<p>I took a practice test for both the SAT and ACT this summer. For the SAT I got a 1790 and for the ACT I got a 29 (although on my PLAN I took in Sophomore year it said I had an estimate of 30-32 for ACT...if the PLAN is even accurate?).</p>
<p>Which is considered better to competitive colleges? I really want to go to Stanford but I know that my SAT wouldn't be that competitive there. </p>
<p>Would it be more beneficial for me to focus on improving my ACT score into the 30s or the SAT?</p>
<p>I’d focus on the ACT from your standpoint, as a 29 converts to around a 1920 SAT… ACT is also generally thought to be the easier test (most people don’t take ACT aside from SAT).</p>
<p>But then again, the ACT is more speedy test consisted of more questions (but arguably easier ones).</p>
<p>
Both of these statements are untrue. Many people take both the ACT and SAT, some in the midwest take only the ACT, and some on the coasts take only the SAT. If the ACT were easier than the SAT then the concordance table would change. <a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/estimate.html”>http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/estimate.html</a> </p>
<p>I recommend trying them both.</p>
<p>I’d recommend trying both. I much preferred the ACT. </p>
<p>Hi. I took my first practice test today and got a 1700. This was without any preparation. Do you guys think it is realistic to up my score by at least 300 points? I am a mediocre student.</p>
<p>Both! You should absolutely take both, then take a look at your percentile score. That’s what tells you where you really stand. </p>
<p>@cityrazzledazzle please start your own thread.</p>
<p>@LisaCF how do I look at my percentile score? </p>
<p>@ksinke97 I believe she is referring to your PSAT scores; College Board sent you a code to use and log-in their website to check your percentiles and scores (you should have also gotten this in homeroom after PSAT).</p>
<p>@ksinke @medicsz I mean your percentile ranking against other students who took the test the same round you did. It varies slightly with each writing, but I thought the percentile should come with your scores when you receive them. (PSAT is a different test and not related to your percentile.)</p>
<p>Here it is for ACT <a href=“ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT”>ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT;
A score of 29 puts you in the 93rd percentile (according to this chart), meaning you scored higher than 93 percent of the students that took the test.</p>
<p>SAT doesn’t have a standard one, but you can check it against the 2013 percentile ranks on this page: <a href=“http://research.collegeboard.org/content/sat-data-tables”>http://research.collegeboard.org/content/sat-data-tables</a></p>
<p>you need to compare each section to the chart, though, so I can’t do it for you.</p>
<p>Whichever test you scored in the higher percentile in is your best test.</p>
<p>@LisaCF Now now… the test that he/she scores in the higher percentile is not at all the best 100%. Who’s to say for example, the state’s or even national percentile ranking (just an example) was a 96% for those who scored a 22 on the act?..</p>
<p>What I am trying to explain is that there is no specific range in the ACT scores for percentiles to represent someone’s best test…</p>
<p>If he/she scores a 2050 on the SAT, let us say that she scored in the 90 percentile…
Now If the person took the ACT and scored a 28 which is in the 92 percentile… (just example percentiles)… you are saying she should take the ACT over the SAT, when he/she clearly scored best on</p>
<p>@medicsz I’m not sure I understand. The percentiles rank students against each other, which is the point of standardized tests. So the poster should take the test that ranks them the highest against other students. It makes the student a more desirable candidate. </p>
<p>I’m trying to use percentiles as a way to compare the poster’s SAT and ACT scores so that they can make an informed decision regarding which score will give them the best chance in their applications. </p>
<p>In general, while the percentiles do vary, they don’t vary so much that a score that would put the student in the 62nd percentile one year will put them in the 96th percentile the following year. It’s the job of scaled scores to keep the percentiles somewhat consistent. </p>
<p>In this case, based on the 2013 percentiles, the student scored an average of just under 600 in each section, so the percentiles are the 80th, 75th, and 82nd. Since their ACT puts them in the 93rd, in this case the ACT is a better option. The percentiles are extremely unlikely to shift by 10 on either test. Scaled scores keep them reasonably consistent year to year. If the scores were only raw scores, then they would change fairly drastically.</p>
<p>None of this is to say that there is a perfect answer, but I believe this is an effective tool for deciding whether a student is doing better on the ACT or the SAT and where to focus their attentions.</p>
<p>@LisaCF But then again… If people knew such things as stated above^… then I’m pretty sure the ACT Prep forum would be bloated with test takers.</p>
<p>Why is that not the case then? Well… adcoms/colleges aren’t in favor of the ACT nor the SAT, however some may require a certain one over another</p>
<p>@medicsz Again, I’m not sure what you mean. These percentiles are just a way of comparing your scores and seeing how you rank against other students who take each test. While this student in particular scored higher among their peers on the ACT, that’s not true for everyone. Some may rank higher in SAT, others may rank the same in both. So there’s not really any reason students would be flocking to the ACT just based on the knowledge of their own percentile ranking. </p>
<p>Other reasons students are generally moving toward the ACT are that the ACT often more closely resembles their school curriculum, so they are likely to do better, and the SAT is about to go through a major change in 2016 and many students don’t want to be in the first round of that test.</p>