HOW MUCH MATH IS ON THE ACT AND THE SAT I?

HOW MUCH MATH IS ON THE ACT AND THE SAT I?

THERE IS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MATH ON BOTH THE ACT AND THE SAT I THAT DOES NOT CHANGE. THE ACT HAS ON IT ALGEBRA I, ALGEBRA II, GEOMETRY, TRIGONOMETRY, AND SOME PRECAL QUESTIONS (WHAT SOME SCHOOLS WOULD CALL PRECAL QUESTIONS). THEY BASICALLY REPEAT THE SAME TYPE OF QUESTIONS EACH TEST; THEY RARELY ADD NEW QUESTION TYPES. THUS, I WOULD SAY ONLY ABOUT 5-10% OF THE MATH YOU LEARN IN HIGH SCHOOL IS REPRESENTED ON THE ACT. THAT IS NOT A HUGE AMOUNT. IT IS VERY MUCH LEARNABLE EVEN IF YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN IT ALL. THIS IS WHAT MAKES THESE TESTS VERY TUTORABLE; THEY HAVE THE SAME THING ON THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN SO ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS MASTER PAST OLD TESTS AND MOST ALL OF THE TIME YOU WILL DO VERY WELL.

THE SAT I HAS ON IT ALGEBRA I, ALGEBRA II, AND GEOMETRY. THERE IS NO TRIGONOMETRY AND NO PRECAL. HOWEVER, SAT I MATH QUESTIONS TEND TO BE ON THE TRICKY SIDE WHEREAS ACT MATH QUESTIONS ARE MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD. SOME STUDENTS WHOM I SEE NEEDS LOTS AND LOTS OF REMEDIATION AND SOME NEED VERY LITTLE. WHILE TUTORING, I HAVE SPECIAL FORMS THAT I MADE WHERE I WRITE DOWN ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING A STUDENT NEEDS TO REMEMBER FOR THE PARTICULAR TEST THEY ARE TAKING.

HOW DO I TELL WHAT SCORES ON THE ACT AND SAT COLLEGES REALLY WANT?

HOW DO I TELL WHAT SCORES ON THE ACT AND SAT COLLEGES REALLY WANT?

THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT ISSUE. RUMORS AND FALSEHOODS ABOUND WHEN IT COMES TO DISCUSSING WHAT SCORES COLLEGES ACTUALLY NEED. IN MY OPINION, THE BEST PREDICTOR OF WHAT SCORES A COLLEGE WANTS IS THE ACTUAL COLLEGE ITSELF! THEIR ARE MANY BOOKS PUBLISHED THAT LIST THESE, BUT THEY ARE MASSIVE AND VERY EXPENSIVE. THE BEST WAY IS TO CALL THE COLLEGE OR VISIT THEIR WEB SITES. COLLEGES USUALLY POST WHAT IS CALLED THE "MID 5OTH PERCENTILE SCORE" OF LAST YEAR'S INCOMING FRESHMAN CLASS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT MEANS THE MEDIAN SCORE THAT WAS MADE BY INCOMING FRESHMAN. IN OTHER WORDS, OF ALL THE STUDENTS WHO GOT IN 50% MADE HIGHER THAN THIS SCORE AND 50% MADE LOWER THAN THIS SCORE. IT IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, AND IS A VERY SAFE PLACE TO BE. OF COURSE, IF YOU HAVE VERY POOR GRADES AND OR EXTRACURRICULARS YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE HIGHER THAN THE 50TH PERCENTILE SCORE. HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE DECENT GRADES AND DECENT EXTRA CURRICULARS THEN THE 50TH PERCENTILE SCORE WOULD BE A VER SAFE PLACE TO BE.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE WHEN I CHECK THE "2007 COLLEGE HANDBOOK" PUBLISHED BY THE COLLEGE BOARD FOR ST. OLAF'S COLLEGE LOCATED IN MINNESOTA IS SEE A MID 50TH PERCENTILE SCORE ON THE ACT OF 25-30. THAT IS SOMEWHAT HIGH, BUT IT I WOULD TAKE THAT TO MEAN A SCORE OF 27. SO, APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THE STUDENTS THAT GOT INTO ST. OLAF'S IN 2007 GOT BELOW A 27 ON THEIR ACT, AND THE OTHER HALF GOT ABOVE 27 (APPROXIMATE). SO BASICALLY, IF YOU SCORE AROUND 27 OR IN THE 25-30 RANGE YOU ARE CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE MID 50TH PERCENTILE SCORE. I CONSIDER THAT TO BE A VERY SAFE PLACE TO BE IF YOU HAVE A B AVERAGE OR HIGHER, GO TO A DECENT HIGH SCHOOL, AND HAVE SOME EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT.

I MUST ALSO WARN YOU TO BE REALISTIC ABOUT YOUR SCORES. YOU DON'T NEED AN SAT I SCORE OF 1500 IF THE MID 50TH PERCENTILE SCORE OF YOUR COLLEGE IS ONLY 1100. I HAVE SEEN BEFORE MANY GOOD STUDENTS WHO DID NOT APPLY TO COLLEGES BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THEIR SCORES WERE NOT GOOD ENOUGH. FURTHERMORE, DO NOT LISTEN TO IDLE GOSSIP! I HAVE HEARD THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS, ABSURD THINGS ABOUT ACT AND SAT SCORES. ASK A PROFESSIONAL OR SOMEONE YOU TRUST.