Why The SAT and ACT are NOT basically the same thing.

So the two big tests everyone freaks out about Junior and senior year are the SAT and the ACT. Commonly held belief is that one should just prep for the SAT, and then sit for the ACT to see how they do.

The truth is, doing this will be a disservice to yourself. You should train for both if you’re planning on taking both, because there are a few fundamental differences between the two tests that should not be ignored.

Firstly- They are testing different skills

The SAT is a test of reasoning. The goal is to find the solution to the problem using the tools given to you on the test.

The ACT is a test of achievement. The goal is to answer questions similar to the ones you will be answering in school.

This changes how you have to prep for the tests.

You can teach yourself the SAT and how to answer the questions. This is especially true for the math and critical reading. You need to learn how to answer their strange, confusing math problems. You have to memorize lists on lists of increasingly obscure words (my personal favorite: masticate)

 You, theoretically, already know how to do the ACT questions. The trick for the ACT is knowing the answers without thinking too long on them. The real way to prep for the ACT is to practice the test timed. The questions might be a bit easier, in theory, or at least, they require less prep work. But the time on the ACT is a real killer.

Which brings me to my next point. 

The ACT is not an easier test than the SAT. The questions are easier.

 You may find on your first few practice tests that you are doing a lot better on the ACT, or that you know more of the answers on the ACT.

Everyone I’ve ever worked with has found that this advantage goes right out the window when you start taking the tests timed.

The ACT throws a lot more questions at you with a lot less time to answer them. You need to know the answer right off the bat, or you’re losing precious time on other questions.

Another interesting thing to consider:

It’s easier to get a perfect (or near perfect) score on the SAT than the ACT.

If you look at the scoring charts for the tests, you may find that it is possible to get an 800 on an SAT section with up to 3 questions wrong. On the ACT? 3 questions wrong is, at the highest, a 34- and it will probably be a 33. A perfect score on the ACT means that you got nothing wrong. A perfect score on the SAT does not.

On this note:

The SAT super scores at almost every school. The ACT is all about your best sitting.

What does this mean?
Basically… if you take the SAT 3 or 4 times, the scores a school will evaluate you on are going to be your highest scores from every test. So if you took the SAT 3 times and got an 600, 650, and 700 on your Critical Reading? They’re going to use that 700, even if its with a math score from a different test day.

The ACT is all about your best composite score, or the average from one sitting.
Even if your best writing score was a 36, if you did better overall on the day you got a 34, that 34 is what they’re going to use.

And finally, the biggest difference:

The ACT has a Science Section

I’m going to be straight with you here… the science section is more of an applied reading and math section. You will need to be a quick and decisive reader to ace this one. You don’t actually need a ton of science knowledge prior to taking the test, because they can’t assume you know anything (for example, I didn’t take physics until college, and there was a physics section on my ACT science… I still did fine).

It is a test of your science reasoning skills. Can you read a graph and a table? Can you make appropriate conclusions based on given information?

This section is really the reason I will say that you must prep for the ACT if you’re planning on taking it. The timing on this section, if not practiced, will murder your score.

These are all factors to consider when you’re deciding which tests to take.

For example:

I prepped for both tests and took the earliest ones in the year (December and January I believe).

 My first ACT came back much stronger than my SAT and I spent the remainder of my test prep focusing on the ACT (especially the science section). I needed to raise my science and math scores, so I started practicing those sections like a madwoman (they offer books of just those sections, if you’re looking for a cheaper way to practice). I took the ACT one more time and raised my math by 4 points and my science by 5. This catapulted my composite score up the 3 points I wanted/needed for my goal.

Without that focus on one test, I never would have gotten those scores.

So, when you’re practicing, know that you should study with the test you want to take in mind.