College Entrance Assessments

College Assessment Requirements

If you are planning on entering a 4-year University directly out of high school, you may be required to take a college entrance exam. However, the Covid-19 pandemic jumpstarted a trend where many Universities moved to no longer using SAT/ACT scores as part of the freshman admissions process. You'll want to specifically look into the testing requirements for any college you may be potentially applying to.

The two college entrance exams that are used for admissions are the SAT test and ACT test. On each of the respective websites you can register to take the test, attempt practice tests, etc… Colleges have different policies in regards to what test they accept.

The SAT and ACT are made by different testing companies and are different in nature. There are various theories as to what test is best for an individual student. Here is a document that highlights some of the test differences: ACT vs SAT Some students elect to take both tests in order to see for themselves if they would score better on one of the tests.

The PSAT is the practice test for the SAT test.

Timeline:

While there is not a right or wrong way to go about the process of taking college entrance tests, the generally accepted “timeline” for testing is:

  • Junior Year: Take the PSAT in October and the SAT/ACT in the spring. This allows you to retake the SAT or ACT in the fall of your senior year if needed.
  • Senior Year: Re-take the SAT or ACT in the fall if needed.