<p>"The ACT was once the overlooked stepsister to the SAT. It was popular in the Midwest and the South but less established on the East and West coasts. Now, however, the ACT is growing faster than its rival, not only nationally but also in SAT strongholds such as California, where 50% more students in the class of 2008 took the ACT than their 2004 counterparts. Nationwide, the ACT was taken by 1.4 million students in the 2008 class, compared with 1.5 million who took the SAT, according to the test companies."</p>
<p>"Despite its growth, the ACT still lags behind its rival in California, with 72,356 test-takers for the 2008 class compared with the SAT's 205,145. For some students, the ACT seems a bit, well, lame.</p>
<p>"The ACT, it's an out-there test for me," said Whitney High senior Milly Shah. "And 36 seems like a weird number."</p>
<p>At John Marshall High School in Silver Lake, where it seems virtually every student wants to go to UCLA, the ACT is the underdog, some students said.</p>
<p>"It's like in sports. . . . The SAT is football and the ACT is water polo," said Tina Bui, 17, of Atwater Village."</p>
<p>S1 took the ACT did so well he never took the SAT, got into all his reach schools so must not hurt. His close friend was accepted at Yale (the only Ivy applied to) with only ACT, so if one scores well on one test, why bother taking the other?</p>
<p>D1 took both the SAT and the ACT and I think that she did relatively better on the ACT. FWIW, I also remember that when she and I visited Muhlenberg College a few years back, the dean of admissions commented during the info session that he thought that the ACT was a better test than the SAT. I'll be interested to see how D2 does on the ACT when she takes it in a few months.</p>
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FWIW, I also remember that when she and I visited Muhlenberg College a few years back, the dean of admissions commented during the info session that he thought that the ACT was a better test than the SAT.
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<p>Everyone is entitled to his erroneous opinion. While there are many strategic reasons for anyone to take BOTH the ACT and the SAT, it remains true that the ACT organization does not come close to ETS and TCB in terms of testing integrity or organization. </p>
<p>At this stage, it makes no difference if one test is superior to the other. However, the ACT is and will remain the poor stepsister or the ... bastard child of the testing industry, at least until the IOWA wannabes make serious improvements to their organization and start understanding the meaning of customer service. And, of course, it is well known that they will never be able to compete with the depth and strength of the ETS library.</p>
<p>The ACT might be catching on because it's the best bargain in town:</p>
<p>Most colleges ask for the SAT + two SAT subject tests, OR, in lieu of those THREE tests, they will accept the ACT all by its lonesome. </p>
<p>I'm sure some students - especially applicants to "elite" colleges - would take Subject tests anyway, but for the average bear, any Subject test out there is going to be harder than the ACT. This puts the ACT up there as a very good deal in my book.</p>
<p>I absolutely loved the ACT..finally, a test that actually measures what you learned in HS instead of how well you can take a stupid test and/or how many practice tests and tutors you can buy.</p>
<p>More and more of the kids from my HS are taking the ACT...quite a few at my school took only the ACT this year, and if I'd taken the ACT first, I never would have bothered with the SAT.</p>
<p>xiggi - I have yet to hear stories of ACT losing scores, misplacing scores, not getting stuff to colleges in time for admission decisions, etc. I have seen a number of those regarding SAT.</p>
<p>When the SAT starts letting students select which test administration scores to send (in 2010) like the ACT, I think the # of students taking the SAT will increase again</p>
<p>I'm reviving this thread because I have a question about whether it is OK to take just the ACT in high school and not take the SAT at all? DD took the ACT, scored a 35 on her first try and says she is done. She will take the SAT 2's though. I would also like for her to be done but I heard that recruiters ask for your SAT score. My older D who is a sophomore at college said that while applying for internships this year, all of the places she was applying to asked for the SAT score - there was no mention of the ACT. She seems to think that it would be better to take the SAT too. Does anyone have an opinion on this?</p>
<p>If your D also scored high on the PSAT and ends up as a NMSF, she'll have to take the SAT to become a finalist. </p>
<p>As for what your older college D says about internship apps...if older D's college is located in SAT-land, then likely they ask for the SAT score out of tradition for the region....but that doesn't mean that they won't accept the ACT. (an applicant could always write in their ACT score and include what the SAT equivalent score is)</p>
<p>That said, you D should take the SAT and not send the scores anywhere unless they turn out great like her ACT or she needs them for NMCorp.....(for one of her free choices, she can choose NMCorp if she's a likely NMSF).</p>
<p>Dandemom: Based on what I've heard, a 35 ACT would be fine for a "one and done" testing situation unless you need to back up the PSAT score (what M2CK said!) Question though: why take the SAT IIs? When D1 was looking at schools a number of the ones with SAT II requirements waived that if the student submitted ACT scores. Double check school requirements.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids: DD was sick so she ended up not taking her PSAT this year - a real shame but she was quarantined and there were no make-ups offered. So she definitely won't need the SAT for NM. She also thinks that her SAT score won't be significantly higher (if at all) than her ACT. </p>
<p>RobD: A number of the schools D is looking at need at least 2 SAT 2's (a couple need 3) in addition to either the SAT or ACT. For some of them it is "recommended" and not "required" and for others just the ACT is fine (like you mentioned) but D wants to keep her options open.</p>
