If you want to take the SAT, ACT or Accuplacer make sure to download the following information sheet: Getting Ready for College: A student’s guide to the ACT, SAT, and ACCUPLACER. Students should speak to their counselors before taking any of the tests.
SAT or ACT?
The SAT and ACT are popular standardized tests used for admission into colleges and universities in the United States. Until approximately twenty years ago, the SAT was the test traditionally favored by colleges and universities on the the East and West coasts while the ACT was the more common choice in the Midwest.
Now that an increasing number of students are taking the ACT, the majority of schools in the United States will accept results from either test. Ivy League schoosl will accept both the ACT and SAT, but all schools have particular preferences.
Differences Between the SAT and the ACT
- The ACT is a content-based test while the SAT tests critical thinking and problem solving.
- The ACT includes a science-reasoning test while the SAT does not.
- The ACT math section includes trigonometry while the SAT does not.
- The SAT math question often combine several concepts while the ACT questions are more straightforward.
- The SAT tests vocabulary much more than the ACT.
- The SAT is not entirely a multiple choice test while the ACT is.
- The SAT has a wrong answer penalty while the ACT does not.
- The SAT questions within a particular set appear in order of difficulty. This is not true of the ACT.
- ACT tests English grammar while the SAT does not.
- The essay on the SAT is mandatory while the essay of the ACT is optional.
SAT/ACT Conversion Chart
The SAT scores each sections of the test on a scale of 200-800 (2400 is the highest possible score) while the ACT scores each section on a scale of 1-36.
ACT Composite Score |
SAT Verbal and Math Score |
36 |
1600 |
35 |
1550 |
34 |
1520 |
33 |
1470 |
32 |
1420 |
31 |
1380 |
30 |
1340 |
28 |
1260 |
27 |
1220 |
26 |
1180 |
25 |
1140 |
24 |
1110 |
23 |
1070 |
22 |
1030 |
21 |
990 |
19 |
910 |
18 |
870 |
17 |
830 |
16 |
790 |
15 |
740 |
14 |
690 |
13 |
640 |
12 |
590 |
11 |
550 |
10 |
500 |
9 |
450 |
1-8 |
400 |
ACT Testing Calendar
| Test Date |
Registration Deadline |
(Late Fee Required) |
September 10, 2011 |
August 12, 2011 |
August 13 – 26, 2011 |
October 22, 2011 |
September 16, 2011 |
September 17 – 30, 2011 |
December 10, 2011 |
November 4, 2011 |
November 5 – 18, 2011 |
February 11, 2012 |
January 13, 2012 |
January 14 – 20, 2012 |
April 14, 2012 |
March 9, 2012 |
March 10 – 23, 2012 |
June 9, 2012 |
May 4, 2012 |
May 5 – 18, 2012 |
SAT Testing Calendar
| Test Date |
Registration Deadline |
(Late Fee Required) |
| October 1, 2011 |
September 9, 2011 |
September 10 - 21, 2011 |
| November 5, 2011 |
October 7, 2011 |
October 8 - 21, 2011 |
| December 3, 2011 |
November 8, 2011 |
November 9 - 20, 2011 |
| January 28, 2012 |
December 30, 2011 |
December 31, 2011 - January 13, 2012 |
| March 10, 2012 |
February 10, 2011 |
February 11 - 24, 2012 |
| May 5, 2012 |
April 6, 2012 |
April 7 - 20, 2012 |
| June 2, 2012 |
May 8, 2012 |
May 9 - 22, 2012 |
Fee Waivers
If the payment of test fees for College Board or ACT tests presents a serious barrier for students considering college, these students should see their College and Career Coordinators for information and waivers. Eligibility is pre-determined by established guidelines published by the testing agencies that take into consideration family income, subsidized housing, public assistance, and other criteria.
The Accuplacer
The Accuplacer at Montgomery College is a computerized PLACEMENT test designed to provide placement and advising information for students entering college.
The Accuplacer has three parts:
- Reading Comprehension: (20 questions related to reading skills, such as identifying the main idea and making inferences.)
- Sentence Skills: (20 questions related to sentence structure and grammar)
- Mathematics: (questions that range from arithmetic to college-level mathematics) You will begin with one section and, depending on your performance, may advance to other sections.
It is a self-paced, untimed test given on a personal computer. Most students complete the test within 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The testing is adaptive. The Accuplacer determines which questions will be given next based upon previous answers. This provides a more accurate method of measuring an individual student's skill levels than a general test. It also means that no two tests taken are precisely the same. You will be told how to get your results after your testing session. Your scores will determine which courses you are eligible to take. |
