Why Your Student Should Take BOTH the ACT and the SAT

Wed, Mar 1, 2023 11:30 AM

Many US colleges and universities, who chose to go test optional due to the affects the pandemic had on students not being able to take the tests nationwide, have chosen to remain test optional for the Fall of 2023 and in some cases, beyond. It’s important to remember that not all colleges are waiving having a student submit an ACT or SAT especially when it comes to meeting requirements for top scholarship consideration. There are also certain states (Florida for example) or colleges (MIT) that still require these tests to be submitted for admissions and/or scholarship consideration.

When it comes to your student choosing which test to take, have them do some research into the subject matter covered, the timing, and the overall layout of the ACT versus the SAT. Each test focuses on the different strengths of a student, and there are a lot of content areas that overlap. Remember, colleges do not have a preference on which test your student takes, so submitting a terrific test score to a college that compliments everything else on their application can enhance your son or daughter’s chances of getting accepted or receiving the big money.

To get a good idea of which test your student performs better on, first take a look at how they did on their PSAT. Next, have them take both the ACT and SAT at least once and compare their results. Then have them focus on prepping for and taking the better scoring test multiple times. Every student will eventually hit a ceiling, but the key to being ready for each test they take is practice, practice, practice. Choosing when to send in test results is up to you, but I suggest waiting to submit a final score to colleges until your student reaches what they feel is their highest single composite score. Some colleges will accept a student’s SAT or ACT super-score (average of the best score on each of the 3 or 4 subcategories from multiple tests) so please keep this in mind and check to see what the colleges will allow your student to submit to them. Knowing the rules of the game for each college when it comes to meeting their admissions and scholarship requirements at the beginning can help to take away stress and hopefully prevent nasty surprises down the road.

Want to learn more tips and strategies or need an expert to help your family navigate your way through the college process? Schedule a FREE 15-minute Discovery Zoom Meeting with me TODAY! Be sure to set up your free MyCAP account to run your numbers AND see which colleges give out the most scholarships by going to https://mycap.collegeaidpro.com