Raising SAT or ACT

[JCain18]

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SAT score 1730
ACT composite 25

In order to get this scholarship, I need either a 27 on the ACT or an 1800 on the SAT. Would it be easier to get 70 more points on the SAT or 2 more points on the ACT?


[UPDATE] I just got my new scores back.

SAT
CR 630
M 650
W 660
=1940

ACT
E 31
M 27
R 30
S 29
=29

Thanks guys!

 

[kudie]

You could try a couple practice tests for either SAT or ACT. I raised my SAT score 70 points after 2 practice tests.

 

[brennon272]

Hello, Im a Senior in high school and took the SAT once and the ACT 4 times. The first test i took was the ACT at the end of my junior year, i scored a 27 first try with no studying. Then i took the summer off and took the ACT a second time in August and received a 29 (these are all composite scores by the way, im not superscoring) then my parents suggested the SAT, i took it in November and got got a 1880 and decided that it wasnt for me. Then i took a 4 week ACT Prep course at my local tutoring chain (C2 education, not sure if they are across the nation or solely located in GA.) My final ACT I took in December I scored a 34 Composite. For my studying guides i bought the giant red ACT book, its the only study book produced by ACT for the ACT, i reviewed 2-3 nights a week a month leading up to each exam, however if you need quick results and have $ i would highly advise the tutoring for SAT/ACT/ Personally, (not looking at the fine details of the scholarship) I would say for your case id try the extra two points on the ACT because two points (in each category is about 2-3 questions if i recall) its also important to note how many areas you lack in, if your strong in 3 but low in 1 on the ACT or if all your scores are around the 27 ballpark should be relative in your decision.

 

[Stagg737]

As a tutor I'd say it's easier to teach kids for the ACT than the SAT. Guessing wrong or making a dumb mistake on the SAT means you lose points, on the ACT it just means you don't get the points. What were your breakdowns for the individual sections of each test? That would be helpful to give you the best advice.

 

[Roosevelt32]

As a tutor I'd say it's easier to teach kids for the ACT than the SAT. Guessing wrong or making a dumb mistake on the SAT means you lose points, on the ACT it just means you don't get the points. What were your breakdowns for the individual sections of each test? That would be helpful to give you the best advice.

Dr. Zoidberg

 

[JCain18]

As a tutor I'd say it's easier to teach kids for the ACT than the SAT. Guessing wrong or making a dumb mistake on the SAT means you lose points, on the ACT it just means you don't get the points. What were your breakdowns for the individual sections of each test? That would be helpful to give you the best advice.

SAT Math: 550
SAT Reading: 590
SAT Writing: 590

ACT English: 30
ACT Reading: 29
ACT Science: 23
ACT Math: 19

 

[Stagg737]

Dr. Zoidberg

Yes?

SAT Math: 550
SAT Reading: 590
SAT Writing: 590

ACT English: 30
ACT Reading: 29
ACT Science: 23
ACT Math: 19

I'd go with your ACT for sure. Take some practice tests and make sure you can consistently hit around a 29-30 on reading and English. If so, then pulling up a 19 in math shouldn't be too difficult. Find a tutor, even if it's just another student at your school and bust your butt on math and science (especially math). I know my school had students that would tutor during the lunch hour for free. I would also take practice tests. My first ACT practice test was a 26. After 4-5 practice tests I hit a 33 and 34 on the real thing, and getting a feel for the test helped immensely. Put in a really solid 2-3 hours a week for 2 months or so and I think you should be able to improve 2 points on it pretty easily.

 

[Dreamstoo]

As a tutor I'd say it's easier to teach kids for the ACT than the SAT. Guessing wrong or making a dumb mistake on the SAT means you lose points, on the ACT it just means you don't get the points. What were your breakdowns for the individual sections of each test? That would be helpful to give you the best advice.

Agreed. Also I know someone who scored a 35 on the ACT and couldn't break a 2000 on the SAT.

I got a 30+ ACT score and somewhere between a 1900-2000 I think (It's been at least 4 years since I took both tests).

