QUESTION: WHICH COLLEGES IN THE USA WILL SUPER SCORE MY ACT ?
 UPDATED POST SEPTEMBER 29, 2012

THIS LIST HAS A FEW NEW COLLEGES THAT HAVE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THEY WILL SUPER SCORE THE ACT.

*REMEMBER SUPER SCORING THE ACT MEANS THAT A COLLEGE WILL TAKE YOUR HIGHEST ENGLISH, MATH, READING, AND SCIENCE SCORES ON THE ACT FROM ANY DATE AND RECALCULATE A "SUPER SCORE" BASED ON THE HIGHEST SECTION SCORES FROM ANY TEST. BASICALLY YOU JUST TAKE YOUR HIGHEST SCORE OF EACH SECTION; YOUR HIGHEST ENGLISH SCORE, YOUR HIGHEST MATH SCORE, YOUR HIGHEST READING SCORE, AND YOUR HIGHEST SCIENCE SCORE AND ADD THEM ALL UP AND DIVIDE THIS TOTAL BY 4.  NORMALLY A COLLEGE WOULD JUST TAKE YOUR HIGHEST COMPOSITE SCORE BUT SUPER SCORING WILL USUALLY ADD A POINT OR TWO TO SOME STUDENT'S SCORES.

**THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. THE BEST THING TO DO IS CHECK WITH THE PARTICULAR COLLEGE YOU ARE INTERESTED IN. THE MOST EXPEDIENT WAY OF DOING THIS WOULD BE TO EMAIL THEIR ADMISSIONS DEPARTMENT OR DIRECTLY TELEPHONE THEIR ADMISSIONS DEPARTMENT. YOU CAN GET THE EMAIL ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS OF ANY UNIVERSITY FROM THEIR WEBSITE OR VIA A SEARCH ON GOOGLE.

***THIS LIST IS CHANGED CONSTANTLY. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF ACCURACY IMPLIED OR STATED IN THIS DOCUMENT. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. COLLEGES CHANGE THEIR MINDS ALL THE TIMES, AND AS I SAID BEFORE IT IS BEST TO DOUBLE CHECK WITH YOUR PARTICULAR COLLEGES' ADMISSIONS DEPARTMENT. I HAVE CALLED SEVERAL COLLEGES AND GOTTEN DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM DIFFERENT PERSONS IN THE SAME ADMISSIONS DEPARTMENT!! SUPER SCORING THE ACT IS A NEW THING AND SHOULD CATCH ON MORE AS TIME GOES ON.

CURRENT LIST OF COLLEGES THAT SUPER SCORE THE ACT [AS OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2012]

ALBION COLLEGE
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
AMHERST COLLEGE
BARNARD COLLEGE
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY (WACO)
BELOIT COLLEGE
BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN COLLEGE
BOSTON COLLEGE
BOWDOIN COLLEGE
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
BROWN
BRYN MAWR COLLEGE
BUTLER UNIVERSITY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM (I.E. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA @ ___)
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
COLBY COLLEGE
COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
CONNECTICUT COLLEGE
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
DEPAUW UNIVERSITY (NOT DEPAUL)
DENVER UNIVERSITY
DUKE UNIVERSITY

ECKERD COLLEGE
ELON UNIVERSITY
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY

GEORGIA TECH
HAMILTON COLLEGE
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGE
HAVERFORD COLLEGE
HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
HENDRIX COLLEGE
HOLLINS UNIVERSITY
KALAMAZOO COLLEGE
KENYON COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF LAFAYETTE
LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY IN MARYLAND
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE
MIT (MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY)
MILSAPS COLLEGE
NCAA CLEARINGHOUSE
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (NYU)
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
FRANKLIN W. OLIN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
PURDUE UNIVERSITY

PITZER COLLEGE
POMONA COLLEGE
REGIS UNIVERSITY
RENSSELEAR POLY TECH

ROSE-HULMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SPRING HILL COLLEGE
ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY

SUNY BUFFALO

TOWSON UNIVERSITY
TRINITY COLLEGE (CT)
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
UNION UNIVERSITY (JACKSON TENNESSEE)
 UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS - FAYETTEVILLE
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO - BOULDER
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
UNIVESITY OF GEORGIA

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA - LAFAYETTE
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA - CHAPEL HILL

UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND
UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE - KNOXVILLE
UNITED STATES MILITAIRY ACADEMY WEST POINT

USAFA (UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY) COLORADO

USNA (UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY) ANNAPOLIS

USMMA (UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY)

USCGA (UNITED STATES COAST GUARD ACADEMY)

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY - ST. LOUIS (WUSTL)
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
WHEATON COLLEGE
XAVIER UNIVERSITY

QUESTION: JUST HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS IN THE OVERALL ADMISSIONS PROCESS TO A COLLEGE?

