<p>I prepared A LOT for the SAT and on my third time scored a 2170 (CR: 670, M: 740, W: 760). The errors that I made on Math and Writing were silly, so I'm confident that if I retook I could improve both to 800, but we all know how hard it is to avoid those silly mistakes. </p>
<p>I took an ACT practice test the other day and scored nearly perfect on both Math and English, but started the Reading section and I fell so far behind because of the timing, so I ended up with a score in the mid 20s. I then tried the Science section and also didn't do well, ending up with a score in the mid 20s. I feel like it is difficult to judge how I will do on Reading and Science on a real test because in practice just one distraction can knock 2-3 points off your score because of the timing. Can my Science and Reading scores be easily improved through studying? I don't struggle with the questions, I just struggle with moving fast enough, which I feel like will make any improvements difficult. Will my time be better spent on the SAT, even though I have taken it three times already?</p>
<p>I can’t really answer your question about whether to take the SAT or ACT, but I can say that the Reading and Science sections are probably the easiest sections to improve. Master your time management and you’ll be able to master those two sections.</p>
<p>so far, ive only done a few science sections ive found online, havent done much of anything else (besides a little math), but if you dont mind me asking, what part of the science are you getting wrong?</p>
<p>The root of all my silly mistakes was in the wording of the SAT questions. I found myself making far fewer mistakes on the ACT test, the difference is they give you more material, often harder material, less time, but not as confusing or tricky. Since you’re doing so well on the first two sections a little practice should go far for the reading/science sections. I recommend you take the test.</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies. Any other opinions? It looks like my SAT score converts to the 32-33 range, so in order to make any preparation worthwhile I will need to aim for a 33. How hard will it be to earn a 33 if I can consistently score 34-36 on english/math?</p>
<p>I say absolutely.</p>
<p>I took the SAT twice, 2060 the first time, 2080 the second. It was a perfectly fine score, but I was aiming for above a 2100.</p>
<p>So I took the ACT.</p>
<p>On my first try with barely any practice, I got a 34 composite (about a 2260 on the SAT) and an 11 on the essay.
I am never taking an SAT I or ACT exam ever again.</p>
<p>It is definitely worth trying.
I think it you don’t have any issues with time, the ACT is the right way to go.</p>
<p>EDIT:
I also agree with the comments above; the ACT does less of trying to trick you (as it’s not a reasoning test) and more of testing what you actually know how to do. Which is a huge reason as for why I liked it so much more.</p>
<p>wow! excellent scores trifle!</p>
<p>What did you think of the ACT? Any advice for first timers?</p>
<p>Thanks! :D</p>
<p>I thought it was great. I will not say it was easy, though.</p>
<p>The hard part of the ACT is timing. For the SAT, I always finished early. For every single section except the essay. Time has never been a problem for me on a test. Until I took the ACT. I ran out of time on both the Science section and the Math section, and I am a math/science person. So one of the smartest things you could do is take a practice ACT test (one thing I failed to do, which thus did not prepare me for such a short amount of time compared to the SAT).</p>
<p>However, content-wise, I personally think you’re fine, as you said you intensely studied for the SAT. I studied a ton for the SAT (I’ve taken at least 10 practice SAT tests to practice for just 2 actual SAT exams, which took a lot of time :-/), and I think it just basically helped me understand what to look for in passages and how to use the process of elimination, as well as learning how to manage time. As I’ve said before, I barely studied for the ACT; it just was a much better test for me. One of the things that I personally think helped was that I could guess and there would be no penalty; that’s what always messed me up with the SAT.</p>
<p>I, myself, used the Princeton Review: Cracking the ACT book, and didn’t really study the content (as I got it just 2 days before the exam), but took all the practice problems at the end of each chapter. They helped a lot in regard to seeing what types of questions there are. Another smart choice seems to be The Real ACT Prep Guide, as it’s made by ACT themselves and contains real ACT exams.</p>
<p>I personally think you won’t have to study all that much if you studied for the SAT a lot and considering your extremely good SAT score of 2170, I think that taking the ACT is a good idea, especially since you’ve already seen how well you can do on practice tests. :]</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Regarding the Science section…
Skip all of the introduction paragraphs. Or skim them quickly. Because they rarely (RARELY) contain any information you need. Most of the stuff you need to look at (if not all of the stuff you need) are in the questions/answers and the data/diagrams they give you. This saves a TON of time (by the end of the science section, I realized I should have done this, but too late then…)</p>
<p>Regarding the Reading section…
Read through the passage once. Stay completely focused, register everything you read, and absorb all the information. If you do this and pay attention to the passage the first time through, you will barely have to refer back to the passage when you’re answering the question, saving you tons of time going back and forth between passage and question.</p>
<p>Definitely go for the ACTs. I had a 2080 on the SATs and took the ACTs…and managed a 36. 2 entirely different tests. The ACT doesn’t try and trick you as much as the SATs and is much less vocab intensive. If you can read fast, then the ACT is definitely for you (esp in the reading and science sections)</p>