 

[Jepstein30]

As a tutor I'd say it's easier to teach kids for the ACT than the SAT. Guessing wrong or making a dumb mistake on the SAT means you lose points, on the ACT it just means you don't get the points. What were your breakdowns for the individual sections of each test? That would be helpful to give you the best advice.

Interesting. In my experiences with tutoring for the ACT/SAT, I've found that students LIKE the ACT better (as in, it feels like a better test) but IMO, the SAT is easier to teach. It's a little more standardized, the sections being shorter really helps and I personally like the style of questions in the reading comprehension better. The ACT science section is awesome for many people though.. and I do like many of the things the ACT does to make taking the test smooth.. but overall, the SAT feels like more of a strategy-based test than the ACT.. and it's easier to teach strategy than content in most cases.

I typically leave the choice up to clients and usually advise them purely based on their backgrounds (math usually being the biggest reason to take one over the other). Between that and previous test scores, there's really no bad option. Most important is to pick one and stick to it. The grass will seem greener, etc. but you're only going to hurt yourself if you spread your resources/time thin. End of the day, there's very few people who would score drastically different (relatively) between the two exams.

SAT Math: 550
SAT Reading: 590
SAT Writing: 590

ACT English: 30
ACT Reading: 29
ACT Science: 23
ACT Math: 19

What is your feeling regarding the two different math sections? Both could obviously use improvement and would be the primary way to raise your score (math usually is until you get into the 600s). On the one hand, ACT Math is lower and has more room for improvement. On the other hand, ACT math covers some trickier material and is a harder overall section than its SAT counterpart (lots of this due to it being one long section).

ACT Science also could be an easy target for some quick improvement. That's a section that you will do better in the more you practice because there's absolutely no content.. it's all getting familiar with the type of questions asked and the analysis required.

My gut says you should stick with the ACT because your English/Reading scores are pacing better there than on the SAT but it's also just one test. Do you have any other scores to compare to?

 

[Stagg737]

Interesting. In my experiences with tutoring for the ACT/SAT, I've found that students LIKE the ACT better (as in, it feels like a better test) but IMO, the SAT is easier to teach. It's a little more standardized, the sections being shorter really helps and I personally like the style of questions in the reading comprehension better. The ACT science section is awesome for many people though.. and I do like many of the things the ACT does to make taking the test smooth.. but overall, the SAT feels like more of a strategy-based test than the ACT.. and it's easier to teach strategy than content in most cases.

I typically leave the choice up to clients and usually advise them purely based on their backgrounds (math usually being the biggest reason to take one over the other). Between that and previous test scores, there's really no bad option. Most important is to pick one and stick to it. The grass will seem greener, etc. but you're only going to hurt yourself if you spread your resources/time thin. End of the day, there's very few people who would score drastically different (relatively) between the two exams.

My gut says you should stick with the ACT because your English/Reading scores are pacing better there than on the SAT but it's also just one test. Do you have any other scores to compare to?

Absolutely agree with the bold. In OP's case though, there's some pretty major disparity between the ACT (19 in Math vs. 29/30 in english/reading) sections while there is little disparity in the SAT sections (only 40 points). That tells me OP probably doesn't have a major problem with the strategy of test taking, but rather with the material which is harder on ACT math.

ACT science is just critical thinking, so with some very basic help with taking the right steps in logic and some practice tests, I think OP could bump that up to a 25-26 pretty easily. The math is tougher, but I would suggest seeing a tutor and making sure that the basic stuff is solid through geometry. Strong enough so OP is only missing 1 or maybe 2 questions on material of that level and easier. Then focus on trying to improve on the hard stuff like trig and pre-calc. The other thing is that math can be the toughest or easiest to guess on. Either the answers will all be completely random numbers and one must simply do it right to come to the answer or the options will be related (ex. -3, -1, 0, 1, 3) and OP can narrow it down pretty easily. Since OP only got a 19 there, I would think that he probably guessed on a good number of them, so the ACT would probably favor that since he won't lose points for guessing wrong.

