Colleges accept either the ACT or the SAT. Which one is better for me? Some students do significantly better on the SAT. Others can ace the ACT more easily. The Princeton Review offers the Princeton Review Asessment (PRA) to help you determine which test is best for you. Click here to arrange a free assessment test. To help you choose, here are seven key differences between the SAT and the ACT. The SAT tends to be trickier; the ACT tends to be more straightforward. On the SAT, you may spend a bit of time figuring out what the question is asking you to do. On the ACT, the question is usually apparent upon a first reading. For example, here are samples of two questions: one from the SAT essay, the other from the ACT Writing Test. SAT: What is your view of the claim that an unsuccessful idea still has some value? ACT: Should high schools, …show more content…
If your vocabulary isn't quite up to par, you might do better on the ACT. The ACT has a Science section. You don't need to know anything about DNA or the periodic table for the ACT science test. It is meant to test reading and reasoning skills based on a given set of data, including graphical data. However, if science isn't your strong suit. the SAT might be better for you. The ACT tests more advanced math concepts. You will need to know a bit of trigonometry and master some quadratics on the ACT, in addition to the arithmetric, algebra, and geometry you will find on the SAT. However, the questions on the ACT are more straightforward, so they are not necessarily more difficult. The Writing Test on the ACT is not required. The 25-minute essay on the SAT is required, and is a factor in your Writing score. The ACT has a 30-minute essay which is optional. Even if you elect to write the essay, the score is never factored into your composite score; colleges will see a separate score. The SAT is broken up into more sections, while the ACT is made of longer