The Digital SAT v.s. ACT: which one is better for you?

One of the most common questions we get regarding college admissions is whether taking the Digital SAT or ACT is better. While it would be nice to give you a direct answer, it is really not that simple. Today, we will compare the two testing systems and help you determine which one is better for you.

Evidently, the new Digital SAT is shorter than the SAT. However, you have more time per question on average in the Digital SAT. This means that test takers who are not fast readers may find that the Digital SAT is more?lenient.

Science Section

The ACT Science section in some ways is similar to a Reading section. It only requires minimal scientific knowledge, and mainly tests you on reading comprehension of scientific tests. What does that mean? Well, it means that for slow readers, this is all the more reason to opt to take the SAT. As for those who feel like science is not their strongest suit? It means that you don't have to worry about not knowing "science". Rest assured, you can score highly on the ACT Science section without being into the sciences.

For Those Who are Good at Mathematics

Here is the good news for students who are good at mathematics: on the Digital SAT, the mathematics section is 50% of your total score. This means that you can use it to make up for some points lost on the Reading and Writing Section. If mathematics is one of your strong suits, then go for the SAT. And of course, conversely, if mathematics is a weak area of yours, you may want to opt for the ACT, where the mathematics score is averaged into the rest of your scores. This means that your weaker mathematics score will not have such a great overall impact on your scaled score out of 36.

Improving Your Score

Another thing to note is about the scoring systems. Because the ACT averages the scores for each section to determine your final scaled score, it is more difficult to improve the score. In order to improve your score by 2 points overall, you would need to improve by a total of 8 points (2 per section). However, the SAT adds up the scores from each section, which means that to improve by 300 points, you would only need to improve by a total of 150 points per section.

Computerized ACT v.s. the Adaptive Digital SAT

The computerized ACT test is not adaptive. The Digital SAT is an adaptive test: in the first section (the Reading and Writing), students' performance on the first module will determine difficulty level of the second module. In other words, if students do very well in the first module, they will enter the harder second English module. Students that do not score so highly on the first module will have to take the easier second English module. This adaptivity also applied to the Digital SAT's section section (the Math section).

Some students prefer the familiarity of a non-adaptive (or linear) test such as the ACT. Other students will naturally thrive in an adaptive assessment. Really think about which one plays more to your strengths.

Do Colleges Prefer the Digital SAT or the ACT?

You may have a preference already in your mind, but what is important at the end of the day is still which exam colleges "like" more. Fortunately, this is not something to worry about as all colleges and universities in the United States accept both tests.

Overall Verdict

So how do you pick which one to take? You may not want to hear this...but you never know until you try. The best method is to take a mock exam of each and see which one you perform better on.

#digitalsat #act #standardizedtesting