I’m sure many juniors are having this question with the new SAT suddenly coming onto the scene - at my school last year 95% of juniors took only the ACT.
After doing some quick research, it seems that most sites recommend only taking one as the colleges will just compare that one score on the SAT or ACT to the other (eg 1400 on new SAT to a 32 or something on the ACT).
Is this really true, or would it be beneficial to take both? Wouldn’t competitive colleges like to see consistent good scores along both tests? Such as a 35 and a 1560 instead of just a 35? Thanks!
You do not need to take both. You can try both if you want. I only took the ACT because it felt wasteful to divide my time between two tests. However, it’s up to you whether you want to take both. You could always take a practice test of each and see which one you like better and go from there.
As for having both scores to be more competitive…I had a lot of friends with 2300+ on the old SAT and then they took the ACT just so they could have another high score. Personally, I think they were over obsessive and in a way they actually seemed to enjoy taking standardized tests and bragging about how well they did. But honestly it’s a waste of time and money… Extracurriculars, awards, essays, and teacher recs are much more important that having test scores from two different tests that demonstrate the same thing to colleges. (Side note: Make sure to have good relationships with your junior year teachers as you will be asking a couple of them for recommendations next fall)
My advice to you is to take one test (ACT or SAT) no more than twice and get the score you want early on (maybe take the December test and if you aren’t satisfied retake in February - April). Then, focus on other parts of your application. If you want to take the SAT IIs, do that in May or June.
Thanks for the response! You said to take one test no more than twice - aren’t you allowed to delete ACT scores? Are you also implying that colleges don’t like to see too many retakes? Thanks!
Every college I took my DD to visit or researched online has no preference for one over the other. You should take a practice test for each and see which one you score better on. If you score about the same, then pick which one you want to focus on. The strategies and the timing are different for the ACT than the SAT. If you are planning on taking SAT subject tests, then from a test date point of view it is easier to take the ACT. Good luck!
We often recommend that our students attempt one test for both the ACT and SAT to get a baseline. We then compare the scores and talk to the student about how he/she felt about the exam. Our students usually go on to take either the ACT or SAT one or two more times. For example, if a student takes the ACT and SAT initially, and then decides to focus mostly on the SAT going forward, he or she will have a test record that looks something like this:
Take a full, strictly timed practice test and see which you prefer. Take the one you think you will do better on based on these practice tests and see what score you get on the real test. If you think you are close to the score you want, stay focused on that test and retake it. If you were way off and hated the test, try the other test. My kid thought ACT was awful during practice but because of the changes in the SAT that was the only test that would work based on the timing (class of 2017). He practiced weekly with the ACT (45 per week) for 6 weeks and scored a 35 single sitting. The same thing may happen to you with the SAT… you won’t know until you take FULL timed tests - preferably full timed practice tests so you can take the ‘real thing’ the minimal amount of times.
Hey guys, thanks for the responses! As a matter of fact I have taken both the new SAT and ACT (official practice tests and timed) and feel pretty comfortable with both. Time wasn’t a problem on either one for me, and all question types were up my alley. I also did equally well relatively on my first try. My logic was: If I feel like I can do equally well on both, why not take both? I think I’ve made up my mind by now, thanks guys!