SAT or the ACT, Which Test Is Best For Your Teen?

High School Juniors all over the country are getting ready to take college entrance exams. Some may be taking this leap for the first time and some may have chosen to take them for the second or even third time.  In our neck of the woods the SAT appears to be the test of choice but many students are now aware of a test that is well known around the country, the ACT.  Recently I heard from a few Amherst students about what they thought of both the SAT and the ACT and thought that parents and students may want to compare the two.  I have looked at test organization, cost, number of test dates and scoring. All information can be found on either www.sat.collegeboard.org or www.actstudent.org.

Test Organization:

SAT-

The SAT is made of up 3 subjects but has 10 sections to its 3 hour and 45 minute test.  Tests may be in any of 3 subjects-Mathematics, Critical Reading and Writing and vary in length from 10 to 25 minutes. One section is a 25 minute essay writing section and the 10 minute test is a multiple choice writing test consisting of questions on grammar and usage.  There are six 25 minute sections and two 20 minute sections that could cover any of the three topics. 

ACT-

The ACT is made up of 4 or 5 tests depending on whether or not you choose to take the writing test. ACT states that some colleges require the writing portion and others do not, so choosing to add the writing test would be dependent on the schools that you plan to apply to. The ACT breaks out the test into specific subjects, each with their own time. English is 75 questions in 45 minutes, Mathematics is a 60 question 60 minute test, Reading and Science are 40 questions in 35 minutes. The optional writing test is 1 prompt with 30 minutes in which to compose your answer.  The total test time without the writing test is two hours and 55 minutes or with the writing test would be three hours and 25 minutes.

Test Cost and Dates

The SAT test costs $49.  The SAT II subject tests are $11 each and the foreign language subject test with listening sessions are $22. Subject tests are only necessary for specific colleges and students, so make sure to check to see what specific schools are looking for.  The ACT is $49.50 with the writing portion or $34 without which includes score reports sent to 4 colleges of your choice.  Cost is essentially the same between the two tests if you are taking the writing portion.  The ACT offers 6 test dates throughout the school year and the SAT offers 7.

Scoring and Score reporting

The SAT gives points for correct questions and detracts fractional points for incorrect questions.  There is no penalty for questions that are not answered. The SAT allows student to log into an online portal and receive their scores 17 days after they have taken the exam and choose to send scores to colleges.  The ACT score is based on the numbers of correct answers with no penalty for incorrect answers. Unfortunately ACT will only mail score reports and estimates the reports to be sent 3-8 weeks after taking the test. While this information may not in itself help a student to determine which test to take, this is important information to have on test day.

When asked which was harder the SAT or the ACT and why, here is what some local students had to say:

“ACT is more objective than SAT but I don't know whether that makes it harder/easier.”

“SAT hands down is more difficult...it tests what you know, what you hopefully know, and all     that you don't know. Having said that the ACT tests what you know!!!”

In the end, students need to look at the requirements for each specific college they are thinking about applying to in order to determine the best test for them.