SAT or ACT?

When it comes time to worry about getting into college, a common question is whether to take the ACT or the SAT. They are both standardized tests for college applications and taking one over the other won’t give you an advantage and are equally hard. There are a few differences between these two tests and may benefit different students, so it is highly recommended that you try both to see which one you are better at. The ACT is more fast-paced with simpler questions and consists of an English, math, reading, science, and writing section. In contrast, the SAT has fewer problems with more time per question but has more complex problems and has a reading, writing, math (no calculator), and math (with calculator) section.

To get a satisfactory score on either the SAT or the ACT, you obviously need to prepare for it. There are many resources you can use leading up to the exam, including Khan Academy, Erica Meltzer, and College Panda. Khan Academy is well-known for its free educational videos and lessons on quite literally every subject you can think of. However, the reason it is on this list is not for these lessons but for their free unlimited practice tests, which reports your score back instantly after submitting. Erica Meltzer’s Ultimate Guide To SAT Grammar is a great book for scoring high on the reading and writing sections on standardized tests and applies to the ACT too. When preparing for the math sections of these standardized tests, The College Panda SAT Math is a highly recommended book to use. It contains a guide to math concepts on these tests and also serves as a workbook with practice problems to test your knowledge.