Should I take the SAT or ACT or Both?
SAT
Talk to ExpertDo colleges prefer ACT or SAT? Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT are two of the most widely accepted scores across top universities/ colleges in the United States of America and Canada. A lot of colleges/ universities belonging to other top study abroad destinations such as the UK and Australia accept ACT and SAT scores during the admission process. It is important for students to check the college/university requirement before applying for the exam.
Today, we are going to talk about students that opt for both ACT and SAT exams. There could be several reasons for students to opt for both ACT and SAT. Some of the major reasons that can be attributed to students opting for both the tests are elucidated below
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- Students opting for both SAT and ACT scores will have more options to choose from as compared to students who have appeared for either of the exams. The possibility of having more options would definitely make the student feel less stressed and more confident about the admission process. Hence, appearing for both the SAT and ACT allows students to have more university options to choose from. Candidates looking for SAT Preparation or ACT Preparation can check out our respective pages.
- A lot of times colleges/universities may require students to appear for their SAT exam as well as appear for SAT Subject Tests to strengthen their application process. Often, the ACT score of the candidate can substitute the poor performance (if any) of a candidate in his SAT Subject Test. This way the candidate is not required to appear for his SAT subject Test again. He can simply show his ACT Scores to substantially increase his composite average score.
- Many times, students are unable to achieve their desired SAT or ACT Score and are required to appear multiple times to get their application process eligible to their college of choice. Hence, taking both SAT and ACT will make you well informed about the tests and allow you to choose the exam that displays your strength and works towards increasing your scores.
- Once students have successfully appeared for the exam, their scores are sent to the colleges/universities of their choice as per the admission process. Candidates who would have appeared for both SAT and ACT through their scores are able to provide more information about their application process to the admission cell. There are a lot of colleges that have actually selected a large percentage of students who have appeared for both their SAT and ACT as they are more confident about those students.
- Students who have appeared for both the exams are eligible to apply for scholarships based on their SAT and ACT scores. There are a lot of scholarships available for students who have scored well in their SAT or/and ACT scores. Hence, appearing for both the SAT and ACT will only allow the candidate to be eligible for many more merit-based scholarships that are available for students to help them with their finances.
Q: Is SAT easy for Indian students?
For Indian students SAT may or may not be difficult, totally depends on the applicant and his or her preparation. Since SAT exam is designed for high school students based on their previous knowledge it shouldn't be difficult for Indian students on the whole. There may be a difference in subject combinations in senior secondary school level which may directly affect the student's performance in SAT, for example those who opted for non-Maths subjects may be disadvantaged for the Maths section. Thus, the base is the same for SAT exam sections for Indian students based on their high school. So, they would not have a lot have major difficulties in preparing for the exam.
Q: Can Indian students prepare SAT exam syllabus at home without tuitions?
Yes, it is possible to prepare for SAT syllabus at home nd without any tuitions. Since SAT syllabus is huge, there's a lot of SAT prep material available online through which you can study and prepare on your own. However, this is not everyone's cup of tea, so, it is better to understand the SAT format and then decide whether you need coaching to clear SAT or not. Tips to prepare for SAT syllabus at home are as follows:
- Be thorough with the SAT syllabus
- Work on your grammar
- Start reading non-fiction apart from the school text
- Work on your vocabulary
- Work on mental math
- Practice and practice
- Understand your weak points and work on them
- Attempt mocks
Q: What is a SAT score?
Q: How many hours would require to cover SAT syllabus?
Check when you are going to take the SAT test. The SAT syllabus is vast hence it cannot be covered in a couple of hours. If you have a good amount of time say six months then you need to give fewer hours daily, on the other hand, if you have less amount of time for SAT test then you need to study more hours. Go through the SAT syllabus and understand how much it will take you to cover each and every topic and prepare a study plan accordingly. Thus, this completely depends on the applicant and how he/she wishes to cover the SAT exam syllabus.
Q: How many times can you take the SAT exam?
As in the case of the SAT, there are no restrictions set by the College Board, students can take the SAT exam as many times as they want. SAT is administered seven times a year in India. The test is usually conducted in March, May, June, August, October, November and December.
However, it is recommended that applicants appear for SAT twice - in Spring and one before Fall. This is because the highest SAT scores among the two will be considered by universities for admission. Since in a lot of cases, SAT scores improve in the second time, it is recommended to take the SAT exam twice.
Q: How difficult is the SAT?
The difficulty level of SAT depends on the student's preparation and background of academia. Though SAT exam is designed based on student's high school knowledge hence, those who have prepared well keeping the syllabus in mind and with ample practice may find the SAT exam easy. The level of SAT difficulty may vary person to person and ofcourse based on the level of understanding and preparation also. While a million students appear for SAT exam, only 25,000 get through it.
Q: How do I prepare for SAT exam to clear the cut-off for the top 10 universities globally?
There is no set rule which applies when it comes to preparing for SAT exam based on the given cutoff by a specific university. Applicants can check their knowledge by first attempting a mock test and then begin their SAT preparation. Based on each section's performance applicants can set targets for certain topics and attempt them as and when they progress with their SAT exam syllabus. This way strong areas will get stronger and weak areas will also get some attention. Also attempting mocks before appearing for the main exam is also a must. This way applicants will either fall in the SAT cut off as published by the university or they can appear for the exam once more if at all required.
Q: Is SAT Digital an adaptive test?
With the introduction of SAT Digital, the SAT exam has also become an adaptive test. This means that when the applicant attempts the very first module (irrespective of the section - RW or Math) the test functionality determines the difficulty level of the second module. Thus, the questions that will be tested on the second module will be based on how the applicants answered the questions on the first module. This, in turn, factors in an accurate assessment of the applicant's performance. Since the difficulty of questions on SAT change based on the first module, however, the overall SAT exam syllabus for testing the applicants remains the same.
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