Let’s list some of the basic reasons first. The ACT:

• No score curve
• Accepted everywhere the SAT is accepted
•Prep time is half that of the SAT
• Smaller set of skills tested
• STEM Readiness Test
• Increased scholarship opportunities
• Non-subjective questions
• Most students will have covered all ACT subjects by their junior year
• More emphasis on analyzation and critical thinking skills
• It’s actually way more fun…

A few years ago, I had a student whose dream school was Columbia. She was plenty qualified to get in, she just needed to improve her SAT score a bit. And she did. She got near a perfect SAT score, according to how many questions she got correct. However, come test result day, her score was over 200 points below what it should’ve been, thus keeping her out Columbia’s qualification standard. This is called score curving. The SAT claims it doesn’t do this, and instead calls it score “Equating.” If this sounds ridiculous and unfair, well, that’s because it just is. Need I mention their history of recent corruption? However, some students do prefer it. So I will gladly help them do their best on it.

Did I just call it fun? Yes. I did. The ACT tests your critical thinking skills, while the SAT essentially questions your memory. You’ll find alot of the opposite of this statement on sites like College Board, but I urge you to view the two tests yourself! If you don’t remember a formula on the ACT, there’s a pretty good chance you can work around having to use it. Which is exactly what I try to show students. As I always say, these tests are about getting the right answers, not following the rules.

The ACT does test a larger amount of skills than the SAT, but a shorter range of them. You won’t be needing much of your Pre-calc/Calc knowledge on it. Since it’s graded on a smaller number scale, and since it tests a smaller range of skills, the prep time is nearly half that of the SAT. Most students see a much greater and faster increase.

The ACT is MUCH more fast-paced than the SAT. But, the reasoning is that the questions are easier, as you’ve prepped for what you KNOW will be on there. Essentially, it’s a test you can prepare for better than its opposition.

No. I am not paid to promote the ACT (I wish). I would say about 90% of the students I’ve had over the years adapt much more quickly to the questions asked by the ACT. But, don’t take my word for it, schedule a diagnostic test and see for yourself!

Absolutely Not.

No seriously. While the two tests, at a distance are very similar, once you get into preparing to take them individually, they become very different. Both in terms of the type questions asked, and thACT vs SAT e way they’re asked to you. While the ACT may get you to use a more logical approach to a math concept, the SAT may have you recall specific steps to solve it. Where the ACT may focus more on mechanics, the SAT will focus more on context.

Furthermore (that word will be tested on both), there is no added benefit to taking both. You can’t submit both. Nor should you if they aren’t exactly comparable. Thus, it’s a nonsensical question to ask. But one that parents ask FREQUENTLY. Whichever one you choose to go with, I highly recommend sticking with it. If you’re completely unfamiliar with both, it may be beneficial in the long run to take a diagnostic test for both (though I highly recommend the ACT either way).

While we could quickly run through the basics for each subject, it won’t exactly increase their score come test time. Proven time and time again is the need for repetition with standardized testing. Most students have already forgotten the easier Math and English concepts on the tests, and most likely will have to do several hours of learned repetition to master them. Then comes the more advanced questions which require them learning to apply the skills they’ve now retained, but in more time-consuming problems. So while it may seems like overkill, 100 hours to increase a below average score, is really quite common, and necessary if you want to get your score to where it needs to be.

In a general sense, every 1 point increase on the ACT is worth about 10 hours of tutoring. Likewise, the same time would net you around 50-60 points on the SAT. Of course, depending on your student. Some increase faster, and some slower.

In short, you shouldn’t realistically expect to study over the weekend for something that tests as in-depth, and has the weight of the ACT and SAT.

1. The entire point is to sell yourself to your college of choice. So many students will put minimal effort in, or downplay their achievements, or admit to being poor students. You very well may be, but you definitely shouldn’t be telling your future school that.

2. Someone has to sit and read these. And ALOT of them. Imagine you had the job of reading high school senior essays all day every day. Imagine how tiresome it would become reading about how another student overcame getting a D in Chemistry. Then you start reading an essay about how someone took a trip to Iceland, or learned how to juggle fireballs, or posed some insightful question. These would almost automatically stick in this person’s memory, giving you an edge over your “I got a D once peers.” Be interesting.

3. Don’t Lie. If you don’t have anything interesting that happened to you, don’t worry. This is where you have the chance to get creative. Everyone has experienced SOMETHING, right? A feeling, a memory, a smell. This college essay is widely considered one of the greatest ever, and it’s about a trip to…Costco. Really it’s pretty fantastic. If you have no crazy experiences to speak of, just be genuine, and tell us a story from a place of emotion. People love stories.

4. Lead with the interesting. I can’t teach you the techniques of grabbing an audience in this blog post, but I can tell you that people lose interest VERY quickly. You probably already have. However, you college essays are important, so pay attention. MAKE them pay attention. Draw them in immediately. Imagine someone reading your essay. Are they bored? Perhaps it’s time to rethink your strategy then.

