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ACT v. SAT
What's the difference?
The ACT is more about achievement and what you’ve learned in school; the SAT’s focus is more on reasoning and aptitude. Most colleges will accept either ACTs or SATs.
The big difference: The College Board will send all SAT test scores to your college of choice, no matter how many times you take the test, and they will generally look at the best results from each test.
But you can take the ACT in May and June, and just send in the test that you feel shows you to your best advantage. Some schools, such as Holy Cross and Drew University, have gone SAT-optional, and both have seen a significant spike in applications.
This is ideal for students who get good grades, but are not good test takers. Colleges understand this; they primarily look at students’ GPAs and the courses they have taken. This option often gives the school a greater pool of really good students, and in turn they can be more selective. The irony is that most students send in their test scores anyway.