ACT vs. SAT: Which test is best and who needs to take one p1 - Military - Education Strategies and Tips - Military Times EDGE

1. The best college entrance exam(s) to take is/are:

(A) The ACT

(B) The SAT

(C) Both the ACT and the SAT

(D) Neither the ACT nor the SAT

(E) Any of the above, depending on your goals

Give yourself a point if you answered “E.” There’s no one right answer to the question of which college entrance exam is best for all students, according to our experts. But with a little research and self-examination of goals, the most important student — you — can determine which test will put you one step closer to realizing your dream of earning a college degree.

Choosing which test

Situations in which a prospective student would have to take both the SAT and ACT are rare, education experts said.

“The only time I would say take both of them is if you have all the time and money in the world and you are totally undecided as to where to go to school,” said Julia O’Dell, associate director of the Veterans Upward Bound program at the University of Kansas.

Because you may not need to take a college entrance exam at all, it’s wise to narrow down your list of potential schools to figure out what’s really required.

“Many colleges do require one or the other [SAT or ACT] as part of admissions requirements,” said Shelley Caywood, education services specialist at Fort Myer, Va. “Some will require either — some neither.”

Settle on a short list of schools that meet your needs and desires, and consider such factors as desired major, geographic location and cost. Call each school’s admissions office, look at current school catalogs or visit Web sites to determine all the requirements, including entrance exams.

Doing this little bit of homework can go a long way in helping you decide which test — if any — you should take.

“You definitely want to look carefully,” Caywood said. “There is more than SAT or ACT. There is SAT with written exam. Some schools require SAT subject tests.”

Who has to take one

Some good news for those who sweat the mere thought of standardized testing: More and more colleges are waiving test requirements for adult learners.

“It’s a little more challenging to fit those tests into a scenario for an adult returning to school,” O’Dell said. Instead, some schools — such as certain online colleges that cater to nontraditional students — are looking at adult students from a more holistic standpoint, using other methods, such as work experience, to determine admission.

“Community colleges are the ones most likely to allow admissions without taking the SAT or ACT,” O’Dell said. “It’s the traditional four-year universities and private schools that have been a bit slower to change.”

It’s rare for schools that do require an entrance exam to give students a choice of which to take, O’Dell said. But if you do get to choose, the experts advise weighing carefully which test best suits your learning and testing style.

The ACT is content-based, while the SAT tests critical thinking and problem-solving, said Nick Pantelides, a 1974 Naval Academy grad, former Naval Academy admissions officer and senior college consultant at Vienna, Va.-based AdmissionsConsultants.

Prepping for your exam

It’s important to prepare, but it’s not necessary to spend money on expensive test-prep courses, the experts said.

“Spending hundreds of dollars on test preparation does not always guarantee success,” Pantelides said. But, he added, the more familiar you are with the kinds of questions you’ll encounter, the better your chances.

Both tests measure knowledge and skills learned in high school, and SAT research shows that for that exam, scores decline the further test-takers get from high school.

All the more reason to study, Pantelides said.

Community libraries offer the latest test-prep books — along with a lot of prior-year volumes — brimming with strategies, sample questions and practice tests, Caywood said.

Take your test for free

Neither the ACT nor the SAT is cheap — especially for the many students who take one test or both repeatedly while trying to raise their scores. The basic SAT Reasoning Test is $45; the basic ACT is $31. Take the ACT Plus Writing or one of the SAT subject tests, and your costs go up.

But money should not deter you from taking a test, Pantelides said. “There are ways to get it done.”

DANTES — Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support — pays for eligible service members to take either the ACT or SAT one time at a DANTES Test Center, and the GI Bill will reimburse test-takers in some cases.

Weigh the following facts to help decide which entrance exam is right for you:

ACT

Official name: ACT.

What it measures: Students’ mastery of high school English, mathematics, reading and science.

Average score out of 36: 21.1

Breakdown of questions: English: 75; math: 60; reading: 40; science: 40.

Duration: Two hours, 55 minutes, not counting instructions and breaks. The optional writing portion adds 30 minutes of testing.

Upcoming test dates: Feb. 7 (except in New York), April 4.

Cost: $31 for the basic test, $46 if you add the writing portion.

Subject tests: The optional writing test measures students’ ability to plan and write a short essay.

SAT

Official name: SAT Reasoning Test.

What it measures: Knowledge and analytical skills in critical reading, mathematics and writing.

Average scores on a 200-800 scale: Critical reading: 502; math: 515; writing: 494.

Breakdown of questions: Critical reading: 70; math: 70; writing: 35; and a 25-minute essay portion.

Duration: Three hours, 45 minutes, not counting instructions and breaks.

Upcoming test dates: Jan. 24, March 14.

Cost: $45.

Subject tests: The College Board offers 20 SAT Subject Tests in English literature, history and social studies, math, science and languages in addition to the SAT Reasoning Test. SAT Subject Tests are only offered on certain national test dates and cost extra.

(Originally published Nov. 3, 2008)