ACT and SAT
Well, a new era has arrived in College Admissions Testing! It seems that every few years the testing world is turned on its head. The newest entry into this world? ACT – but with a few changes that are notable. The Science section and the Essay are no longer mandatory. This is good news for many students who struggled in the past with these sections. The composite score will now be made up of English (grammar, punctuation), Reading, and Math. If students choose to take the other sections, those scores will be scored independently and wont be part of the composite score. Whether students will have the choice in the future to withhold the science or essay score is up for debate.
As far as the SAT is concerned, there is a lot of nuance to understand about how the sections are determined that you will take. We suggest that you spend some time on the College Board site to learn about the approach being used.
GOAL SCORE
Let’s begin with trying to figure out what your goal is for your score. How do we know? Well, that’s a little complicated. Let’s start with schools that might be of interest to you. Go on to their websites – look at the statistical data for last year’s incoming class.
Depending on what your goal is, the test you take could change. Unfortunately, many schools look at the composite score, not the individual scores. So that could hurt you if your score on one of the sections is significantly lower than that of the others. I know that doesn’t seem fair…I agree! But, I don’t make the rules for how a committee reviews applications. You might want to give a call to your admissions rep and get clarification of how the scores are viewed at a particular school that interests you.
There is a lot of free practice available both through the College Board and ACT. We suggest that you work through the question types to determine which is the better fit for you. We are happy to help you in the decision!
-Barbara Kalmus