THIS IS A VERY COMMON QUESTION I HEAR ALL THE TIME.  IT IS A GREAT QUESTION.  HERE ARE SOME POINTERS REGARDING THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS AS OFFERED BY THE COLLEGE BOARD:

1) YOU CAN FIND A LIST OF ALL THE SUBJECT TESTS BEING OFFERED AND FURTHER INFORMATION AT http://sat.collegeboard.org/about-tests/sat-subject-tests

2) THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS ARE PRIMARILY USED FOR PLACEMENT PURPOSES.  HOWEVER, AT VERY COMPETITIVE COLLEGES I AM SURE THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR ADMISSIONS STATUS ESPECIALLY IF A COLLEGE HAS REQUESTED (VOLUNTARILY OR NOT) THAT YOU TAKE THEM AND YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN THEM.

3) USUALLY MOST COLLEGES REQUIRE 2 OR 3 SAT II SUBJECT TESTS.

4) SAT II SUBJECT TESTS CAN BE QUITE DIFFICULT.  SOME ARE HARDER THAN OTHERS, SOME EASIER.  THE CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, AND BIOLOGY SAT II SUBJECT TESTS DO REQUIRE REVIEWING.  THEY CAN BE DIFFICULT.

5) IT IS BEST TO GET A BOOK ON THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS AND DECIDE WHICH ONES ARE BEST FOR YOU.  THE PRINCETON REVIEW HAS SOME EXCELLENT SAT II SUBJECT TEST BOOKS AS DOES THE COLLEGE BOARD.

6) YOU CAN TAKE THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS AT ANYTIME, BUT IT IS PREFERABLE TO TAKE THEM NO LATER THAN DECEMBER OF YOUR SENIOR YEAR.

7) SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE THESE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS AS CLOSE TO WHEN YOU TAKE THE ACTUAL COURSE AS YOU CAN.  THAT IS FINE.  FOR EXAMPLE, TAKE THE SAT II CHEMISTRY TEST RIGHT AFTER YOU TAKE THE AP CHEMISTRY COURSE OR AP CHEMISTRY TEST.

8)  ONE GOOD NOTE IS THAT THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS HAVE A HUGE CURVE ON SOME OF THEM SO YOU MUST KNOW HOW MANY YOU CAN LEAVE BLANK TO GET THE SCORE YOU WANT.  FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE US HISTORY SAT II TEST YOU CAN LEAVE BLANK UP TO 27 OR SO QUESTIONS AND ASSUMING THE OTHERS YOU ANSWERED ARE CORRECT YOU CAN STILL GET A 700.  CHECK WITH THE INDIVIDUAL TESTS TO SEE.

9)  YOU MUST CHECK WITH THE PARTICULAR COLLEGES YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT THEY REQUIRE ON THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS.

10) YES YOU SHOULD TAKE THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS IF YOU ARE APPLYING TO ANY COMPETITIVE COLLEGES WHATSOEVER!!

WHEN REGISTERING FOR THE ACT OR SAT I, SHOULD I SEND MY SCORES TO MY HIGH SCHOOL?

QUESTION:

WHEN REGISTERING FOR THE ACT OR SAT I, SHOULD I SEND MY SCORES TO MY HIGH SCHOOL?

THIS QUESTION HAS COME UP QUITE RECENTLY.  IF YOU PUT DOWN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CODE ON THE ACT OR SAT I REGISTRATION FORM, YOUR SCORES WILL BE SENT TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL.  YOUR HIGH SCHOOL WILL THEN USUALLY POST YOUR SCORES ON YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT WHICH ALL THE COLLEGES YOU APPLY TO WILL RECEIVE.  YOUR HIGH SCHOOL MAY USE YOUR SCORES FOR INTERNAL REASONS, I.E. SUCH AS COMPUTING THE HIGH SCHOOL'S AVERAGE SAT I MATH SCORE, ETC.

NOW, MOST HIGH SCHOOLS LIKE YOU TO SEND THE SCORES TO THEM.  HOWEVER, EVEN IF YOU SEND YOUR SCORES TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL AND THEY POST THEM ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT THAT IS NOT CONSIDERED AN OFFICIAL SCORE BY ANY COLLEGE WHATSOEVER!  SO IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT I AM SAYING IS THAT THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN GET INTO TROUBLE BY SENDING YOUR SCORES TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL!

