kayyyy

I go to a large public high school where nobody really takes the ACT. I've heard about it on CC and was wondering if there was any benefit to taking both and if it's worth it. I took the PSAT as a sophomore last year and scored a 192. CR- 64 M-57 W-71

ameliab12

You should take the SAT and wait for your scores before deciding whether to take the ACT. I would suggest taking the SAT twice and the ACT once, but only if you aren't satisfied with your SAT scores and don't think you'll hit your desired score the second time around. Some people just find the ACT much easier, but it's hard to know how it'll be for you until you take it. It's really not necessary at all.

Also, looking at you scores, you're better at reading and writing than math, so why take a test that has another section (science) that you're not likely to do as well on than reading and writing?

jennieling

I'd suggest that you prepare for the ACT and take it at least twice and do the same for the SAT (prepare for it; the preparation is a little different) and take it at least twice. I have not found any college or university yet that takes SAT and not ACT or even prefers SAT to ACT, so I have NO idea why Ameliab12 would say to only take the ACT once, as if it is less important. The question is this: which test will YOU do better on? Some do better on the ACT and some on the SAT. Neither test is an intelligence test, and it is a myth that the ACT is more of an academic "achievement" test thatn the SAT. That was the case many years ago, before they made changes in the SAT, but not now! Again, colleges now accept one or the other. Many colleges highly recommend SAT II's (only a few actually require them, but it's good to do them since many recommend them). However, if your ACT is better than your SAT I, you can give the colleges your ACT and your SAT II's (ie Subject Tests) without giving the SAT I scores. So bottome line- do ACT and SAT, each at least twice (3 times if you prefer)--and then decide. You can give the colleges only your SAT I, only your ACT, or both!

ameliab12

I said it because taking the ACT once will very quickly give you an idea of whether you're better at it or the SAT. I also live in an area where taking the ACT is unheard of, but I got a fee waiver, so I figured I might as well use it. I very quickly learned that while I found the ACT easier, my score ended up the same, so I didn't find it necessary to retake it.

If you take the SAT and then the ACT, there are only three options: 1) you do worse on the ACT, so there's no point wasting your time with it and you should go back to studying for your second SAT. 2) You do the same on both, so [in my opinion] you should just stick with the one you prefer (which for me is the SAT, especially because the majority of the country takes it, making scores more accurate). 3) You do better on the ACT, so there's no point wasting your time with the SAT and you should stick with studying for your second ACT.

I don't really see the point in taking either three times, seeing as statistics and studies all point to a statistically significant increase in scores between first and second sittings, but not in subsequent tests. I guess it would still be reasonable to take each test twice, but I don't think it necessary because your first scores will tell you which one you are likely to score higher on if you retake.

I also don't think it will hurt you at all to just not take the ACT. Like I said before, I only took it because it was free, but I only know of one other person at my school who took it (who also got exactly the equivalent score on it as on the SAT). In the long run, there's a good chance it won't make much of a difference.