I agree that he should pick one test and just focus on that one. I also think the ACT is the better option here as there seems to be more room for improvement in the math and science sections, but that's just what I would do.

 

[Jepstein30]

Absolutely agree with the bold. In OP's case though, there's some pretty major disparity between the ACT (19 in Math vs. 29/30 in english/reading) sections while there is little disparity in the SAT sections (only 40 points). That tells me OP probably doesn't have a major problem with the strategy of test taking, but rather with the material which is harder on ACT math.

ACT science is just critical thinking, so with some very basic help with taking the right steps in logic and some practice tests, I think OP could bump that up to a 25-26 pretty easily. The math is tougher, but I would suggest seeing a tutor and making sure that the basic stuff is solid through geometry. Strong enough so OP is only missing 1 or maybe 2 questions on material of that level and easier. Then focus on trying to improve on the hard stuff like trig and pre-calc. The other thing is that math can be the toughest or easiest to guess on. Either the answers will all be completely random numbers and one must simply do it right to come to the answer or the options will be related (ex. -3, -1, 0, 1, 3) and OP can narrow it down pretty easily. Since OP only got a 19 there, I would think that he probably guessed on a good number of them, so the ACT would probably favor that since he won't lose points for guessing wrong.

I agree that he should pick one test and just focus on that one. I also think the ACT is the better option here as there seems to be more room for improvement in the math and science sections, but that's just what I would do.

Yea, I agree with you here. More 'easy' room for improvement (at least based on this one test score presented) for the ACT. I was just curious about your opinion because you said you found it easier to teach for the ACT while I drastically prefer the SAT myself. Most of is because it's a strategy-based test vs. the ACT being a little bit more content-heavy but I'm sure it's just our different experiences. The more I work with both tests, the more they basically become the same thing with very slight/negligible nuances in the long-run.

I don't ever really factor in the losing points for guessing wrong thing because it's hard to really evaluate that effect. It's one of those things that sounds really good but does it really matter that much? The test is assuredly well-designed (# of questions) so that a lucky guesser doesn't make out with an elite score.. and in many ways, being able to guess can be a disadvantage. It's always the first thing that gets brought up in the conversation about which to take.. part of what makes the ACT feel like a nicer test, I guess.

 

[Stagg737]

Yea, I agree with you here. More 'easy' room for improvement (at least based on this one test score presented) for the ACT. I was just curious about your opinion because you said you found it easier to teach for the ACT while I drastically prefer the SAT myself. Most of is because it's a strategy-based test vs. the ACT being a little bit more content-heavy but I'm sure it's just our different experiences. The more I work with both tests, the more they basically become the same thing with very slight/negligible nuances in the long-run.

I don't ever really factor in the losing points for guessing wrong thing because it's hard to really evaluate that effect. It's one of those things that sounds really good but does it really matter that much? The test is assuredly well-designed (# of questions) so that a lucky guesser doesn't make out with an elite score.. and in many ways, being able to guess can be a disadvantage. It's always the first thing that gets brought up in the conversation about which to take.. part of what makes the ACT feel like a nicer test, I guess.

Yea, I liked teaching the ACT better because students were never stressed out about the whole 'losing points' for guessing thing. Even if it's small, it was just one more unnecessary stressor. I also actually liked teaching for the longer sections better because you know exactly what order the test will be coming in. With the SAT it was variable, so you could get 3 math sections in a row (like I did) or have it all jumbled up. I felt like the ACT was easier to teach to the test while the SAT required more flexibility on the students part, which imo is much harder to teach and learn than just content or strategy.

 

[gannicus89]

I found the ACT to be more challenging to be honest. I think it would be easier to get the 70 points on the SAT.

 

[SweetBurger]

I currently have a very strange sat breakdown. Do you guys know where i can find strategies on improving verbal and critical reading sections?

Sorry for replying in a 2 month old thread.

 

[JCain18]

I currently have a very strange sat breakdown. Do you guys know where i can find strategies on improving verbal and critical reading sections?

Sorry for replying in a 2 month old thread.

I used the College Board's big study book. You can take the practice tests and find answer explanations on youtube or other websites.