Colleges and universities accept either ACT or SAT scores, so students can decide which test best suits their strengths and goals. Since the preparation for one doesn’t fully overlap with the preparation for the other, students should investigate the advantages and disadvantages of both and then chose one.

In a nutshell, the SAT is better for students who are stronger at math and are slow and steady test takers while the ACT rewards students who are stronger at reading and more rapid test takers. If students are unsure which test suits them best, they should take a few practice tests in as close to testing conditions as possible and compare their results (search for ACT/SAT Concordance Chart for the year of the practice test).

Another consideration in the SAT/ACT debate is how schools use the scores they receive. Some colleges, like Harvard, use the “superscore” method for one test (the SAT) but not the other (the ACT). A superscore is the combination of your highest possible scores in different sections from multiple test setting. So, if you took the SAT in October and scored a 600 on the Reading and Writing section and a 700 on the Math section and then took it again in December and scored a 700 on the Reading and Writing section and 600 on the Math section, then although your score on both tests would be 1300, but your superscore would be a 1400.

Superscoring would seem to favor the SAT, but it is not the only consideration. There are some schools, including Cornell, Rice, Stanford, Yale and others, who require students to send all scores on record. If students receive a satisfactory score the first time they test, this is not an
issue. But many students take the test multiple times and some of them plan on applying to schools that require all scores to be sent. If this is true, those students would be better served by the ACT than the SAT. The ACT is the only test that allows students to delete their test scores after they have gotten the scores back.

Thus, choosing between the SAT and ACT is an important, but possibly difficult, decision. Students must honestly assess their own strengths and test-taking style, take a few practice tests, and do some research to find out about the testing policies of the colleges or universities to
which they might apply.