Differences between ACT and SAT
The differences between SAT and ACT often are not understood.
Which is preferred? On which will your child perform better?
Check out our chart explaining the differences.
|
SAT |
VS |
ACT |
| Reasoning –Based Test | Type Of Test | Content-Based Test |
| Questions Are More Complex, Based On Proof And Context In Real-World Conditions With Multi-Step Problem-Solving | Style Of Test | Questions May Be Long And There Is Time Pressure, But They Are Relatively Straightforward, Based On Content Studied In School |
| Reading: 65-Min; Math: No Calculator, 25-Min | With Calculator, 55-Min; Writing And Language: 35-Min; Essay: 50-Min (Optional): TOTAL TIME: 3.0 Without The Essay Or 3.50 With The Essay | Timing |
English: 45-Min; Math: 60-Min; Reading: 35-Min; Science: 35-Min; Writing: 40-Min Essay (Optional); TOTAL TIME: 2.55 |
| Questions Increase In Difficulty Progressively Through The Section (Except Reading Passage Questions, Which Progress Chronologically) | Difficulty Levels | Questions’ Difficulty Levels Are Random |
| Arithmetic, Problem-Solving, Data Analysis, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry (Formulas Provided); Some Parts Permit Using Calculators, Others Don’t | Math | Arithmetic, Algebra I And II, Functions, Geometry, Trigonometry (No Formulas Provided); Calculators Are Permitted On All Math Items |
| 5 Passages | Reading | 4 Passages |
| None | Science |
1 Section On Reasoning Of Tables And Graphs, Not Scientific Knowledge |
| Math And Reading / Writing Are Scored 200-800. The Sum Of Both Scores Generates The Composite SAT Score Of 400-1600. | Scoring | English, Math, Reading, And Science Are Scored 1-36 And Those Scores Are Averaged To Generate The Composite ACT Score Of 1-36 |
| No Point Deduction For Wrong Or Omitted Answers | Penalties | No Point Deduction For Wrong Or Omitted Answers |
|
You Can Choose Which Set(S) Of SAT Scores To Submit To Colleges |
Multiple Score Choice | You Can Choose Which Set(S) Of ACT Scores To Submit To Colleges |
| East Coast, West Coast And Private Schools; However, All U.S. Four-Year Colleges Accept SAT Scores | Popular With | Midwestern, Southern And Public Schools; However, All U.S. Four-Year Colleges Accept ACT Scores |
| March, May, June, August, October, November, December | When | February, April, June, July, September, October, December And, On The State Testing Schedule Where The ACT Is Part Of The State Testing Requirements. |
| Approximately Four Weeks Prior To Test Date | Registration | Roughly Five To Six Weeks Prior To Test Date |
Now you generally understand both tests and their content and scoring.
For more details on the SAT visit www.collegeboard.com and to learn more about the ACT go to www.act.org
Preparing for the SAT and ACT
The cheapest way is to just let your child take the tests based on what he or she learned in school. You can also buy test prep materials online and let your child study from them. However, test prep such as we offer at Brilliant Prep consistently delivers the highest scores and the resulting scholarships and admissions acceptance letters.
Should We Prepare for the SAT, ACT or Both?
There are two main “schools of thought” on this topic. Some say that taking both tests is unnecessary so why prepare for both. Others say that preparing for both tests gives students a definite edge and more options. Below are the considerations:
| Taking Only One Course | Taking Both Courses |
| All schools in the USA accept both ACT and SAT scores, so whichever one you prepare for and take is fine | Students can submit to various schools the score each prefers to receive. This is a way to show immediately that the child is a fit |
| Schools are given conversion charts to properly interpret the scores students submit. If a student submits ACT scores and the school prefers SAT, the school will use the table to know what the ACT score would be if it was an SAT. | When they prepare for both tests, students master different skill sets for each exam. That allows them to combine their skillsets and achieve the best possible scores on both tests |
| There are extra costs to preparing for and taking both tests. | Most often, extra costs are offset by the increased scholarship opportunities and awards, since preparation and testing can be reported on student transcripts. |
| It takes extra time to prepare for and take both tests. | The return on Investment is high. One recent study showed that 65% of students who took both courses scored in the top 3% of the ACTs, while only 35% of those who prepared just for the ACT scored in the top 3%. |
Many parents have their children take practice tests of both ACT and SAT to see which test was more comfortable or scored higher. Often, parents help their children prepare for all the standardized pre-college tests. Brilliant Prep recommends doing so, because competition for college admission is so fierce. For example, as many as nine out of 10 qualified college applicants do not get accepted into Ivy League schools, and other competitive schools have similar rejection rates. Currently, students who want every possible advantage take both tests. Some students retake the tests hoping for higher scores. Along with their college applications, they can then submit their highest scores from both tests.
