Discussion: ACT

First time taking it?

Is taking the ACT a midwest thing?

As I recall, the ACT wasn't as widely accepted as the SAT, but it was certainly no harm to take both. Some colleges asked for both results; some either / or; some required one or the other. And they have a lot of similarity, so taking either is great prep/practice for the other. I don't know if either is more favored by schools in any particular region.

First time and hopefully last time. Now I don't think it matters which test you take, with recent changed and both tests owned by the same company, it really doesn't matter. I am taking the SAT next month

The SAT is taken more on the East and West coasts, but the ACT is ahead with 1.9m test takers compared to 1.7m SAT test takers in 2015.

Since 2007, all four-year colleges and universities in the United States that require a test as part of an application for admission will accept either the SAT or ACT.

What may happen is that schools will require SAT2 scores which doesn't have an equivalent from the ACT. In that case if you need SAT2 scores you might as well also take the SAT, but in all other cases you might as well flip a coin.

Thanks got the update Michael! Good to hear that all colleges now will accept either one!

Personally, I did significantly better on the ACT than on the SAT, so my recommendation is certainly to take both. Even if you do really well on one, you might do even better on the other.