If your child did so so on the SAT and much better on the ACT…
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Anonymous
| What were the two scores? |
Anonymous
| I know someone who got an 1190 on the SAT and a 35 on the ACT. The difference can be significant. |
Anonymous
|
They were both pretty bad, and I can't remember what the actual numbers were. But the ACT was slightly higher, maybe 29?, and my child felt more comfortable with the ACT, so that's what they prepared intensively. They sat for 3 official sittings over junior and senior year, and got a superscore of 35 (34 best score). So prep was VERY useful! |
Anonymous
| My DD tanked the SAT, got a 1240 I think first time, even after getting a high percentile PSAT. Took the ACT once (Jan 2020 just before COVID hit) and got a 30 (with a disproportionate math score - 25 I think, the other scores were 33 and 34 for English/reading and I forget science but was not good). Not an earth shattering difference but certainly with a 30 being closer to upper 1300s in equivalency, it was a better score than the SAT. No prep other than some Khan Academy the month prior. Wanted to retake it and super score since the math was so low but with COVID never had a chance. |
Anonymous
| My kid didn't take the SAT, but got around 1200 on the PSAT and a 33 on the ACT in one sitting. I've heard that the ACT is good if you are a fast test taker. Also the questions are supposedly more straightforward. The SAT is better if you need more time, but the questions can try to trick you. |
Anonymous
| My daughter has only done the official practice tests, but full length practice SAT was 1350 and two weeks later ACT was 34. |
Anonymous
|
ACT is a test of speed and more straightforward than the SAT.
(I know someone w/ADHD whose scores went the other way, 23 ACT, 1500 SAT) |
Anonymous
Sounds like the ACT is her test! |
Anonymous
That is not. the reason. |
Anonymous
| My kid got 1300 SAT and 34 ACT. No organized prep, just did free practice tests. |
Anonymous
| SAT with no prep was 1490 and ACT no prep was 34 and they liked ACT much more. With (not a lot of) prep they took ACT twice with single test scores of 35 but super score of 36 with subsections of 35, 36, 36, 36. |
Anonymous
| 35 ACT on only try. Never took SAT but PSAT was not high enough for commended. |
Anonymous
I’m not sure you can count practice tests as being completely reliable. They are a good gage but not the same as an actual test score. |
Anonymous
| Do colleges prefer one over the other? |
Anonymous
They all say No preference |