{"id":12103,"date":"2013-10-24T12:53:54","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T17:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/?p=12103"},"modified":"2015-05-01T09:24:21","modified_gmt":"2015-05-01T14:24:21","slug":"college-admissions-tests-act-sat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/12103\/college-admissions-tests-act-sat\/","title":{"rendered":"College Admissions Tests: ACT vs. SAT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jennifer<\/a>Which College Admission Test Should I Take?<\/h1>\n

Many students debate which college admissions test<\/b> they should take, and I always say, \u201cTake both!\u201d Most students, if not all, take both tests more than once and send their best score to the college of their choice. I do get many questions about the difference between the two and which test is \u201cbetter.\u201d Though I believe both tests are equally important to take, I have created a chart for you see the difference between both exams.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Differences is college admissions tests<\/span>:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/td>\nACT<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/td>\nSAT<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Material Tested:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\n\u2022 Standard high school<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>curriculum<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 More advanced math knowledge<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Stronger emphasis on punctuation<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Science reasoning section tests<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Ability to read tables and graphs<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\u2022 General reasoning and problem solving<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Stronger emphasis on vocabulary<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Requires that students come up with their own answers for some math problems<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Format:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\n\u2022 Multiple Choice questions<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Optional essay<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\u2022 Multiple choice questions<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Grid-in questions<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Essay prompt<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accepted by:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\nAll four year colleges and universities<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\nAll four year colleges and universities<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Length:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\n\u2022 175 minutes, 205 with essay<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Per question time: 49 seconds<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\u2022 200 minutes, 225 with essay<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Per question time: 62 seconds<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sections:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\n\u2022 English<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Mathematics<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Reading<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Science<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Optional Writing section<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 (Total of five sections)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n\u2022 Reading<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Writing<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 Math<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 (Total of 10 sections)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Offered:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\nSix times per year<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 September<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 October<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 December<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 February,<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 April<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 June<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\nSeven times per year<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 October<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 November<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 December<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 January<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 March<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 May<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2022 June<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Highest Possible Score:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\n36<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n2400<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How the test is scored:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\nEach section is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, and the final score is your average. No points are deducted for wrong answers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\nEach of the sections is worth 800 points, and your composite score is the sum. Points are deducted for wrong answers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Do colleges automatically see all my scores?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/td>\nNo. You can take the ACT multiple times and submit only your best test-date score. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\nThat depends. Some colleges require you to submit all your scores. Many allow you to use Score Choice, which lets you choose which test-date score you send. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

How are the\u00a0admissions test\u00a0fundamentally different?<\/h2>\n

They are both multi-hour tests that measure your math, grammar, reading comprehension and essay-writing skills, but there are some fundamental differences. While the SAT tries to test a student\u2019s ability to wrestle with a problem, the ACT is designed to test what a student knows. At least, that is the difference in theory. In truth, both the ACT and the SAT require reasoning and knowledge.<\/p>\n

Do you want to test\u00a0reasoning or knowledge?<\/h2>\n

The other big difference between the admissions tests is that they are created with different philosophies. This might seem strange because both tests are trying to do the same thing (determine a student\u2019s preparedness for college), but the SAT is all about testing your ability to reason. The test writers for the SAT are more than likely to create questions that come across as \u201ctricky,\u201d or, to some students, seem needlessly complex. The ACT, on the other hand, is all about testing your knowledge, so the test writers are more likely to create questions that are straightforward \u2026 as long as you know the material being tested! Most ACT questions look like the ones you\u2019ve been doing for homework since freshman year.<\/p>\n

It is to your advantage to take both admissions tests. You might find that you score better on one test than the other.\u00a0 Keep in mind, that most often a college will use your best score from either test when considering your admissions potential.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Caballero is the College Admissions Advisor at the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, TX.\u00a0 MMA is an all boys private college preparatory boarding school. For more information about MMA visit our website: http:\/\/www.mma-tx.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Contact<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Which College Admission Test Should I Take? Many students debate which college admissions test they should take, and I always say, \u201cTake both!\u201d Most students, if not all, take both tests more than once and send their best score to the college of their choice. I do get many questions about the difference between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[256],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-admissions-counseling"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12103"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13106,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12103\/revisions\/13106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mma-tx.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}