If you’re planning to apply to college in the near-future, you’re probably thinking a lot about the SAT and/or the ACT, the two standardized tests colleges have been using to make admissions decisions for generations. And yet, for this current generation of students, the college admissions landscape has a new feature: the ability to apply test-optional. More and more colleges and universities are offering students the option of not submitting either SAT or ACT scores as part of their admissions materials.
Should I Submit ACT or SAT Scores to Test-Optional Schools?
As the ACT has come into its own over the past 10-20 years as a fully recognized college admissions test alongside the SAT, students increasingly weigh both of these exams to assess which one may be better suited for them, sometimes opting for both. Preferences (and rumors) abound, of course: “There are too many trick questions on the SAT math!” or “I'd take the ACT, but the science section is a deal-breaker!” While these sentiments may (or may not) be true, depending on the student, what's certainly true is that they contribute heavily towards apprehension over which test to take! There is, however, one section that is nearly identical on each test, and offers a way to kill two birds with one stone in your college admission exam prep. That's the grammar/rhetoric section, referred to as the “English” section in the ACT, and the “Writing and Language” section on the SAT.