Our SAT/ACT Expert Explains Everything (and we mean everything) You Need to Know About the Test
By Alex Rudinski
We sat down with our very own veteran SAT/ACT coach Alex Rudinski, to hear his thoughts on the college admissions tests you’ve heard so much about. From specific valuable information (like how many times you should take the test) to big picture observations (like the common thread between all students who reach their standardized testing goals), Alex has got you covered!
1. Why should I take the SAT or the ACT?
The simple answer: you should take the test you can do best on. The SAT favors students with strong critical thinking and analytical skills, but includes a lot more tricks and traps than the ACT. The SAT also favors students who perform better on math topics as it has 2 different math sections. The ACT favors students who tend to perform better in their traditional classes. The questions tend to be easier to study for given their direct approach. This test also favors students who demonstrate an ability to memorize for tests. The downside is that while questions are subjectively easier, the time limits are more stringent.
2. Are these tests still important?
For at least the next few years, the test will remain relevant to college applicants, especially those interested in more competitive programs. If you are applying to a competitive university or coming out of a well-resourced school, you will absolutely want to take these tests and do well, despite admissions officers gradually realizing the tests only produce a blurry prediction of how well a student will perform in college. Students that can achieve high scores on the tests can and should use their ability as an opportunity to "show off," even at test-optional schools.
3. When should I be studying for the SAT/ACT?
We generally recommend students tutoring began between 12 and 16 weeks before their first test date. For independent study for a first-time test taker, budget between 36 and 50 hours of studying spread over several months.
4. Is there a "best" or "easiest" month to take the SAT or ACT?
While the guidance counselor rumor mill disagrees, there isn't a reliably good or bad time to take the test. This is because the SAT and ACT use statistical grading methods designed to abolish the population effects often credited with making one test sitting easier than another. The thing that actually makes the test easier is taking it at a time when you have the least on your plate academically and extracurricularly.
We suggest taking the exam by February of your Junior year to avoid competing with AP exams and finals.
5. Does it matter where I take the SAT or ACT?
Only in one way: try to take the test at a center you're already familiar with. A new environment inevitably introduces more cognitive load, and that's the last thing you need on test day! We recommend taking it at your own school if possible. If you can't, try to choose a location that's close to home and easy to navigate to. If the student will drive themselves, make sure they do a "test run" so they're not getting lost on test day. You'd be surprised how easy it is to have a GPS mix up when you're already stressed about a test!
6. Is the SAT different every time it's administered? How about the ACT?
Every administered SAT and ACT is unique in the sense that they never contain the exact same questions twice. However, every SAT also tests exactly the same concepts as every other SAT (Similarly, every ACT tests exactly the same concepts as every other ACT). So while the questions might be unique, the underlying material isn't. This means we can improve test performance even in the absence of perfect knowledge about the individual test the student will take by practicing and improving the list of skills we know the test assesses. For example, we might not know exactly how factoring will be tested on an individual test, but we know from past tests that factoring is always tested in one of five ways. To do well on those questions, we simply work those question types until we're experts.
7. Will I need to do SAT/ACT homework on my own, outside of coaching lessons?
Yes, and it will make a big difference in the student's score. Encountering the material and practicing our techniques independently is one of the best ways a student can solidify their skills and improve their score. Without it, we see only meager score increases. It is a substantial amount of work, but so is anything worth doing! Expect 1-2 hours of homework for each session, with some weeks requiring a full 3-hour test sitting.
8. What results should I expect to see if I take SAT/ACT preparation seriously and listen to my TLM coaches?
If we take prep seriously, improvement is virtually guaranteed on the basis of practice alone.
SAT: On the SAT front, for example, most students will improve their score by at least 100 points, but that's far from the upper limit. Some students have improved by as much as 300 points, depending on their diligence and their natural aptitude for digesting the material and interpreting the questions. The more seriously students take the work, the better they do!
ACT: For the ACT, we have seen jumps from a rough score of 16 to a score of 32 with solid preparation and a plan. We tell students to expect to put in at least 36-48 hours of studying to get solid scores. With the ACT, once the rules of grammar and underlying math is memorized, scores jump dramatically after month 1 and month 2.
9. What should I do if I take the SAT or ACT once and don't reach my goal?
The most important thing is not to get discouraged! It's absolutely normal to not get the score you want on the first try. In fact, people who get their target score the first time are kind of an oddity, like hitting a homer in your very first first Major League plate appearance. People rarely give their best performance the first time they try something, let alone something as complicated as standardized testing. First-time anxiety can do a ton to lower your score, even if you're not the type of person who tends to get test anxiety. Continue your prep and practice, then take it again!
10. How many times should I take the SAT or ACT?
Ideally, twice. Think of the first test as a practice run. You're getting used to taking the test in an official environment, and getting that first-time anxiety out of the way. Most of our students see their best results on their second official test, by which time they're more comfortable with the test taking experience and aren't as burdened by doubt and uncertainty. The best strategy is to plan to take the test twice, separated by four to eight weeks depending on available testing dates. Some students with a specific score requirement will take the test a third time, but after that we tend not to see substantive score increases.
11. Is there a common thread between all students who achieve their SAT/ACT goals?
We notice the best improvements in students who diligently complete their homework assignments and are strongly motivated to score well on the test. Strong analytical skills can give students a leg up, as can good reading comprehension skills and an understanding of math up to trigonometry. But the single most common trait in students that achieve their goals is the willingness and ability to practice the material thoroughly.
12. Is there an advantage to taking the SAT over the ACT, or vice versa?
There's not so much an advantage as a difference, and it comes down to the student's specific needs. The SAT questions are subjectively more difficult than the ACT questions, but the SAT time limits are also more generous. Where the ACT gives you a lot of low- and medium-difficulty questions and makes you complete them at a sprint, the SAT prefers to give higher-complexity questions and allow ample time to finish them all. The SAT is also known for its intentional "trickiness," with questions worded in such a way as to purposefully mislead students. Some folks adapt well to that, while others prefer the straight-forward style of ACT questions, even if they need to move far more rapidly to complete them. The bottom line: If speed is a student's strength, the ACT plays to that. If analysis is a student's strength, the SAT plays to that.