COLLEGES WILL ONLY ACCEPT OFFICIAL SCORES FROM THE ACTUAL ACT OR SAT I.  PERIOD!  SO ANY SCORES FROM ANY OTHER SOURCES ARE NOT CONSIDERED CORRECT.  THEY WON'T EVEN LOOK AT THEM.  IF YOU WANT TO SEND ANY SCORES TO ANY SPECIFIC COLLEGES FROM THE ACT OR SAT I YOU CAN CONTACT THEM AND HAVE THEM DO THAT FOR YOU.  I HAVE POSTED THE WEB ADDRESSES FOR BOTH BELOW.   YOU CAN EITHER TELEPHONE THEM, EMAIL THEM, OR LOG INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AND REQUEST SCORES TO BE SENT THAT WAY.

 FOR THE ACT:

WWW.ACT.ORG/CONTACTS

FOR THE SAT I:

WWW.COLLEGEBOARD.COM/CONTACT-US

COULD YOU POST SOME BASIC REASONS WHY THE ACT OR SAT I MIGHT BE BETTER AS A CHOICE FOR A STUDENT?

QUESTION: COULD YOU POST SOME BASIC REASONS WHY THE ACT OR SAT I MIGHT BE BETTER AS A CHOICE FOR A STUDENT?

THE ABOVE QUESTION JUST CAME IN TODAY (JANUARY 31, 2012) AS AN EMAIL QUESTION FROM SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.  YES I CAN ADDRESS THIS.

HERE ARE SOME VERY BASIC SUGGESTIONS AS TO WHY THE ACT OR SAT I MIGHT BE A BETTER CHOICE FOR A FIRST TEST FOR A STUDENT.  KEEP IN MIND THAT IF YOU ARE APPLYING TO A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE COLLEGE YOU WILL DEFINITELY WANT TO TAKE BOTH THE ACT AND THE SAT I (AND ALSO THE SAT II SUBJECT TESTS).

SOMEONE WHO MIGHT LIKE THE ACT IF:

1)  IF YOU CAN TAKE TESTS FAIRLY QUICKLY AND USUALLY NEVER RUN OUT OF TIME ON TESTS AT YOUR SCHOOL; THE ACT GIVES LESS TIME PER QUESTION THAN THE SAT I.  SO IF YOU ARE A SLOW TEST TAKER THE ACT MIGHT NOT BE BEST FOR YOU.

2)  IF YOU ABSOLUTELY DON'T LIKE READING COMPREHENSION!  THE ACT HAS FAR LESS READING ON IT THAN DOES THE SAT I!  I MEAN FAR LESS!  THE ACT ONLY HAS 4 READING PASSAGES OF 10 QUESTIONS - THAT IS IT.

3)  THE ACT HAS NO GUESSING PENALTY LIKE THE SAT I DOES!  THAT MEANS THAT BASICALLY THE ACT HAS A BUILT IN 20-25% CURVE DEPENDING UPON WHAT SECTION YOU ARE  IN.

4)  THE ACT IS SOMEWHAT SHORTER ON TEST DAY THAN IS THE SAT I.  SO IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE PAYING ATTENTION FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME YOU MIGHT LIKE THE ACT BETTER.

5)  THE ACT HAS FAR LESS TRICKERY ON IT THAN DOES THE SAT I.  ACT IS MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD, JUST LIKE A TEST YOU WOULD SEE IN SCHOOL.  IF YOU DON'T LIKE PUZZLES OR LOGIC TYPE QUESTIONS, THERE ARE ALMOST NONE ON THE ACT.  COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CONSIDER THE ACT TO BE  BETTER AT TESTING WHAT ONE LEARNED IN HIGH SCHOOL VS. THE SAT I.

 6)  IF YOU LIKE SCIENCE, THE ACT HAS A SCIENCE SECTION.  IT IS BASICALLY JUST A DATA SUFFICIENCY TEST THAT COVERS SCIENCE QUESTIONS SO YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE TO KNOW MUCH SCIENCE.

7)  IF YOU ARE NOT GOOD AT VOCABULARY THE ACT HAS VERY LITTLE (ALMOST NONE) VOCABULARY ON IT! 

