High SAT vs High ACT

[Anonymous]

I was speaking with an admissions officer at a school in the 20-40 range and they said the most interesting thing. They said their school always wants the sky high SATs because it makes them look good, increase caliber of student, etc but that there isn’t a direct correlation between students they really like and those high scores. Whereas apparently the high ACT students almost always seem intellectual curious and interesting. They hypothesized that this was because the ACT better served kids who read (intellectually curious) whereas SAT is more gamed through studying and of course, there are kids who study who are curious but you don’t need to be curious in order to want to do well on a test. Just an interesting thought I’d love some opinions on. Not saying any kid is better or worse for which test they took and the officer did say they don’t favor either test in admissions.

[Anonymous]

How about a kid who takes both and scores high on both? Will that be a plus if they send both scores in?

[Anonymous]

I have no idea what the OP is trying to say. However, I am curious

[Anonymous]

ACT is a test of speed.

[Anonymous]

I thought they tested the same stuff. Does the ACT favor students who do better on the verbal side? That definitely describes my kid.

[Anonymous]

The ACT is heavily favored in certain geographic areas, so I can't see how this is true.

[Anonymous]

That’s interesting. The ACT rewards speed, so it makes sense that it would reward those who read a lot (more than just what’s required for school).

Anecdotally, my DC did better on the ACT, which surprised me a bit, since math is not his strong suit, and I thought he’d benefit from having more time there. But it wasn’t even close.

My DC does conform to the hypothesis. He is a voracious reader — he’s currently reading a book on the history of the Ottoman Empire for fun, and knows as much about current events and politics as just about anyone I know (and I worked on Capitol Hill). He’s near the top of his class, but he’s not going to waste his time studying stuff he’s not interested in any more than he has to, so his grades aren’t perfect. That said, his teachers give him rave reviews, because “he’s always got something interesting to say.” I think he’s going to blossom in college when he gets to focus on things that he’s passionate about, and he’s going to be one of those kids that professors enjoy teaching.

So, one anecdote in favor of the theory, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought they tested the same stuff. Does the ACT favor students who do better on the verbal side? That definitely describes my kid.

From this article: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/act-vs-sat-how-to-decide-which-test-to-take

“The two exams may appeal to different types of students, says Jumamil. A key difference is that students with a strong English background ‘may flourish on the ACT,’ which puts more emphasis on verbal skills, she says, while for students who are strong in math, ‘the SAT may reflect that much better.’”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was speaking with an admissions officer at a school in the 20-40 range and they said the most interesting thing. They said their school always wants the sky high SATs because it makes them look good, increase caliber of student, etc but that there isn’t a direct correlation between students they really like and those high scores. Whereas apparently the high ACT students almost always seem intellectual curious and interesting. They hypothesized that this was because the ACT better served kids who read (intellectually curious) whereas SAT is more gamed through studying and of course, there are kids who study who are curious but you don’t need to be curious in order to want to do well on a test. Just an interesting thought I’d love some opinions on. Not saying any kid is better or worse for which test they took and the officer did say they don’t favor either test in admissions.

This is a really stupid post. Until fairly recently the overwhelming majority of applicants to schools on both coasts submitted only the SAT and applicants in the midwest submitted only the ACT. So it's not like most school have a real basis for comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The ACT is heavily favored in certain geographic areas, so I can't see how this is true.

I thought this was interesting, so I did a search. This is been less and less true, over the last ten years. When I was applying for college, highly rated colleges only accepted the SAT. Regionally, the ACT predominated in the Midwest and the SAT on the coasts. After all colleges started taking both, the ACT has become more and more popular, and the regional preference has been diluted. The northeast still leans toward SAT, and the upper Midwest the ACT, but most states are in then middle. Of course, colleges get applicants from all over, so regional preferences don’t always reflect what the colleges see in terms of applicants, especially for colleges that aren’t state flagships. Apparently, 2017 was the first year that over half of the applicants to Ivy League colleges submitted the ACT.

https://betterprepsuccess.com/info/popularity

https://www.collegeraptor.com/getting-in/articles/act-sat/preference-act-sat-state-infographic/

[Anonymous]

Most kids find the ACT easier.

[Anonymous]

ACT favors verbal because it’s 3/4 verbal (Science is really a reading section - specifically reading comprehension). SAT is half and half and the math is more complex. ACT requires speed (SAT doesn’t nearly as much) which you only have with strong reading comprehension. That’s a skill you have to acquire through reading. You can’t study it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was speaking with an admissions officer at a school in the 20-40 range and they said the most interesting thing. They said their school always wants the sky high SATs because it makes them look good, increase caliber of student, etc but that there isn’t a direct correlation between students they really like and those high scores. Whereas apparently the high ACT students almost always seem intellectual curious and interesting. They hypothesized that this was because the ACT better served kids who read (intellectually curious) whereas SAT is more gamed through studying and of course, there are kids who study who are curious but you don’t need to be curious in order to want to do well on a test. Just an interesting thought I’d love some opinions on. Not saying any kid is better or worse for which test they took and the officer did say they don’t favor either test in admissions.

This is a really stupid post. Until fairly recently the overwhelming majority of applicants to schools on both coasts submitted only the SAT and applicants in the midwest submitted only the ACT. So it's not like most school have a real basis for comparison.

The ACT has steadily increased market share over the past 10 years, even at “elite” schools. According to this, in 2011-12 the number of students submitting the SAT to the colleges on this list ranged from 94 to 65% (with a surprising ## submitting both the SAT and the ACT). In 2017, over 50% of Ivy league applicants submitted the ACT, for the first time. The number of students that take the ACT and SAT have been pretty close to parity recently, so that makes sense. So, they’ve had 50/50 applications for four years, and depending on the school, a substantial number before that.



https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/08/04/education/edlife/where-the-sat-and-act-dominate.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s interesting. The ACT rewards speed, so it makes sense that it would reward those who read a lot (more than just what’s required for school).

Anecdotally, my DC did better on the ACT, which surprised me a bit, since math is not his strong suit, and I thought he’d benefit from having more time there. But it wasn’t even close.

My DC does conform to the hypothesis. He is a voracious reader — he’s currently reading a book on the history of the Ottoman Empire for fun, and knows as much about current events and politics as just about anyone I know (and I worked on Capitol Hill). He’s near the top of his class, but he’s not going to waste his time studying stuff he’s not interested in any more than he has to, so his grades aren’t perfect. That said, his teachers give him rave reviews, because “he’s always got something interesting to say.” I think he’s going to blossom in college when he gets to focus on things that he’s passionate about, and he’s going to be one of those kids that professors enjoy teaching.

So, one anecdote in favor of the theory, I guess.

This exactly describes my kids too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought they tested the same stuff. Does the ACT favor students who do better on the verbal side? That definitely describes my kid.

From this article: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/act-vs-sat-how-to-decide-which-test-to-take

“The two exams may appeal to different types of students, says Jumamil. A key difference is that students with a strong English background ‘may flourish on the ACT,’ which puts more emphasis on verbal skills, she says, while for students who are strong in math, ‘the SAT may reflect that much better.’”

This certainly was the case for my daughter.