5. Get over rewriting. You’re going to have to do it. You aren’t Mark Twain. And even he probably rewrote things. Treat your college essays as long-term projects from the start, so you’re prepared for the inevitable rewrites.

6. You won’t just be writing one. Nearly every school require several essays. Some long, some short answers. In addition to your Common App and Coalition essays. When brainstorming, start considering multiple ideas and save them. Also, prepare to write a short and long version of the same essays, for your different purposes. No sense in writing a different prompt for every school, unless they’re asking for school specific prompts.

7. This isn’t a middle school essay. You shouldn’t be writing things like “This is why I would make a good fit for your school.” In fact, never state that you’re trying to persuade them. That’s non-persuasive 101.

8. Get multiple opinions. You don’t necessarily have to listen to all of their feedback. But sometimes, you do glance over the obvious small things once you’ve gone deep into writing. A misplaced comma, a weirdly phrased sentence, could make all the difference. And you parents, believe it or not, may actually have some insight. Learn to take advice.

9. Read it out loud. If it doesn’t bore you to read it out loud, you’ve done well! You know when classmates have to read their report in front of everyone, and most students just tune out, and go on their phones to avoid the awkwardness? Don’t be like that student. GRAB THEM. Their attention. Don’t grab the students.

10. End it on a high note. You’re a wonderful student and you’ve come SO far. You’re so close, don’t give up right at the end. See what I did there? Your intention is to leave a lasting impression. if you start out interesting, and then bore them halfway through, they won’t remember your epic intro. Both parts are equally important.

Well, of course that depends on you and your reading skills.

In general, I try to encourage my students to think outdside the box, within the confines of the ACT itself. If you’re stuck on a problem, move on. If you need to know what happens in line 53 of a story, why are you reading the whole passage? Your time is short, and every question is worth the same amount of point.s In fact, some questions are deliberately written to slow you down. How do you know which ones to look out for? Well, by practicing of course :D

Back on topic though, for those of you like me, who don’t particularly enjoy reading, I highly encourage reading and getting a summary of the questions asked, and working through them in your own order. usually, once you knock out all of your line-specific questions, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what the story is about and what you need to gather from that point. The point of the ACT isn’t to remember any story you read, it’s to get the questions right. Start practicing for the test itself, and not what you’re used to doing in school!

1. EAT BREAKFAST. This may seem like an eye-rollingly dumb thing to start this list out with. But imagine prepping for months only to be tired and hungry on test day and not be able use your brain to recall everything you learned. Sometimes the easiest, most obvious things cause our biggest problems. Protein.

2. SLEEP. Don’t stay out all night partying, and definitely don’t try to cram information the night before. Going in with a stress free attitude will make a WORLD of difference. Would you rather test knowing you got this? Or scared and nervous and overthinking everything?

3. Arrive early. Most people just do not do well with new places. Even if it’s in a familiar place, there’s going to be some kind of new structure you’ll have to adapt to that day. The less stress you have before testing, the better you’ll do.

4. Stop racing other students. So many students tell me they get anxiety because other students are flipping pages faster than them. That doesn’t mean those people are getting everything correct. And even if they are, so what? Worry about yourself. No one else is paying attention to your speed, I promise.

5. You don’t have to go in order. If you see a problem that’s less stressful, go for that one first. Just be absolutely sure bubble in the right number. There’s no rule that says you can’t do question 3 before question 13. Get a high score, don’t worry about rules.

6. If you get stuck, move on. Every problem is worth the same amount of points. You may feel a great sense of satisfaction getting a question right after 30 minutes of working on it. But then you’ve missed 30 other questions. Good job. Let go of ego.

7. Bubble in at the end. Looking for a solution to skipping around, and don’t think you can keep the silly bubbles straight? Circle everything in your packet as you go, and at the end, go and bubble everything in. This should only take a minute or so. If you’re really stressed about it, it’s a viable strategy.

8. Eliminate wrong answers. Stress can impact our memory come test day. You may not immediately know what or why the answer is what it is. But, you can always eliminate what’s obviously not correct. From there, it may become a little more obvious what the question is looking for.

9. STOP LOOKING AT PREVIOUS ANSWERS. This is the second most common problem students complain about. “The last three answers were all C, the next one can’t possibly be.” Except it absolutely can be. That is something our brain tells us, but has no actual bearing in standardized tests. If I were creating the ACT, I would make every answer C just to see if students actually try each problem correctly.

10. Read. The. Question. The absolute, undisputed number one reason students get anything wrong ever is because they did not read the question properly. You may think you did, but you didn’t. And you can bet they’ll put answers they EXPECT you to get as bait answers. Read every word, start to finish. And when you get an answer, read it again. Is is 205 OFF of a price, or 20% OF a price?