the ACT might be better if. . .

1. You did great on the PLAN (the for the ACT) or had a PSAT or SAT score inconsistent with your academic performance in school.

 

2. Your vocabulary is not as strong as your reading. You read well and relatively quickly. Arguably, the ACT is a test that is three parts verbal — English, Reading and Science (the latter section requires no scientific knowledge outside of what the test presents).

 

3. You are great at writing papers but haven’t had formal grammar instruction. The English portion of the ACT tests punctuation and sentence and paragraph structure. Many students find the English requires common sense, much like proof-reading a paper.

 

4. You prefer to write essays that are argumentative, persuading with ideas even if you lack perfect recall of facts and figures or you prefer to answer questions that ask about everyday issues in your life or school.

 

5. You are more academic than “test savvy.” The ACT seems to most people to be more curriculum-based and thus more straightforward. There are four slightly advanced math questions (logarithms, trigonometry, conic sections, etc.), but overall it seems more like a regular test students might encounter in school.

 

6. All of your friends aren’t doing it. You dread telling people your scores, imaging that they immediately make judgments about how you “stack up.” Tell your friends you have a 580-620-590 on the SAT, and the ranking begins. Tell them you got a 27 on the ACT, and they’ll ask “is that good?”