Why I never took the ACT, despite liking it better than the SAT

25 Jul

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, College Board, Teenagers, Testing

I was looking through my folder of old posts and I saw one from ePrep mentioning some Senate pressure last December for the ACT. I had a very interesting discussion about the SAT with some midwestern readers last year, and I thought I would just make a quick post for the record to explain why I never took the ACT.

There are two reasons I didn’t take the ACT, aside from its lack of trendiness here in the Northeast.

Reason number one is that I had good SAT scores in hand by the time I had the opportunity to ever sit for the ACT.
Reason number two is that although looking at practice books made the ACT look like a better and more fun test than the SAT, it was almost impossible to take from my then-HQ in Exeter, NH. There were one or two changes to take the ACT throughout the entire year–and both meant getting up around 4:30 and driving to Maine. I don’t know how bad the situation is back home around Boston, but the unavailability of testing centers in the Northeast scuttled my desire to take the ACT.

Now you know!

4 Responses

Charlene

July 30th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
1

Well I took BOTH the SAT and the ACT, I didn’t find the SAT bothersome, but the ACT was definitely easier, also my score on the ACT looked a bit more impressive on paper than the SAT. I wish I could remember the score though. My advice if you can, take them both, coming from the Northeast also, I feel your pain about there being few test centers, but it is worth it.
Sam Jackson

July 30th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
2

I found the SAT to be pretty mind-numbingly boring, but once I learned how to give myself up to the college board emptiness I did well! It’s fun, sort of, when you just rush through it without checking, but that’s not very good for scores. Too late to take the ACT now, anyway.
J. Dakar

July 31st, 2007 at 2:19 am
3

Interesting article about test-optional colleges: http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070717/NATION/107170067/1001&template=printart
Sam Jackson

July 31st, 2007 at 2:52 am
4

Mhm, and Goucher went SAT-optional since that article was published. I lauded some schools last year for trying to move beyond the noise that the numbers brought; I should make a new updated one. Have to remember to look at it from both sides, too—the schools can make out as well as the students, so their actions aren’t necessarily as noble as they might seem.

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Who is Sam Jackson?

I'm currently a sophomore at Yale University and I've been blogging about college admissions and higher education marketing trends since I began my college application process in 2005. I now also write about my experience here at Yale, and am an official Yale blogger. Click here to read my 'about' page.

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