A lot of parents and students want to know whether it’s better to take the SAT or the ACT, what the differences are, and why they should concentrate on one or the other.

I’m not here to push the SAT. Even though this site is called SAT Success Secrets, almost everything I write applies to both exams, and I tutor kids for both exams as well.

People have their individual preferences, and there are good arguments on both sides.

Today I came across an opinion that I’d never heard before, so I wanted to share it with you.

It’s from www.icollegecounselor.net:

“Here is the big difference: tradition and expectation. Colleges typically expect a student living in the Northeast (or on the West Coast) to be taking the SAT. And when they don’t, it can raise a red flag. It might not, but it could. And the last thing an applicant wants to do is give the admission office a reason to doubt, question, or reject her. So, stick with what is the norm from your high school.”

I’m not a college counselor, so I can’t vouch for their argument. It makes a lot of sense to me, though, and I plan to look into it.

They also go on to say:

“One final thought – if you’re from an area where both are widely used, take a practice test in both early in the process. Unless the ACT is significantly higher, stick with the SAT. Our tutoring experts tell us it is much more difficult to improve your ACT scores.”

Here I agree.

I’ve never heard anyone say it before, and in fact I sometimes hear the opposite. I might not say “much more difficult”, but it is more difficult to improve your ACT scores than it is your SAT scores.

You can read the entire article here.

And you can read more about the substantive differences between the 2 tests here.

I have more to say about this, but it gets a little technical. Let me know if you want me to go into it further.

I hope everyone is having a great summer vacation. I know I am.

I just realized though, that the first SAT of  the fall is October 10, just 8 weeks away. For those of you taking the ACT, the first one is September 12, only 4 weeks away.

That means it’s time to get serious with your preparation, because no matter how good your tutor is and no matter how advanced your study methods, there’s no substitute for time and effort.  

So I’ll be back on Monday with a new design to this site, and you can look forward to a lot of great new content and resources in the weeks to come.

Until then, if you want a good idea of what I’m all about  and how I can help you reach your goals, you can read what former students and their parents have to say about their experience of working with me.

Enjoy the late summer weekend. I’ll be attending the Brown Alumni Association of Southern California send off party for the Class of 2013. Two of my students are going this year, and it always makes me feel proud (and old!) when my students follow in my footsteps.