ACT logoThere are a few key facts to consider when you are preparing for entrance testing for admission to US colleges and universities. For instance, many families I meet are completely unaware that there is an alternative to the SAT for entrance in the first place. And, if they are aware of the ACT, there are many things that they don’t know. Here are some important bits of information to consider:

  1. The ACT is accepted at EVERY university and college in the states that accepts the SAT.
  2. The ACT is now actually the predominant entrance test in the states, taken by more students per year than the SAT.
  3. The ACT is linked to curricular aspects and has maintained its current achievement-test-oriented structure since its inception, while the SAT, originally an aptitude or problem-solving test, continues to change (making test prep and planning more difficult). The SAT changes are bringing it closer, in type, to the ACT.
  4. The SAT content is changing across the board in all sections, effective with the PSAT in the fall of 2015, and the March 2016 SAT test date, while the ACT implements just one change.

(This is a change to the 30 minute ACT essay, in that there are now four essay elements:

Ideas and Analysis: ability to think critically about the topic and the material in the prompt

Development and Support: ability to explain one’s viewpoint and provide evidence in the essay

Organization: ability to structure the essay logically

Language: ability to use proper grammar, word choice, and rhetorical devices

These will still be scored on a separate scale, 2-12, apart from the composite score and the rest of the writing section subscore.)SAT

*Note that the SAT is changing the Essay to Optional, as it is with the ACT; however, of course, it is recommended that the student plan to complete the essay for the likelihood that some of their colleges of interest will require it.

  1. The ACT includes a Science section, so for the strong science-minded individual, this can boost your overall composite score, while there is no science score on the SAT (while the NEW SAT does include some science-related reading passages, humanities still makes up 2/3 of the score).
  2. The sections on the ACT are fewer, and faster-paced than those of the SAT. This is either a hinderance or a help, depending upon the individual test-taker’s abilities in test-taking. (The total testing time is roughly the same, including the optional essays.)
  3. The (NEW) SAT has more advanced Math questions, including some imaginary numbers questions, while the ACT does not, though the SAT does provide some reference formulas, whereas the ACT does not.
  4. Taking the ACT eliminates the need to take SAT Subject tests for the highly selective schools that require “either ACT, or SAT plus Subject tests”.