SAT or ACT

[severus]

Hey guys. I know, I've been gone a year. Well. Some of that time was spent lurking, at least...

Anyway, I know the basic differences between the SAT and the ACT, but I'm still not sure which I should take. Or if I should take both? I think I'd rather pick one and do it twice.

I'm in the Midwest but plan on going to college on the coast (Pomona or Bowdoin, hopefully). I actually do my homework and everything. My vocabulary is good compared to my peers, but not super-amazing. Grammar IS super-amazing. Critical thinking--I'm INTP, aren't I? And math is okay; mostly I make stupid mistakes and don't have time to go back and fix them. My in-class essays are rather horrible. All of the in-school practice is for the SAT. (Taking the PSAT this Wednesday.)

So which test would you recommend for me, and for INTPs in general? Random advice/comments about standardized tests?

 

[SQ_Minion]

Just take both, neither is that difficult or time-consuming. The most recent time I took the ACT I got a 34, and that was without prior preparation--or even a good night's sleep. If you're going to school on one of the coasts, you'll need the SAT, but the ACT's good to have in case you end up in the Midwest.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Take both, it would be more beneficial. If you are well developed in more than one area take an ACT for each one.

 

[severus]

Just take both, neither is that difficult or time-consuming. The most recent time I took the ACT I got a 34, and that was without prior preparation--or even a good night's sleep. If you're going to school on one of the coasts, you'll need the SAT, but the ACT's good to have in case you end up in the Midwest.

The schools that I'm looking at accept the ACT or SAT. Most of the ones require that, if you do choose SAT, you also submit 2 SAT Subject tests.

edit-
Or did you mean that they implicitly prefer the SAT?

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Oops meant take the SAT and the subject tests.

 

[ApostateAbe]

Hey guys. I know, I've been gone a year. Well. Some of that time was spent lurking, at least...

Anyway, I know the basic differences between the SAT and the ACT, but I'm still not sure which I should take. Or if I should take both? I think I'd rather pick one and do it twice.

I'm in the Midwest but plan on going to college on the coast (Pomona or Bowdoin, hopefully). I actually do my homework and everything. My vocabulary is good compared to my peers, but not super-amazing. Grammar IS super-amazing. Critical thinking--I'm INTP, aren't I? And math is okay; mostly I make stupid mistakes and don't have time to go back and fix them. My in-class essays are rather horrible. All of the in-school practice is for the SAT. (Taking the PSAT this Wednesday.)

So which test would you recommend for me, and for INTPs in general? Random advice/comments about standardized tests?

The universities I have been to required suitably high SAT scores, except for graduate school which required a GRE. I haven't taken the ACT, and I would probably go for the SAT given a choice between the two. If you can practice for the SAT and not the ACT, that should also contribute to the advantage of SAT. Your decision should rest on which test is accepted by the admissions offices that you plan to submit your applications to. SAT seems to be the common standard. If you choose ACT and not SAT, just make sure that ACT is accepted by the colleges.

 

[Farion]

At this point, I think it's mostly personal preference since most schools require either/or. Personally, I prefer the ACT despite having only taken it once and having good scores on both. I don't have any reason in particular for this preference, I just... well, something. There was some difference, and for some reason I liked it better.

From a good critical analysis/INTP perspective, I would recommend the ACT because the science section is basically a pushover if you approach it with the mindset that all of the questions are really easy (which they are). The reason for this (something you should keep in mind on either test) is that while most (really all) of the questions are really easy, they are worded in such a way that they seem really hard, when they're actually not.

The science section requires nearly no knowledge of science, just the ability to interpret data.