<p>I am new to this site as my two teenage boys are new to the SAT and ACT, having just left the Spanish educational system and entered the US school system. What a a shock. Is there an advantage to taking one official test over another?</p>
<p>No advantage of one over the other for purpose of submitting one for admission to colleges except as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The SAT sponsors a program called the National Merit Scholarship. To qualify you need to get a high score in both the PSAT (the preliminary SAT, which is essentially an official practice test for the SAT, taken in junior year) and the SAT and if you do qualify as a National Merit Finalist you can possibly get some scholarship money (usually some but not all tuition relief) from many colleges. The ACT does not have a similar program.</p></li>
<li><p>There are a number of colleges that requiire two SAT IIs (subject tests different from SAT). For some of those you must provide the subject tests regardless of whether you provide the SAT or ACT. However, some of them will accept the ACT in lieu of both SAT and the SAT IIs and thus taking the ACT and getting a high score may allow one to avoid taking the SAT IIs for those particular colleges.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>what drusba said.</p>
<p>IME some kids do MUCH better on one of the tests. I think a practice test of each would reveal such personal bias and then the student can concentrate on getting the best possible score on that test.</p>
<p>I’m curious, what have your sons found most shocking in their school transition?</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses.</p>
<p>My boys went to a small private Catalan school that was modelled on the French system. As a result, the school was strict and rigid. Students had to stand up when a teacher walked into the classroom. Students had to wear a blue smock until their Junior year at high school. My boys did a lot of memorisation of poems, dates, literary passages. They did a lot of dictations at school and make many a presentations. What is extremely difficult for my son who is a sophomore is English composition - writing a thesis statement and then developing the topic is hard. Spanish/Catalan schools do not teach academic writing the way the US system does. While my boys speak four languages fluently, they are at a great disadvantage in vocabulary usage, as is tested in the SAT/ACT. Another shock for my boys is the positive attitude and support given in the school system by teachers and administrators. The friendliness and openness and positive feedback is nothing they have ever encountered!</p>
<p>I neglected to say. </p>
<p>The most shocking things is the rhythm of life, the number of AP/honours classes, community service and pressure to do everything, and do it well. </p>
<p>Is it all worth it? Where is a young adult’s natural curiosity and critical eye amidst all these exams and college entrance procedures?</p>
<p>Its not always easy to merge yourself within a new educational system. I have a similar background like yours. So when I had to take these tests to sort of give a boost to my career I did a lot of research where to get what, how, and its effectiveness. There are many sites on the Net that give you good guidelines for these tests. Shmoop had some very useful comments that helped me greatly in preparation for the [url=<a href=“http://www.shmoop.com/act/test-prep.html]ACT[/url”>ACT® Test Prep | Online Course & Practice Tests | Shmoop]ACT[/url</a>]. It incorporates the lessons in snippets from TV programs which makes learning fun and educational! Definitely worth a visit!</p>