Students aiming to pursue their undergrad abroad attend standardised tests to strengthen their profile, bolster their credibility, and add to their chances of admission to top universities. SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT (American College Testing) are two common tests that measure a student's readiness for university while also providing universities with a common metric to compare applicants' profiles. Both these tests are widely accepted by almost every top university.
Reading: SAT Reading tests the understanding of phrases or vocabulary in the given context, the author's perspective, and key messages conveyed in given passages. "Reading involves answering MCQs based on given passages," says Mushfika Sultana who obtained a high SAT score earlier this year. "Hailing from the national curriculum, I had not encountered passages similar to the ones in SAT prior to my preparation. So, I needed to boost my critical reading skills to approach passages on different topics," she adds.
ACT Reading measures a variety of skills including but not limited to locating details, understanding the sequence of events, comprehending cause-effect relationships, and drawing inferences. According to Farhan Kamrul who took the ACT and set off to New York University, Abu Dhabi, a lot of examinees struggle with ACT Reading as it is getting progressively harder with each passing year. "The academic nature of each passage, rigid vocabulary, and their lengths are reasons why many find it rather difficult," he says.
Writing and English: SAT Writing comes with passages that are argumentative, narrative nonfiction, or informative. Some questions ask examinees to improve the effectiveness of communication in underlined phrases/sentences of the passage while some questions instruct them to make parts of the passage consistent with standard grammatical conventions. Not unlike SAT Writing, ACT English apprises one's ability to comprehend and improve a given passage and its organisation using the correct placement of modifiers, right punctuation, standard grammar, and choosing words and phrases synchronous to the overall message of the passage.
Maths: SAT Maths has two sections -- a 25-minute section barring examinees from using a calculator followed by a 55-minute section permitting the use of a calculator. College Board classifies SAT Maths topics into three categories: Heart of Algebra, Passport to Advanced Maths, and Problem Solving and Data Analysis -- all three of which can be mastered by brushing up on basic high-school mathematics.
In ACT, there are the following broad categories of maths: geometry, statistics and probability, pre-algebra, algebra, functions and graphs, number and quality, and modelling. The easier questions appear first in the question and the tougher ones appear later so examinees should manage their time accordingly.
Science: ACT Science does not test students' knowledge of science or scientific facts -- but it tests students' ability to understand the gist of passages (about science), reason with arguments, and interpret the data presented. "The only difference between ACT Science and Reading is that information in Reading is presented in huge passages while the information in Science is condensed in diagrams/charts. I used to tackle this section by first glancing at the questions and then determining what to look for in the prompt," says Farhan Kamrul. Students who did not have science in the high-school face no significant disadvantage in this section compared to those who did.
Deciding which test to take: The SAT has a total of 164 questions to be answered in 180 minutes while the ACT has 215 questions that students have 175 minutes to answer (excluding the optional section). Despite getting less time per question on the ACT, students opting for the ACT are not significantly disadvantaged since the questions are more straightforward than on SAT.
For many students, a decision-making criterion is that the SAT provides all the maths formulas during the exam while ACT examinees must rely on their memory to remember formulas. However, ACT examinees are free to use a calculator throughout the entire section whereas SAT takers are not allowed a calculator in one of the maths sections.
"Locating answers in SAT Reading is simple given that the questions are in the same chronological order as their answers in the prompt," says Samiha Tahsin who took that SAT earlier this May and now studies at IBA, University of Dhaka. In contrast, ACT Reading questions are not chronological, but require less analysis in comparison.
Overall, SAT caters more to students apt at thinking critically and analysing given information while ACT is more suitable for fast readers with enhanced ability to retain information.
Getting a high score: An efficient strategy that applies to both SAT and ACT is to take a diagnostic test at the beginning of one's preparation to outline one's strengths and weaknesses, followed by consistent practice to overcome the weaknesses. "I started by taking a practice test on Khan Academy to determine where I was in terms of my basics; I noted down my weakest points and started from there," says Samiha Tahsin. "I also relied on The Princeton Review for practising each section and Prepscholar blogs for best strategies and tips to get a high score," she adds. Like Samiha, Mushfika followed Khan Academy to hone her skills in each section. "Additionally, I used The Official SAT Study Guide by College Board for practice tests, simulating exam-hall conditions at home. This helped me get accustomed to what I would face on the day of the original exam and improve my time management," says Mushfika Sultana. Barron's SAT, Magoosh, and Kaplan are other noteworthy resources to use for preparing better.
On the other hand, Farhan Kamrul notes that the resources that helped him prepare include crackact.com, Erika Meltzer's ACT, ACT Prep Black Book, and For The Love of ACT Science. He emphasises how adequate practice and addressing mistakes made during practice are key to obtaining a high score saying "I noted all my scores in a spreadsheet and tracked my progress. I was able to see if I hit a plateau in any section, in which case I would revisit the questions and analyse them," says Farhan Kamrul.
Noshin Nawar is a fourth-year BBA student at IBA, Dhaka University.
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