SAT vs ACT: What’s the Difference?
While preparing for college admissions abroad you might want to know the difference between SAT and ACT. Though both the SAT and ACT scores are accepted by most of the colleges abroad, there are some differences that must be kept in mind while preparing and applying for the colleges and taking the exams.
If one wants to take admission in some particular subject then they can also opt for SAT subject tests. SAT subject tests are available for Literature, History, Mathematics, Sciences and Foreign Languages. The age limit for taking SAT is 19 and there are no restrictions in the number of times one can take SAT. The only criteria to be eligible to appear in SAT is that one should be in high school and interested in applying for undergraduate studies. To prepare well for the exams one should be aware of the syllabus. The SAT syllabus for Mathematics involves problem solving, advanced mathematics, algebra and data analytics. The duration is 80 minutes and score ranges from 200 to 800. The Reading is Sentence Completion, Tests understanding of passages from the US and world Literature, History/Social Studies, and Sciences. The duration is 65 minutes and the score is in the range of 200 to 800. Writing and Language includes questions on expression of ideas and Standard English conventions through passages related to Careers, History/Social Studies, Humanities, and Sciences. Duration is 35 minutes and the score ranges from 200 to 800. Essay writing has duration of 50 minutes and no score are dedicated to this section as this is an optional subject. The exam has total of 154 questions and has 3 hours and 45 minute of duration and 1600 marks.
SAT is more of a language test whereas ACT is more into testing Science and Mathematics:
The vocabulary section in SAT is much tougher than ACT whereas the Mathematics and Science part is much more difficult in ACT. ACT has a part for assessing the reading and reasoning ability of the student whereas SAT mostly tests the vocabulary. If the student is more into language and wants to study language further then he must give SAT. For this, students may need to become more proficient in the English language by practicing exercises and taking tests. There are many websites and courses that enable a student to learn English online with ease, allowing them to become more fluent and confident. And, if the interest of student lies more in Maths and Science then they should opt to give ACT.
The time duration of ACT is lesser than that of SAT:
If you have a hard time concentrating for more than a certain time period, you must consider taking ACT which is of two hours and fifty five minutes of duration instead of SAT which has a duration of three hours and forty five minutes. Also the writing part in ACT is optional whereas it is compulsory in SAT. It again depends on your own sets of ability, your writing skills and your decision whether you want to take up writing or not. If you are more interested in creative writing, you can take up SAT.
ACT is simpler than SAT:
ACT is simpler as it is in the form of content. The SAT is more complex as it tries to test the logical abilities, reasoning abilities and more complex puzzle kind of questions. It is more for students who can solve puzzles well and are interested in learning SAT specific courses to score higher. ACT is much simpler and more of content based, which is very much easier for some students. Again this depends on the students what they choose to do or what they are good in.
There are differences in scorings:
The SAT examination follows a scoring pattern on the scale of six hundred to twenty four hundred, with possibility of scoring two hundred in each of the three sections whereas in case of ACT the scoring scale is from one to thirty six, each of the four sections have the same scale, that is from one to thirty six. Average is taken of the composite score of the four sections. The SAT also consists of negative marking for each wrong answer, with no marking for un-attempted answers. The ACT consists of awarding marks only for the correct answers with no penalty for wrong answers. Try to give as many mock examinations as you can and try to compare the percentile on international level to know in which one you are scoring more.
