SAT AND ACT IMPROVEMENT: TRAFFIC JAM IN SCHEDULING EXAMS By Dr. Wayne Adams For most of us, things are settling down a bit as we get used to our new routines with school (on-site and on-line), work, and moving ahead day by day. On October 14, high schools give the PSAT Exam, the only qualifying exam for National Merit Scholarships. With the cancelations and delays of the regular SAT and ACT Exams from February – late August, a “traffic jam” has developed in scheduling for the fall. The first SAT on August 29 was for those students who had not been able to take the exam earlier in the year and did not take any additional reservations, according to several of my parents. In early September, one of my parents tried to make a reservation for the second SAT on Sept 26, and could not get a place for her student at that time.
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The ACT scheduled exams on Sept 12 and 19, and they were jammed early. In October, they scheduled exams on Oct 10, 17, and 24. By Sept 8, the first two were fully reserved. Not long thereafter, the third exam was fully reserved. The remaining SAT and ACT dates for the next six months are as follows: SAT on Nov 7, Dec 5, and March 13. Note that there is a three month gap from Dec to March for the SAT. ACT on Dec 12 and Feb 6. I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to take one of these upcoming exams make a reservation as soon as possible. For seniors, the “rock solid” application date for UF is the first of November, with exam results due later in the month. UF might grant an extension into December because of the difficulties in scheduling exams in time. If applying to UF this fall
is a possibility for your student, I strongly recommend you call an admissions officer as soon as possible to get the most current information. Qualifying dates for taking the SAT or ACT Exam for Bright Futures remain the same. As a reminder, the minimum SAT superscore for 100% award increased 40 points to 1330 while the minimum ACT composite remains at 29. The minimum SAT superscore for the 75% award
also increased 40 points to 1210, while the ACT composite was reduced to 28. “Which exam is better to take?” is often I am asked by parents and students. Here are the key parts of my answer. 75% of my student prefer the ACT, and 25% the SAT. Usually, a student will score 15 percentiles higher on one exam or the other, but it is impossible to predict. Either exam is equally acceptable to colleges. If a student takes the ACT, usually the college does not require two or three additional SAT Subject Tests. Many colleges do require the additional Subject Tests if a student applies with the SAT Exam. There is about a 60% overlap between the two exams. The major differences are in Reading and Math. Of course, the ACT has a Science section, but it does not ask anything about Chemistry, Physics, Biology, etc. It is a different type of reading
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