International students looking to study abroad in the US may be familiar with standardized testing as one of the key components of the undergraduate application process. To screen the best applicants, admission officers rely on multiple criteria to compare different students’ competence and academic skills. These criteria usually include the student’s high school GPA, letters of recommendation, application essays, extracurricular and co-curricular activities, and personal interviews, which are all strong indicators of an applicant’s academic performance. However, they also depend on other factors that may be hard to objectively measure, such as the student’s curriculum, relationship with their teachers, and the overall learning experience they have had in their school.

Standardized tests such as SAT and ACT help institutions of higher learning gather more accurate data about the applicants’ academic skills for admission decisions. While all do not require them, most colleges and universities use these tests because unified and standardized exams put all applicants on the same playing field for more objective measurement.

What Do the SAT and ACT Assess?

Broadly speaking, the SAT and ACT exams assess students’ overall readiness for higher education by evaluating and quantifying their aptitude for comprehension, analysis, and reasoning. These are necessary skills for students to perform well at the college level.

SAT and ACT are two equal options, meaning they are both recognized and respected by most institutes in the US. Students need to take only one of these tests as they more or less measure the same criteria but through different methods. SAT and ACT are both multiple-choice tests that are split into different sections, each focused on a specific academic skill area. Students who score well on these tests not only demonstrate their intellectual capacity to their prospective educational institution but also their diligence and commitment to academic success.

As far as the tests are concerned, SAT and ACT are required for all, but international students who are not from English-speaking countries usually have to take an additional test to demonstrate that their English language skills are proficient enough for an academic environment.

The most commonly accepted English language tests among US educational institutions are the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). These two exams are both credible and equally respected, but it is always recommended that you learn about the policies of each institute through their official communication channels. The same applies to the SAT and ACT tests and their minimum required scores for admission. However, from what has been seen so far, the SAT and TOEFL have been the go-to choices among international students.

What Is the Difference Between the SAT and ACT?

For most students, the ultimate deciding factor in choosing between the SAT and ACT exams is where they can perform better, and that will depend on each individual student’s interests, academic background, strengths, and weaknesses.

That said, there are a couple of major and minor differences between the two exams, and knowing about them can help you make a more informed decision.

The SAT exam consists of three main sections split into two broad topics of mathematics and language. Namely, these sections are Math—which itself is divided into two subsections of Calculator and No Calculator—, Writing & Language, and Reading. There is also an additional Essay section that is optional, although some schools may require students to take it. The ACT’s structure is similar to the SAT’s with its English, Reading, Math, and optional Essay sections, but it also adds a Science section into the mix.

For non-native English speakers who want to study abroad in the US, each of these tests has its fair share of pros and cons. In terms of the format of the tests, one big difference between the two is the timing. The SAT allows students to spend more time on each question and requires them to work for shorter periods of time. On the SAT, students are allowed approximately one minute and 12 seconds per question, and the length of their exam is broken into four one-hour sections with breaks in between. The ACT, on the other hand, gives students 49 seconds per question, and they have to work for an hour and 45 minutes before they get their one and only break.

On the flip side, the time generosity of the SAT is compensated by the complexity of its tasks. For example, the average SAT math question has significantly more words per question than the average ACT math question. Likewise, the reading passages on SAT are usually more complex in structure and use higher-level vocabulary, while the ACT is famous for its straightforward and easy-to-understand wording, which international students find appealing.

Since it is hard to tell how these differences will affect your performance, the best approach is to find online resources and take practice tests without any sort of preparation. This way, you will understand your base-level assessment of these two tests and see where you perform better naturally.