Is a 33 on the ACT better or a 1480 on the SAT?

anemirza · July 16

I will be submitting both but I’m curious.

vonlost · July 16

Look at the Common Data Set for the schools. You'll see data for both, for the last entering freshman class.

ProfessorPlum168 · July 16

A 33 is about the same as a 1480, but if you look at the 2018 concordance tables, a 33 goes from 1450-1480, with 1460 being the SAT score used if a single scoring point comparison is needed.

Groundwork2022 · July 16

A 33 ACT is equal to 1490 to 1510 on the SAT.

anemirza · July 16

Some people say a 33 is a 1450-1480 though. Others say 1490-1510. Which one is right??

vonlost · July 16

It can depend on the school, whether they value more of what you've learned, or more of how you think.

happy1 · July 16

1) You should google SAT/ACT concordance tables on your own. Here is one.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/guide-2018-act-sat-concordance.pdf

2) The other thing that may be useful to look at is the breakout of the scores on different sections of the tests. For example if you are applying as a STEM major and did poorly on the science and math parts of the ACT but well on the math part of the SAT then the SAT may be show your skills in a preferable light (especially when the total scores are so close).

ProfessorPlum168 · July 16

the old concordance was 1490-1510. The new one is the one I used and the table that was linked, 1450-1480. That's why I specifically specified the date of the concordance.

Sybylla · July 16

Can you search the percentiles for your test date or at least test year? See which test score puts you in a higher percentile?

socaldad2002 · July 16

If I had to choose, the 33 ACT is slightly better at 99th percentile vs. 97th percentile for 1480 SAT.

Sybylla · July 16

Is the 33 99th for this year? I haven't seen it being 99th for a while. Can you link to that relevant dated source? That would help OP.

vonlost · July 16

One example: NYU's 2018-19 CDS says the 75th percentile values are 34 and 1510, good agreement with ^.

socaldad2002 · July 17

Re: 99th percentile, according to prepscholar. Assumed it was up to date?

Erin's Dad · July 17

https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/MultipleChoiceStemComposite2017-18.pdf
Unfortunately ACT is a year behind on publishing the percentiles by score.

SJ2727 · July 17

@socaldad2002 when D19 was looking at applications last year and we compared prepscholar to college websites, it was generally a year and sometimes two out of date! It’s probably fine for a quick overview and rough idea of levels of competitiveness, but not for real drilling into the numbers. I do seem to recall its concordance table was out of date too.

RichInPitt · July 18

Percentile at a school from a CDS isn’t a good source - nothing says schools need to accept student with equivalent standardized test scores - it’s only one components of an application.

College Board and ACT worked together and published the concordance linked to above. It’s what schools use to equate scores across tests.

A 33 corresponds to a 1460 as a single SAT score. If it was a 33.25, rounded to a 33, then it’s pretty much equal to a 1480.

RichInPitt · July 18

I’ve found way too many errors on Prepscholar vs data easily accessible on a schools web site. I’ve contacted them many times and they don’t seem very interested in correcting data.

ucbalumnus · July 19

In general, use the concordance tables published by CB and ACT.

However, there may be specific schools which have their own (effective) concordance table, which may vary slightly. The CSUs in California appear to be such schools.

Is a 33 on the ACT better or a 1480 on the SAT?

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