MutaRiSC

My dad won't let me take the SAT. Even though he went to a Midwest school himself, he thinks that the ACT is looked down upon in admissions officies.

Pizzagirl

Actually, if anything, I think it's kind of weird when an East Coast / West Coast kid takes the ACT, since they have to search it out a bit. It seems a bit like ... I tried to figure out how to jerry-rig the system by searching out the test that's uncommon in my area.

jennieling

Emberjed, where in the world did you get the idea that anyone has a stereotype that East/West coast people are more intellectual? I have never heard anyone hold such a stereotype of the West Coast. East Coast, maybe--but more so in the days of Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, etc, not now. If anything, the stereotype (NOT true, I emphasize, but a stereotype) of the West Coast is "hippie, relaxed, surfing, etc", whereas many Midwestern colleges are thought to be (and indeed are) very intellectual: U of Chicago, Wash U, Carleton, Grinnell; Northwestern. I think that only East/West dwellers themselves have the stereotype that you suggested.

egelloc80

SATs are used at the top tier colleges which this site has many applicants that apply/go to these school.

emberjed

@Pizzagirl: I'm talking about students, not adcoms. Students are the ones who have to take the test and carry their own biases into it.

emberjed

@jennieling: I don't really know how to answer your question. It's just a stereotype I pick up, sometimes as pervasive as racial or religious ones. I don't agree with it. The fact is that the SAT was looked at by adcoms as simply a better test - or, at the VERY least, a more well-known and, hence, useful one - for many years and, while this isn't the case anymore, the feeling still lingers.

hudsonvalley51

CC is dominated by coasties. There is also a sizeable Ivy League cult on CC. Hence the popularity of the SAT among CCers.

ratmkino

Actually, a non-superscored 36 composite is rarer than a superscored 2400. However, a non-superscored 2400 is rarer than a non-superscored 36. Truthfully, I think the SAT seems more important because it has been for a long time. We've only ever heard our parents and other adults talk about their SAT scores. The media and the world is run by adults who grew up fearing the SAT, not the ACT. So when someone gets a perfect score on the SAT, it's more revered, because the idea of the SAT conjures images of a gruellin, 5+ hour stressful test in the adults' minds. That said, in my opinion, the SAT is easier to get a perfect score on. I prepared non-stop for a month for the ACT because I knew it was fast paced. What happened? I ran out of time on the science section and got a 35. Whereas the SAT provided me ample time to consider all the answer choices, which I usually do. With about 1 month of intense prep I was able to get a 2400.

LBowie

Our east coast public high school (in top ten in our state) recommends that students take both the SAT and ACT since some students do better on one than the other. The ACT is not ”obscure” at our school. Not anymore anyway, though perhaps it once was.

ROCKFISHDG

I would say that hands down, the PSAT's reach to juniors (and youngers) is by far the #1 reason that the SAT is more popular than the ACT. Our school (which is 6-12 grade) administers the PSAT to all students starting in 7th (!) grade. The PSAT is essentially the SAT, but shorter & without the essay. It is a natural progression to take a test you are already familiar with.