The SAT is three-hours forty-five minutes long and consists of eleven test sections in MATH, READING, and WRITING (including a twenty-five minute experimental section that does not count towards a student’s score). The essay is worth 25% percent of a student’s score on the writing section.
Each SAT is created over an immense period of time - a period likely longer than your lifetime - with the objective of evaluating a student’s reasoning abilities and, from his or her score, predicting how he or she will perform academically as a freshman in college. It’s highly questionable whether the SAT accurately predicts a student’s performance once he or she arrives at college, and there are of course other key variables that factor into the college admissions process. Yet the fact remains, a student improves the odds of getting into the college of his or her choice by increasing his or her SAT score. The SAT does not determine success or happiness. It is simply a key that opens collegiate doors. The more points you have, the more grooves your key has and the better the chance that your key “works.” Our job at First Class Prep is helping students open doors.
A fraction of the multiple-choice questions answered wrong is subtracted from the total number of right answers. No points are added or subtracted for unanswered questions. Nothing is subtracted for wrong answers to grid-in questions in the mathematics section. If the final score includes a fraction, the score is rounded to the nearest whole number.
For years the SAT was the standard admissions test for east-coast students applying to colleges and universities across the country a “no brainer,” at least when it came time for wooing colleges. Recently, however, there’s been a surge of interest from both students and their parents regarding the new test, or dare we say it…. the new ACT in town.
Well, the ACT, as it turns out, isn’t anything new. Like the SAT, this test has been giving students headaches for decades, but has traditionally served those students in the mid-west and some southern regions of the country, while the SAT has traditionally held the focus of students in the north and south eastern regions.
While the SAT measures verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities, the ACT casts a much wider net by measuring a student’s critical (curriculum-based) skills in four subject areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. Nearly 1.2 million students took the ACT last year, averaging a score of 20.8 on a scale ranging from 1-36. Meanwhile, the average SAT score was 1026, the highest average since 1974. Interestingly, the ACT includes a science reasoning test, as well as trigonometry questions in its math section both subject areas the SAT leaves alone; and while vocabulary is emphasized to the zillionth degree on the SAT, the ACT instead tests a student’s proficiency in English grammar.
We recommend students take practice tests for both the SAT and ACT. Your scores might indicate which test suits you better. Students with solid grades, but not the best PSAT or SAT scores, could very well score higher on the ACT. But be warned, while there are certainly cases when a student’s performance on the ACT outpaces his or her SAT performance, the average difference is insignificant. But again, it can’t hurt taking both. Traditionally, students who perform well in their math and science classes sometimes prefer the ACT.
Before you pick up a #2 pencil you’ll want to check the admissions information of the colleges you are applying to in order to find out which tests they require or recommend. Most northeastern colleges and universities require the SAT, but some don’t, and other schools (i.e. Amherst and The University of Pennsylvania) will accept the ACT in place of SAT II subject tests.
In the end we recommend taking both the SAT and ACT tests, especially if you’re a strong student unhappy with your SAT scores. It certainly can’t hurt. Our advisors help students shine on paper and stand out from the crowd. How do you stand out in a pool of 20,000 applicants? You tell an eloquent and memorable story. We help students tell their story. Our advisors are accomplished writers with proven success in college admissions. After signing up for our ESSENTIALS or SELECT application service, your child will have the benefit of working with one of our dedicated advisors through every step of the college application process.
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