SAT or ACT for an IGCSE student?

Test Preparation
1

Hello,

I’m a HS Junior (Gr-11) in a school which largely follows the British curriculum. As such, I’m used to the structured questions style of the IGCSE, which is vastly different than the MCQ-oriented SATs/ACTs.

As you already know, In order for me to have any shot at an american university, I need to sit for the SATs/ACTs + 2 Subject Tests, which I’m willing to study in my summer vacation (up to ~5 hours/day). However, I’m frankly clueless at the whole format, and so I wanted to ask the following questions to help me decide on a course of action:

  1. As an IGCSE student, am I more suitable to sit for the SATs or the ACTs?
  2. Are you aware of the subjects that have a significant part of its’ syllabus overlapping (Between the IGCSE and SAT II)
  3. Could you recommend some physical resources for me to use that explains the concepts (Not only practice)
  4. How many hours would I need to study (per day) to be able to plausibly wrap up the syllabus before the next academic year (in around 2 month)

Thanks for your time!

2

Act would match igcse content better than sat.
Take a diagnostic test first - that will determine how long you’ll have to study each day.

3

  1. Neither the SAT nor the ACT is a content based test. They are primarily skills tests evaluating Reading, Writing and Math skills. If you are solid in those areas, then the choice between the 2 tests is one of personal preference. Both tests offer free official practice tests on their websites. I would suggest you download one of each and try them.

  2. SAT II–the Easiest SAT II tests to take are the science and math ones because of the finite materials covered which is usually close to what is covered in school. World and American History are very detailed and most overview courses don’t provide enough detailed factual information to do well on those tests.

3)For SAT start with the Khan Academy program which will give you the fundamentals.

  1. It is impossible to estimate the time required without knowing your starting point. Some students can spend 2-3 hours per day over the summer and cover everything while others need a longer duration of 4-6 months.