8)  THE ACT BY FAR HAS A BETTER GRADING SYSTEM.  ALL 4 PASSAGES: ENGLISH, MATH, READING, AND SCIENCE, ARE GIVEN AN INDIVIDUAL SCORE THEN THESE SCORES ARE AVERAGED TO MAKE ONE OVERALL SCORE.  COLLEGES ONLY LOOK AT THIS ONE SCORE FOR THE MOST PART.  SO IF YOU ARE NOT TOO GOOD AT ONE OF THE 4 SECTIONS MENTIONED ABOVE, YOU COULD EASILY HIDE THAT BY DOING WELL ON THE OTHER THREE.  THE SAT I REPORTS ALL THREE SECTION SCORES (READING, MATH, WRITING) SO COLLEGES CAN EASILY SEE IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM IN ONE OF THOSE AREAS.

9)  IF YOU HAVE ANY LEARNING DIFFERENCES I MUST SAY THAT USUALLY THE ACT IS THE BETTER TEST TO TAKE FOR THAT!  THE ACT HAS MUCH LESS "TRICKERY" ON IT THAN DOES THE SAT I, AND THE ACT IS JUST MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD THAN THE SAT I.  ALSO, IF YOU HAVE ANY ACCOMODATIONS FOR YOUR LEARNING DIFFERENCES SUCH AS EXTENDED TIME THEN DEFINITELY THE ACT IS BETTER BECAUSE WITH EXTENDED TIME THE SAT I BECOMES INSANELY LONG!  WITH EVEN 50% EXTENDED TIME, THE SAT I BECOMES ALMOST 6 HOURS OR MORE OF TESTING!  I HAVE HAD INCREDIBLE COMPLAINTS REGARDING TAKING THE SAT I WITH EXTENDED TIME.  SOME LEARNING DIFFERENCE STUDENTS DO TAKE THE SAT I, BUT BY FAR MORE TAKE AND DO BETTER ON THE ACT (AT LEAST AT MY OFFICE).

SOMEONE MIGHT LIKE THE SAT I IF:

1)  IF YOU ARE GOOD AT READING COMPREHENSION AND WRITING  THE SAT I HAS A LOT OF READING COMPREHENSION ON IT! 

2)  IF YOU KNOW A LOT OF VOCABULARY WORDS THE SAT I HAS VOCABULARY ON IT.

3)  IF YOU DON'T LIKE SCIENCE THE SAT I HAS ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENCE ON IT.

4)  IF YOU ARE A SLOWER TEST TAKER (MEANING THAT AT SCHOOL SOMETIMES YOU DON'T FINISH YOUR TESTS AND OR QUIZZES IN THE GIVEN TIME) YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE THE SAT I BECAUSE IT GIVES MORE TIME PER QUESTION THAN DOES THE ACT.

5)  THE SAT I MATH COVERS LESS AMOUNT OF MATH TOPICS THAN DOES THE ACT.  HOWEVER, THE SAT I MATH HAS A LOT OF "TRICKERY" AND LOGIC TYPE QUESTIONS ON IT (PUZZLE TYPE QUESTIONS).  IF YOU LIKE THOSE THEN THE SAT I WORKS.

6)  IF YOU ARE A GOOD ESSAY WRITER, THE ESSAY ON THE SAT I INTEGRATES INTO YOUR WRITING SCORE AND IT CAN EASILY BRING UP OR DOWN YOUR WRITING SCORE.  SO IF YOU ARE A GOOD ESSAY WRITER, WRITING A GOOD ESSAY ON THE SAT I CAN SERIOUSLY BRING UP YOUR SAT I WRITING SCORE.

REMEMBER, THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY TO SEE WHICH ONE YOU ARE BETTER AT OR LIKE MORE IS TO TAKE A REAL WORLD TEST!   JUST DON'T SEND ANY SCORES TO COLLEGES.

HAS THE ACT BEEN GETTING MORE DIFFICULT LATELY?

HAS THE ACT BEEN GETTING MORE DIFFICULT LATELY?

