone has a math section score of 34 or above.