Both the SAT and ACT are universally accepted standardized tests used for college admissions. If you’re a current sophomore, junior, or senior, you’ve most likely started to put some thought into taking these tests. You can take them whenever you want and however many times you wish, you just have to register through their websites and pick a testing location. In the springtime, BCPS juniors get the chance to take the SAT for free. The SAT is more widely known and more popular than the ACT, but it doesn’t mean that it’s better. Colleges show no preference between the two tests. 

The SAT:

The SAT is scored on a scale of 400-1600, 1600 being a perfect score. It takes around 3 hours and consists of 3 sections. Reading, writing/language, and math. If you’re taking it in 2024 or later, it will be administered digitally. Another new change is the entire math section allows for calculator use, which is different from previous years, where there was a no calculator section. It has 154 questions in total. There are fewer questions than the ACT, but they usually require more time to answer. Different from the ACT math, it also asks for student produced answers, meaning there are some questions that aren’t multiple choice. 

The ACT:

The ACT is scored on a scale of 1-36, 36 being the highest score. It has 4 sections: reading, english, math, and science. Each section is scored on a scale of 1-36, and then these individual scores are averaged to give a final score. It takes 2 hours and 55 minutes, so it’s similar in timing to the SAT. There are 215 questions, so students will have less time spent per question in comparison to the SAT. You may be able to miss a few questions and still get a perfect score. Another positive is that you could do poorly on one section, but if you do great on the others you can still get a decent score. It also has a much larger emphasis on geometry, accounting for 30-45% of the math section, compared to the SAT’s <10%. 

It’s said that the SAT is a more critical thinking, skills based test. The ACT, on the other hand, tests a student’s knowledge and material comprehension. Whether you decide to take the ACT, SAT, or both, each student is different and has different needs. It’s recommended that you try a practice test for both, and see which appeals to you better. However, it’s important to decide because studying for the tests is crucial and you’ll have to create a plan based on what test you’re taking.