Competition to get into the nation’s colleges continues to grow and has become fiercer and fiercer. This phenomenon is occurring among students whether they are trying for the elite schools as well as the more mid-stream colleges and universities. Competition to get into the State Universities is also surprisingly tough. This pattern holds true in Florida also, where for example in 2006, only 42% of applicants were accepted to Florida State University and 46% of applicants were accepted to The University of Florida. Even the newer Florida Gulf Coast University – our neighbor – rejected 41% of its applicants. That being said, the standardized exams – The SAT and ACT exams are growing in importance.
But how to decide which exam to take – or should you take both! First and very importantly, we suggest that students and their parents carefully look at the entrance requirements for the schools they are considering. Some schools have a definite preference, others are more relaxed and will accept either, some require the subject exams, others not, some colleges have special requirements for certain schools within the university – and a few schools require none!
So what are the broad stroke differences and which should you take?? The best advice if you have a choice is to take the exam that best fits your student’s personal strengths. For example, if the student is not terribly good at multiple choice questions but shines on essays – the SAT has a required essay section. If on the other hand they are more quantitative – the ACT has more advanced mathematics. And the ACT has a science reasoning section requiring more student interpretation. Is the student a slower more methodical person – the SAT allows more time per question. And the SAT is more aptitude based while the ACT focuses more heavily on curriculum, though the SAT offers Subject Tests. And there are choices when it comes to the subject tests.
All a bit overwhelming!
At A+ Skills Tutoring™ we assist students prepare for both tests with both small group SAT training as well as One-to One. For the ACT, because it is more curricula based, we find that the One-to One Tutoring is most beneficial. And of course we offer in addition to the SAT preparation, all kinds of One–to-One tutoring in a broad range of subject areas for students from Pre-K through the College years and for students who are advanced as well as the learning challenged and those in between. For additional information regarding all of these tutoring services please contact Deborah Mandell at 254-9807 or by visiting our website at www.aplusskillstutoring.com.
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