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SAT or ACT?

What is the difference between the two US tests, in terms of content and difficulty? Is it true that the ACT's math and verbal sections are harder than that of the SAT?
Reply 1
Avatar for dede
dede
11
The biggest difference between them, supposedly, is that the SAT tests your intelligence, while the ACT tests your knowledge. There's a fine line between the two, but.

I got a 2190 on my SAT, but that was only after taking an expensive course that taught me tricks to avoid ETS' tricks. That's basically what the SAT is - tricky. Take a practice one to see what I mean.

I never officially took the ACT - I just took a practice test once, without ever studying for it, and did pretty well. Most people at my school actually find the ACT easier, but that could just be because I go to a good school.
Reply 2
Avatar for bryan
bryan
OP
10
dede
The biggest difference between them, supposedly, is that the SAT tests your intelligence, while the ACT tests your knowledge. There's a fine line between the two, but.

I got a 2190 on my SAT, but that was only after taking an expensive course that taught me tricks to avoid ETS' tricks. That's basically what the SAT is - tricky. Take a practice one to see what I mean.

I never officially took the ACT - I just took a practice test once, without ever studying for it, and did pretty well. Most people at my school actually find the ACT easier, but that could just be because I go to a good school.

Many thanks for your input. Which of the two do u think would a British student find easier? Is the Science reasoning section of the ACT really hard? Cause I have only taken Chemistry and Biology upto GCSE and am not taking any Science A level. Btw, which SAT/ACT prep book would you recommend?
Reply 3
Avatar for dede
dede
11
Umm ... I'm not sure which you would find easier, actually. And I hardly remember the ACT science section, my guess is you could do pretty well on it if you did well with Chem and Bio in your GCSEs.

For SAT books, definitely go with: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0874477182/qid=1136434547/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-5951503-5990308?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

If you want to do extra to study for a certain section, like I did for math, get a book like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037576433X/qid=1136434594/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/104-5951503-5990308?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

For the ACT, probably go with: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375764550/qid=1136434680/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/104-5951503-5990308?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

AVOID books like Barron's. They are only guessing what ETS is actually going to be asking, and, more importantly, how ETS is going to ask it. College Board and Princeton Review are more reliable.

I am tempted to say that you might find the SAT easier, if only because the ACT is based so much on your education, and the British system is so different from the American system.

The only way to tell, really, is to take a test of each and then compare scores. This in and of itself is complicated, but maybe look at the average SAT and ACT scores for a good American university and see where each of your scores fall.

Hope this helps - sorry it's so long and complicated! God knows I've spent way too much time obsessing about this stuff.

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