<p>SO I've taken the ACT twice now and the SAT once (before both the ACTs). My scores on both are about the same, so I am not really sure which to focus on. I could take the ACT again in September or the SAT in October.</p>
<p>Here are the scores that I got:
SAT try #1: 750CR/690M/670W:8 Essay
ACT try #1: 32: 32 English/30 Math/33 Reading/33 Science:8 Essay
ACT try #2: 32: 32 English/32 Math/32 Reading/32 Science:8 Essay</p>
<p>and if it matters here are my Subject Tests:
Physics: 790
Math Level 2: 760
US History: 720</p>
<p>My main worry is that my Math is so low on both tests and I want to go into Engineering so I feel like I don't look like I'm very strong in math, but the truth is that the time constraint just limits my ability to check for simple mistakes which I make all the time.
Thanks.</p>
<p>Tough call here. They look equally as strong to me. You can prepare for both by studying a lot of the same stuff (algebra, grammar, reading passages, etc.), they are a lot more alike then most people would have you think. Since you’ve taken the ACT twice already, you might want to give the SAT another go. For math, just go slowly through it. I used to make a ton of mistakes, but by taking my time and checking my answer while I’m doing the problem (rather than doing so later) helps a lot. I ended up getting perfect scores in math on both tests, and I will tell you that I used that exact same method on both. For SAT writing, just practice (practice goes a long way ESPECIALLY in this section). Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the tips! @235423 I will try to do that, but the first time I took the ACT, I ran out of time and didn’t answer a few, but I probably rushed too much the second time. I will try to practice that for the SAT math especially now. As for writing, do I just prepare by taking as many practice tests as I can, or should I reread grammar rules, etc.? I’m confused as to practicing within this section. Thanks for your help again. :)</p>
<p>@adidinescu I would first learn all of the grammar rules, and once you have that mastered, just practice. Often times, there is a particular mistake that you consistently make that lowers your score (for me, it was that I would use misplaced modifiers all the time). One you recognize and fix this, you won’t make it again. One really good resource for practice is the Sparknotes SAT Writing, found here: </p>
<p>@235423 Thank you for the resource. I’m beginning a 12-week study plan this week for the October SAT, so hopefully I will be able to use that website to help direct myself in what I need to improve in.</p>
<p>@adidinescu Awesome work! Very strong. In general, I think you can improve both tests equally well. </p>
<p>Here are some specific tips based on specific strengths and weaknesses. You’ll really need to dig into your mistakes on each test to see if these apply:</p>
<p>-if you’re relatively weak in vocab, the SAT reading section will be worse than the ACT reading section. Of course this is because the SAT has the sentence completions and ACT doesn’t.</p>
<p>-if within grammar you’re strong at punctuation rules, the ACT english will be better than the SAT writing. SAT writing weighs grammar rules very differently than the ACT english (the former emphasizes faulty modifiers, subject verb agreement, and idioms while the latter emphasizes punctuation and rhetorical skills; other rules are about the same) This already looks true for you. </p>
<p>-if you’re strong in trigonometry and straightforward math, but weak at weirder math questions, the ACT math will be better than SAT math. The ACT math questions are more straightforward but test more concepts, while the SAT tests simpler concepts but in weird ways.</p>
<p>@neuerman I just checked my March SAT analysis, and within the math section, I only missed “Difficult” questions in each section, one of which I omitted (A cardinal sin I know), but in Geometry for some reason I missed 2 “Medium” level questions in addition to a “Difficult” one which added up to 5 wrong and 1 omitted overall which gave me a 690.</p>
<p>I somehow managed to do my best in the Critical Reading section, but a higher 700 would be nice.
As for the ACT, I am not sure if I will be taking it again as I am not sure where to go since between the two scores there is minimal difference so I may try buying the ACT red book and preparing for the September test.</p>
<p>@adidinescu You’ll probably have to break down your mistakes deeper than that, but I understand where you’re coming from. It’s likely that if you take the SAT again you’ll get a higher superscore just by chance.</p>