Meet The SAT
180 Minutes, 154 Questions, Reading, English, Math (no calculator), Math (calculator)
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Score Range: 400-1600
Meet The ACT
175 Minutes, 215 Questions, English, Math, Reading, Science
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Score Range: 1-36
Learn The Test
3 hours may seem like a long time, however, each section flies by and most questions need to be answered in under one minute in order to finish. The content is relatively simple, though, under the pressure of a time constraint, students may trip over their thoughts. Being able to find the "trick" in a math problem or determining what is important in a reading passage is the key to answering questions quickly.
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Knowing the question types, number of questions, number of passages, and time allotted per section are also vital to a student's success. This information will allow the student to prioritize their thoughts and goals. For example, the ACT reading section contains four passages: one prose fiction, one social science, one humanities, and one natural science. Most of the questions will be pure comprehension and the final questions for each passage will ask the student to interpret the passage as a whole.
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As for practice tests, students should try to emulate testing conditions to the best of their abilities. This means using a #2 pencil, proper time and breaks, a quiet environment with no distractions, and a test-approved calculator.
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Resources: SupertutorTV, ACT Prep Book, Khan Academy
Considering Colleges
Step 1: What Is Test Optional?
Test optional means that a college or university allows applicants to choose whether they want to send their standardized test scores. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more institutions have gone test-optional in order to increase access to their school, though public Florida schools still require test scores. If a student did not score within the school's average test score range, they benefit from withholding their score, especially if they perform well in other categories such as community involvement, GPA, or writing skills.
Step 2: What Is A Superscore?
A superscore is the combination of a student's highest individual section scores on the SAT or ACT. For example, if a student is taking the ACT and receives a 26 (English), 24 (math), 27 (reading), and 25 (science) on their first test and a 28 (English), 26 (math), 29 (reading), and 27 (science) on their second test, then they could send a superscore of 28 as opposed to a composite score of 26.
Step 3: What Is A Good Score?
A "good score" is very subjective and depends on a student's goal. There are some students who settle for a 1250 or a 26, but there are also some that will not be satisfied until they hit the 1500 range or 34-36 range. By looking at the 25th and 75th percentile score distributions for any given school, students can better determine what the school deems to be a "good score." By scoring in this range, a student will have a "commonly accepted" score (given that they also maintain their GPA, extra-curriculars, etc.). This information is readily available on the internet when the school's name is searched.
Step 4: What is Your Post-Secondary Goal?
Do you want to work for NASA, be a top lawyer, or hone in on your artistic skills? Or maybe you don't know exactly what you want to be. There's always room to change your mind, though if you have a general idea of what you do and don't like, the college selection process will be all the easier. If you want to pursue a career STEM, UCF, UF, Embry-Riddle, Penn State, or MIT may be of interest. Geography can also play a role in your college decision. STEM majors may want to go to school near companies whose headquarter is near the school. This could lead to more internship opportunities or project development.
Step 5: How Many?
Remember, quality over quantity. You want your applications to best reflect who you are as a student and as a person. These applications can be extremely lengthy and require dedication and time to complete. Despite the importance of quality, the quantity of each type of school is important to consider. Schools can fall into the categories of "safeties," "targets," or "reaches." These categories are tailored to the student, but, generally, a safety school is a school that you are almost guaranteed to get into, a target school is one where your stats fit into their commonly accepted range, and reach school are ones where your stats don't necessarily fit in their commonly accepted range or they have an extremely low acceptance rate. You should try to balance out the number of each type of school to ensure you will be accepted somewhere.
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Remember, the more colleges you apply to, the longer it will take to finish. This process is very time consuming.
Step 6: Apply!
Now that you know where you want to apply, go over to the Senior section to learn more! Common App opens on August 1st of each year, so this is the earliest a student can apply. All students will apply in their senior year.