Whether you and your student choose the ACT, SAT or both, Brilliant Prep curriculum prepares your child to become an expert test taker. We offer full-length practice tests developed in both styles from our extensive database of previous test questions. We focus for several weeks on practice testing, just prior to the actual tests.
Since 2016 the SAT is easier than ever before. Its questions are simpler and more to the point.
Easier to take doesn’t necessarily mean easier to earn a higher score. Where getting a 1500 out of 1600 possible on Math and English used to be excellent scores, now you’ll need a 1540 out of 1600 to be on track with your peers.
While the test in general is easier, the SAT’s famed “tricky questions” still exist, and you should expect one or two in each section. These questions can draw the “line in the sand” between a score that gets you into an Ivy League school and the one that doesn’t.
The pace of the new SAT is more relaxed. Some people even think the timing for each section will continue to loosen in the future. Regardless, there’s plenty of time to double check your work in every section.
Even if you went to the College Board website and did their practice tests, expect the math to be tougher than what was on those practice tests. Not only are the math questions harder, but the math sections will have one much harder than the other. Maybe the section with a calculator will be easier and the one without harder or it might be the other way around.
Trigonometry is on the more recent exams. It won’t cripple you, because it’s only one or two questions, but it can still reduce your score if you aren’t prepared to answer them.
Making up numbers, plugging in answer choices, and other traditional math strategies are still very helpful on the new SAT.
The math section still has an “Achilles’ Heel”. Because there are only four answer choices for each question, you can still recognize patterns. For example, you can easily narrow down the answer choices for a vertex-, standard-, or factored-form question just by knowing how those forms look.
There’s still a non-calculator math section. Be sure you know how to do basic arithmetic, arithmetic with fractions, factoring, and completing the square without the use of a calculator.
If you did the College Board website’s practice exams, you won’t find the reading section of your SAT to be very different in level of difficulty.
One of the trickiest questions you should expect is a supporting evidence question. Supporting evidence questions are the ones giving you several choices of lines that best support your previous answer. One of the strategies that our students find extremely helpful with these is our Supporting Evidence Secret Solution. The secret process is simple to learn and apply on practice tests and real ones.
Take note that the College Board is promoting the idea that SAT vocabulary is less important than before. Don’t believe it. They still use college-level vocabulary and if you don’t know yours, your scores will reflect your lesser knowledge and comprehension.
The SAT includes a civil rights/women’s rights passage. Among others, expect to see passages on such topics as social media or news sites, like Reddit or Medium.
Good old “process of elimination” is still the strategy darling for the writing and language section. Tricky questions are those requiring you to choose correct words/phrases or sentence placements. As long as you know the rules of grammar, the entire section is pretty straightforward and consistent with the content on the College Board website’s practice tests.
For those who don’t consider themselves writers, the essay is not very complicated. First you’re analyzing a passage. Second, the analysis follows certain rhetorical and persuasive patterns, particularly for word choice and statistics. Once you know them, you can easily complete the analysis. We have a free essay template you can use to help with this.
Although previously considered to be the easier, less tricky of the two standardized college tests, the ACT is still one tough cookie. Don’t be fooled into preparing less for the ACT than you do for the SAT.
The math and science sections are consistent with the way they have been delivered every year, but of course, with new questions.
Your strategy for time management in the English, Math and Science sections will be critically important as the ACT retains its famed time pressure in those sections.
It is simple to budget time for the Math section, but you can do it for other sections on any test: total number of minutes allotted for the section divided by the total number of questions in that section gives you the maximum amount of time you have to spend on each question (total minutes / total questions = max minutes per question). We train on more techniques to help you move along, but this formula is an important factor.
Recent ACT essays have been quite difficult. It is best to prepare strategically so that you have a winning format for your essay. We’ve developed a free essay template you can use to be sure that your format is a winner.
Regardless of its difficulty, we highly recommend taking the optional essay, because by using a strategic template to guide you, you will gain the interest of schools that require an essay.
The ACT test developers must be tired of lazy punctuation, so the English section is littered with those questions. Specifically, look for a few sneaky punctuation questions that require you to know every nuance of using dashes.
Keep an eye out for the many more sentence placement questions we noticed.
We’re all a little leery of dual reading passages, but don’t worry. They aren’t so different from the single reading passages so, if you’ve got those mastered, you’ll be just fine.
This is not your father’s ACT, so please note our reminder to always prepare using the freshest test information and strategies. Your dad’s old prep book will not help you ace this test.
If you don’t like your first set of scores, do take the ACT over. Our students who do that generally improve their scores. That is due to the confidence gained by familiarity with and comfort using your strategies in the test environment and with the section materials.