SAT or ACT which one did you take and which is better for college

[gm]

I really need your opinions!!

My son who is in 11th grade want to take the ACT instead of the SAT and said that colleges look at both the same way. He prefers the ACT because he is better in math than spelling vocabulary,etc which is more on the SAT.

I am so clueless, I thought I would ask my DIS friends to see if he is correct or should I tell him to take the SAT.

Personally, All I hear about is SAT and hardly anything on the ACT

PS: he is in the IB program in school and is top 10 of his class. I do not know if that is a factor but thought I should mention.

Please help us figure which one is better

 

[eeyorefan08]

I'm a high school senior so my advice is based on my experiences in the past year. I was also among the top in my class with a 4.0 GPA. I would take both. I personally did better on the ACT than the SAT, but you never know. One of my friends did better on the SAT than the ACT.

It depends on what schools he is looking at but some schools require the SAT and the SAT Subject Tests. When I applied to Boston College, they took the ACT plus writing in place of the SAT and the Subject Tests. Some schools will do this but others will not. Look at individual schools for standardized testing requirements.

Good Luck to your son! If you have any specific questions about SAT vs. ACT, feel free to ask and I will try to answer them.

 

[golfgal]

Neither is better or worse, they are just different. It depends on what schools he wants to attend and what they look at. Around here most schools take either with the ACT being more popular. The east coast is just the opposite.

 

[Megster]

I work in the admissions office at my college. We take both the SATs and the ACTs. Usually we only talk about the SATs because that is what most high school students in my area take. However, I know my cousins who live in CO say that most students in their area take the SATs. I would encourage him to take both if possible and submit all the scores. At my college we look at whatever is the highest score, even if it comes from 2 different test dates for the SATs.

 

[ColoradoBuffaloMom]

My son who is also a Junior took the SAT yesterday. He took the ACT a few weeks ago. Here in Colorado the state requires all Juniors to take the ACt so the state pays for it and the kids take it at school. My son said the SAT was harder but that is probably just him.

The Counselors at his school said most schools don't care whether you take the SAT or the ACT and most will look at your highest score even if you take a test again,

My daughter who is a Senior took both tests also. She did really well on both although she is a good test taker too.

More than anything I would recommend practicing the tests so your son has a feel for what the tests are like.

 

[KrnB]

It's been almost 15 years, but when I was looking at colleges, I was told it depended on where you wanted to go to school. I was told that most of the college on the east or west coast preferred the SAT, but the central US tended to prefer the ACT. I took the PSAT my sophomore year, but only took the ACT when it can time to get ready for college, as I knew I wanted to stay in the upper Midwest, relatively close to home.

I do think that most colleges would likely take either, but you'd have to look at each school's admission to know for sure.

 

[bballmom56]

My DS took both 2 years ago just to see if he could do better on one or the other. The scores turned out to be equal (even though the ACT is a 2-digit score with a perfect score being 36 and the SAT is a 3-digit score per section with a perfect score being 800, there is a formula to determine equivalency). All the schools he looked at would accept either SAT or ACT and some were even SAT/ACT optional, meaning you could choose whether to submit any test scores at all.

I would have him take both and see what his scores are before submitting them.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I have heard that the ACT in a "content" test, and the SAT is more of an "intelligence" test. My DD has high functioning autism....so I was going going to have her take the ACT because once she learns something she always remembers it......but she has a much harder time reasoning out something she has never studied in class.

what do you experts think ? ( we are not planning on asking for accomadation if we can help it)

 

[chisnpeke]

I took the ACT. I was told that I really wouldn't need the SAT unless I was going go to colleges like the Ivy League or unless the college specified they would prefer the SAT. I just graduated in 2007.

 

[autumnbaby9]

I heard that people usually did better on one or the other, depending on how they learn and think, so I took both. I did a lot better on the ACT so I used that score when applying to colleges.

Neither test is horribly expensive so my parents had no problem paying for both.

 

[Brian Noble]

The SAT is more widely used. The ACT seems to be primarily a midwestern thing. Michigan takes both, with no specific preference.

http://www.admissions.umich.edu/fastfacts.html

I would encourage him to take both, unless he already has a very specific set of schools to which he is applying and he knows that they all accept ACT (and do not prefer SAT).

 

[Judy from Boise]

I heard that people usually did better on one or the other, depending on how they learn and think, so I took both. I did a lot better on the ACT so I used that score when applying to colleges.

Neither test is horribly expensive so my parents had no problem paying for both.

Are you staying close for college ? My DD wants to major in film/TV/theatre at Montana state. We are hoping for a WAMI scholarship.

 

[autumnbaby9]

I graduated HS (Go Boise Braves!)8 years ago so College is long over. I went to BSU so I could still live at home. I was going for the cheapest way possible.

 

[MichelleVW]

My DD is a Junior and is taking both the SAT and ACT in June and I'm guessing knowing her, she will want to take them again in the fall.

 

[undercovermom]

Thngs are chaning. My daughter is a senior, we live on Long Island, and she applied to schools in New York and New England.

ten years ago they would have told her to take the SAT and not to bother with the ACT. Her guidance counselor told her ot take both tests and see which test scores were higher. Her ACT score was better than her SAT sccore. She applied early admission to her top pick, using her SAT score (she hadn't taken the ACT yet) and was rejected. The school she plans to attend was a "reach" school for her, and I'm convinced she got in because she used the ACT score not the SAT score.

 

[gm]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I will have him take both. I did not realize he could take both. thx

 

[poohlover]

AS many have already said, both my DD's took both the ACT & The SAT's.

Both did better on the ACT's. My oldest took the ACT as she was looking at several New England colleges (BC & something I can't remember) that required them. I then encouraged my second DD to take it as the first had done much better.

I believe the ACT is more widely used in the midwest. But more colleges are looking at them now. My DS is a Jr this year, just took the SAT's on Sat. & I will have him take the ACT's as well.

good luck!

 

[claudia]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I will have him take both. I did not realize he could take both. thx

Yes definitely have him take both, but make sure that he takes the ACT with writing. My son is a junior also and took both....while we went to see colleges for him over spring break (all schools are in the east, some state, some ivy league) they all said that they will accept either. Also make sure he takes the subject tests (I think most want 2) as he may need them for some colleges.

 

[Galahad]

I'll agree with others. Definitely have him take both. DS was admitted based on his SAT's, but he got his scholarships based on his ACT scores.

 

[MickeysMommy]

I didn't take either. When I was going to college about 15 years ago...if you went to a community college and then were going to transfer to another school you DID NOT NEED to take the SAT's or ACT's. Great for people who can't take tests!