I HAVE BEEN ASKED THIS SEVERAL TIMES RECENTLY. MY ANSWER WOULD BE, "NO". I HAVE BEEN TUTORING AND TAKING ACT's MYSELF FOR OVER 3 DECADES, AND I AM INTIMATELY INVOLVED WITH THE MATERIAL ON THE ACT. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE RECENTLY IS THAT I WOULD SAY THAT THE SCIENCE SECTION OF THE ACT HAS POSSIBLY BECOME SOMEWHAT MORE COMPLEX OF LATE BECAUSE THEY ARE USING NEWER SCIENCE TOPICS SUCH AS GENETICS, BIOLOGY, ELECTRICITY, ETC. THAT MAY APPEAR MORE COMPLEX TO STUDENTS.  HOWEVER, THE OVERALL ACT SCIENCE SECTION HAS NOT REALLY CHANGE MUCH IN THE PAST 3+ DECADES.  SOME STUDENTS MIGHT THINK THE SCIENCE IS HARD BECAUSE IT IS THE LAST TEST ON THE ACTUAL ACT, AND IT IS HIGHLY DETAILED.  IT TAKES A LOT OF MENTAL ENERGY TO LOCATE THE ANSWERS.   THEY ALSO DON'T GIVE YOU REALLY ENOUGH TIME TO DO A THOROUGH JOB.  NOW, SINCE THE ACT IS GIVEN 7 TIMES A YEAR, SOME TEST DATES ARE CERTAINLY "HARDER" THAN OTHERS.  YOU JUST HAVE TO TAKE IT ENOUGH TIMES TO HIT A TEST THAT YOU LIKE AND YOU CAN DO WELL ON.  THE ACTUAL MATERIAL ON THE ACT HAS NOT CHANGED MUCH IN DECADES.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MATH ON THE ACT VS. MATH ON THE SAT I?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MATH ON THE ACT VS. MATH ON THE SAT I?

VERY GOOD QUESTION.  AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL MATERIAL THEY COVER, BOTH TESTS COVER MAINLY ALGEBRA I (FIRST YEAR ALGEBRA), ALGEBRA II (SECOND YEAR ALGEBRA), AND GEOMETRY.  NOW THE ACT GOES A LITTLE MORE IN DEPTH INTO ALGEBRA II SO THE ACT MATH HAS A LOT MORE TRIGONOMETRY AND ADVANCED ALGEBRA TOPICS ON IT THAN DOES THE SAT I.  

THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS IN HOW THE MATERIAL IS PRESENTED.  THE ACT MATH IS MUCH MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD JUST LIKE ONE WOULD ACTUALLY SEE ON A TEST IN SCHOOL IN YOUR MATH CLASS.  ACT MATH IS 100% MULTIPLE CHOICE.  THERE IS VERY LITTLE LOGIC OR "TRICKERY" ON THE ACT MATH.  YOU DO HAVE TO KNOW MORE MATH FORMULAS, AND THE ACT MATH DOES NOT GIVE YOU USEFUL FORMULAS LIKE THE SAT I MATH DOES.

THE SAT I MATH IS VERY MUCH MORE PUZZLE OR LOGIC BASED (STUDENTS REFER TO THIS AS "TRICKERY" WHICH I DO AGREE).  THE SAT I MATH DOES GIVE YOU SOME VERY USEFUL FORMULAS ON THE ACTUAL TEST ITSELF.  I HAVE PUBLISHED FOR MY ACTUAL TUTORING STUDENTS SOME EXCELLENT MATH "TRICKS" OR STRATEGIES THAT I HAVE INVENTED OR BORROWED THAT CAN RAISE YOUR SAT I MATH SCORE BY OVER 150 POINTS ALONE.

I HAVE PUBLISHED FOR ALL MY TUTORING STUDENTS THAT COME TO SEE ME AN  LIST OF THE ACTUAL MATH FORMULAS ON THE ACT AND SAT I THAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR.  IT TOOK ME QUITE SOME TIME TO ASSEMBLE THIS LIST OF MATH FORMULAS AS I HAD TO GO BACK OVER SEVERAL DECADES WORTH OF ACT AND SAT I TESTING TO DESIGN SUCH A LIST!  MY STUDENTS LOVE IT THOUGH BECAUSE THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING ON THESE TESTS MATHEMATICALLY (I HAVE DONE THE SAME THING FOR ENGLISH GRAMMAR RULES, VOCABULARY WORDS, ETC.).

THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW WHICH MATH IS BETTER FOR YOU IS TO TAKE SOME OF THE MATH FROM THE ACT OR SAT I FOR PRACTICE AND SEE WHICH YOU DO BETTER ON AND OR LIKE BETTER. I WOULD MAKE SURE TO CHOOSE THE MATH THAT IS EASIEST ON YOU OR EASIER FOR YOU TO LEARN.  COLLEGES TAKE YOUR MATH SCORES VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.

BOTH THE ACT AND SAT I WEBSITES HAVE EXAMPLE TEST PROBLEMS:

EXAMPLE TEST PROBLEMS FROM THE ACT CAN BE FOUND HERE:

http://www.act.org/aap/pdf/preparing.pdf

(please note this is an actual full, past, real ACT test)

EXAMPLE TEST PROBLEMS FROM THE SAT I CAN BE FOUND HERE:

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice

(please note you can find SAT I practice questions here or a full SAT I practice test - both are free!)