Is college an aspect of your educational plan or is it not something you considered? Approaching the time to fill out college applications could be a stressful time for most students, especially since the SAT and ACT exams need to be taken in the spring of your junior year. Universities are able to see the knowledge students have and what strategies they utilize to solve different types of problems. The two exams are a bit different, but they both measure the material that was taught all throughout the student’s high school career.

The SAT is a 3 hour test, with an optional 50 minute essay, that is composed of four sections. The first part of the exam is critical reading – 52 questions in 65 minutes. The next section is the writing and language – 44 questions in 35 minutes. Following is the mathematics without a calculator portion – 20 questions in 25 minutes. Lastly is the math section with the use of a calculator – 38 questions in 55 minutes. The SAT is a scaled exam with a maximum score of 800 for mathematics and up to 800 points for the English; The minimum score is about a 200. The final score is out of 1600 points and that is excluding the written essay part. The 800 points determined in English is in sections 1 and 2, meanwhile the math is determined from sections 3 and 4. The optional writing test is out of 24 points – 3 categories being reading, analysis, and writing. The writing test is graded by two raters. Each rates in each category on a scale of 1-4 for a total of 8 points per category. There is NO penalty for guessing incorrectly on the multiple choice questions. The SAT is an aptitude test, not an achievement test like the ACT.

The ACT, in comparison, is also a 3 hour test, provided with an optional 40 minute essay. The ACT is also made up of four parts, except these are a bit different than the SAT. The first part is English grammar – 75 questions in 45 minutes. The second section is the mathematics where the calculator is allowed – 60 questions in 60 minutes. After is the reading comprehension – 40 questions in 35 minutes. Finally, there’s a science portion – 40 questions in 35 minutes. The ACT is a scaled exam with a maximum score of 36 points. The score is the average of all four portions: English, math, reading, and science. This exam is just as good to be submitted for college as the SAT. The only difference really is that this is an achievement test, rather than an aptitude. This exam has no penalty either for guessing incorrectly on the multiple choice. The ACT is a bit different in the sense that this exam has you think at a more rapid pace. So for the math, you pretty much get one minute to answer each question.

What’s cool about both of these exams is that they allow something called “super score.” Super scoring is basically the process when colleges take the highest section score across all of the dates the exams were taken. Not all colleges do it, but since most do, it’s important to take the SAT and ACT as many times as possible because of the chance to receive a higher score.

High School grades are not everything. Colleges like to see those extracurricular activities and whatever else you get yourself involved with outside of school. These exams help schools see where you stand with diverse materials and your approach to these questions.