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SAT/ACT
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SAT/ACT - Covid Update

Students applying to CSU and UC campuses, the SAT and ACT are NOT required for Fall 2022 applications. For more information, please visit these websites

What test should I take?

SAT

 
  • The new SAT has 154 questions plus an optional essay.
  • The SAT takes about 3 hours with an additional 50 minutes if you choose to write the essay
  • There are 5 sections: Reading, writing, math (with a calculator), math (no calculator) and and essay (optional)
  • Know the rules for grammar- subject/verb agreement, proper pronoun usage and so on.
  • There is no longer a no guessing penalty for the SAT
  • SAT essay is no longer mandatory
    * The essay will prompt a student to read a passage and then use close-reading skills to explain how the author builds his or her argument. 
  • The SAT critical reading sections place a lot of emphasis on vocabulary. Students will be tested on more commonly-used vocabulary words--- not rare ones. 
    • Example: think obstinate instead of pertinacious
  • Questions get more difficult as the test progresses
  • The math section requires some The SAT's are an aptitude test, testing your reasoning and verbal abilities, not necessarily what you learned in school. 
    • It is used by most colleges and universities to make admission decisions 
    • Only UC (University of California) schools are not requiring testing for admission.
  •  You should take the SAT in the spring of Junior year, but may take in summer or fall of senior year
  • Accepts late registration up to 11 days befowrite in answers
  • Scoring: each section of the SAT is worth 800 points each
  • The average score per section is around 500
  • A great score on the SAT is a 1080 or above
  • Register at https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat
  • Practice test at https://www.4tests.com/sat

ACT

  • The ACT is an achievement test, it is meant to test you on what you have learned in school. 
    • It is used by most colleges and universities to make admission decisions
    • Only UC (University of California) schools are not requiring testing for admission.
  • You should take your ACT during the spring of junior year or fall of senior year.
    • You can register late, up to 20 days before the test date.
  • The ACT has 215 questions plus an optional essay.
  • The ACT takes 2 hours and 55 minutes. The essay adds an additional 40 minutes
  • The ACT includes 5 sections: English, reading, math, science, essay (optional).
  • The ACT has a science section while the SAT does not.The science portion assesses your ability to read and understand graphs, hypotheses and research summaries 
    • Students who do well with critical reading do well on this portion of the ACT
  • Know the rules for grammar- subject/verb agreement, proper pronoun usage and so on. The ACT places a lot of emphasis on punctuation and includes rhetorical strategies.
  • Requires knowledge of basic trigonometry- know how to use sine and cosine
  • The ACT essay will ask you to take a stand on a potentially controversial issues and address the counterargument as part of your essay.
  • If you are not so great at vocabulary but have good language skills, the ACT might be more beneficial to take
  • The ACT has a constant level of difficulty. 
  • The math section is all multiple choice
  • Scoring: each section of the ACT is worth 36 points. 
  • The average score per section is 21
    • A score of 23 is considered good, a score of 29 or better but you at the top 10%  
  • Register to take the test at the ACT website. 
  • ACT practice test: https://www.mometrix.com/academy/act-practice-test


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