<p>When I was in high school, a couple years ago, most of my classmates thought that the SAT was a lot harder than the ACT. Indeed, most of my classmates didn't like the SAT at all.</p>
<p>Upon reading through some forum posts here and at other forums, it seems like a lot of people feel that way. Why is that?</p>
<p>What is it about the SAT that ennervates some people? And which test did you personally consider to be more difficult?</p>
<p>It’s just personal preference. SAT reading and writing were a bit harder than those from the ACT, but the math portions were comparably equal (ACT involves higher-level math, such as trig, but the questions are a little more straightforward).</p>
<p>The ACT seemed slightly easier to me, simply because the questions were presented in a more straightforward way (which helps if you’re aspiring to be an engineer), and there’s a science section.</p>
<p>It seems like time is a bigger issue for the ACT.</p>
<p>To me, it seemed like SAT CR had more difficult vocabulary. They were vocab-centric. ACT English seems more focused on testing you on reading-analysis. </p>
<p>Also, SAT math is trickier, and ACT math is more straightforward</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think not. Interestingly enough, I used to be the laziest person in my classes back in early high school: I played video games 6-12 hours a day and never did anything in particular. I ended up not even opening text books more than four or five times averaged in some of my classes (AP physics, Calc BC) during a semester and still ended up doing well. I did terribly on the SAT but ended up getting a high ACT score. With two very different predictions for my first year college success, it was relieving to know that I still got a 3.95 cumulative GPA as a computer science major during my first year of college. </p>
<p>So stop making pointless claims that demean the ACT as you do in half of your posts here.</p>
<p>Actually, I think the ACT is harder than the SAT…this may be because all my life, I’ve been used to the SAT format, as I’ve been preparing for it for quite some time. But I got a 28 on the ACT, and 1970 on the SAT on my first tries…so I think the ACT is harder :-)</p>
<p>Act is harder IMO. Questions are less tricky than on the sat but the difference in question difficulty doesn’t make up for the fact that theres so little time on the act</p>
<p>IMO, the ACT is harder. The timing of the test really killed me. I got a 28 on my first time, but a 2290 on my first legit SAT.</p>
<p>IMO, SAT was harder, because of the reading section. The timing on the ACT was pretty easy for me.</p>
<p>It comes down to what you’re good at, really. I think SAT Writing is a piece of cake and CR is easy (for me). The science section and the severe time constraints on the ACT would kill me, so I never even bothered. I’m okay with SAT Math… so I never rly bothered w ACT</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using CC</p>
<p>After taking the PSAT thrice I decided I hated the test’s format and only took the ACT. I got 180/182/189 on my PSAT and I’m hoping for a 32 on the ACT.</p>
<p>I thought the ACT was harder… Don’t know my scores yet, but I didn’t skip any on SAT and made educated guesses on maybe 10 total? But ACT I outright guessed on a bunch… maybe because ACT has science and higher level math, which aren’t my strong points.</p>
<p>It depends on the person and what they are better at. I do however believe that the SAT vocabulary in general is harder, but not the actual questions.
Back in October, my school had us take this special test (Im not sure what its called) and it was basically a 4 hour test, switching back and forth from SAT sections to ACT sections. After about 2 weeks, when the results come back, it tells you which one you scored better in and which one you should take. I did slightly better on the ACT, however I only took the SAT so far. Waiting for my scores to come in at 5 am. I might take the ACT in the fall.</p>
<p>I think the main reason is the penalty for guessing; it’s more appealing to guess through a section and hope to get lucky on the ACT rather than potentially hurt your actual scores on the SAT. For me, though, it’s the vocabulary. I looked up a few words on Wolfram Alpha after my PSAT, and some only occurred less than once per million words (i.e., quixotic, which occurred 400 per one billion words last year). If you aren’t an avid reader and you live with uneducated family members (or those with only math and science backgrounds), you’re not as likely to do well on that section as someone with a deep background in reading. The method of testing critical reading and depth of reading is, of course, fair, but it is not exactly practical for all students. Also, I don’t like how the essay factors into overall SAT scores. I can’t even copy a full two pages in 25 minutes, so I see it as more practical to take a test that measures just knowledge of rules and organization (ACT) rather than one that factors in a developed demonstration (SAT).</p>
<p>I fared pretty similarly on both (never took ACT but going from PLAN scores). I could never stand not answering a question on either, so that should have hurt me for the SAT, but it really didn’t except for writing. I should’ve really taken the ACT; I now regret it. I got a 2300 on the SAT, and a perfect score on the PLAN (predicted ACT 32-36). I think I could’ve gotten a 34+ had I taken it, because timing never effected me. ACT has less tricks (or so I’ve heard) and SAT has less substance (especially in Math).</p>
<p>rspence, why do you find the SAT’s reading section to be problematic? </p>
<p>By “reading section,” are you referring to the actual reading passages or to the sentence completions?</p>