Which Test Should I Prepare for US Admission? SAT or ACT?

Which Test Will Be Good for US College Admission – SAT or ACT?

As far as admission to US colleges is concerned ACT and SAT are the most sought admission tests the aspiring students take. This is applicable to Indian (NRI) students. Besides the admission criteria, the scores in SAT or ACT are the yardsticks for scholarships as well.

However, the question supremacy of SAT over ACT or vice versa is not that easy to answer. Also to express how easy one over the other is difficult either. Unfortunately, a uniform pattern is missing between Universities in the admission criteria.

SAT and ACT are Different.

Yes, both these tests are radically different except for the content and pattern is concerned. The colleges in the US do not insist on SAT 2 or SAT subject test as popularly known. Most of the top Universities accept the ACT plus Essay Writing instead of SAT and SAT subject tests, however, if you are applying to the colleges whose admission criterion is SAT, necessarily you may have to write SAT 1 and SAT 2. The websites of the Universities would publish the details of the admission requirement.

Which Test to Choose- SAT or ACT?

The testing patterns for both are different. SAT subject test has Maths in two parts- one without a calculator and other with a calculator. ACT does not stipulate this aspect. That tells you that if you are strong in Science and poor in Maths should go for the ACT.

The institutes do not show preference of SAT  over ACT or vice versa but choose the higher score, in fact, there are Universities having a conversion factor to put both scores at par.

There are students who write both the ACT and SAT, even though this would be tough for students to concentrate, this is an ideal situation. But the problem is the time and expense involved in preparing for both simultaneously.

For International Students

For international students, for example, India/Middle East, SAT is better to take; there are a number of coaching centers available in India/Middle East for the SAT compared to ACT. In fact, the recently revised SAT (in 2016) narrowed down its difference with ACT. Irrespective of the test you opt for, thorough practices and preparations are called for.

Mock-up Tests

To find out your aptitude and capability you can take a mock-up or diagnostic test on both streams.

The following table is showing the percentages of students who have submitted both SAT and ACT scores and joined to different institutions.

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