The ACT or SAT?

A good score on the SAT or ACT is important, not just for admission to the right college, but for scholarships to those colleges as well. Awards are available to students who achieve high scores, and it varies from state to state and college to college.

For instance, Florida Bright Futures offers full tuition scholarships to Florida residents, called the Florida Academic Scholars award, to students who score at least 1340 for Reading and Math combined on the SAT, or a 29 composite score on the ACT, in addition to other requirements. Another scholarship, the Florida Medallion Scholars award, offers a partial tuition scholarship to students who score 1210 for Math and Reading combined on the SAT, or a 25 composite score on the ACT, also in addition to other requirements. For more information about these Florida scholarships, please feel free to click here.

In light of these merit-based awards, preparing for the SAT or ACT is an important investment in your child’s future. Even when applying to colleges that no longer require standardized testing, students who choose to include a high score on the SAT or ACT will certainly boost their application in the eyes of admissions officers. Lareau Learning recommends students begin studying for the SAT or ACT about two months in advance. Here is an example of a typical* course:

• Session 1: Diagnostic Test Review**
• Session 2: Math Strategies
• Session 3: Reading Strategies
• Session 4: Writing Strategies/Science Strategies (Science for ACT only)
• Session 5: Practice Test 1 Review**
• Session 6: Reinforce Math
• Session 7: Reinforce Reading/Writing/Science
• Session 8: Practice Test 2 and Final Review**

*Variations in course structure depend on the needs of the student.
**A full-length SAT must be completed prior to meeting. Each Session is one to two hours long, as per each student’s individualized study plan.

So which test should a student take?

It is generally recommended that students take both exams to see where they score higher in national percentile rankings. Both exams are widely accepted at all colleges across the country. One main difference between the exams is the ACT contains a Science section, while the SAT incorporates scientific graphs into the Reading and Math sections.