At the start of Junior year, students start to think about their future and their plans after graduating from High School. Although this college process may be stressful, there are many helpful tricks and explanations that will help juniors make their college decisions and necessities easier.
At the beginning of the college road, taking the PSAT or Pre-ACT is extremely helpful and overly suggested by teachers and universities. Being aware of what is to come in the actual tests will help a student prepare for taking the tests themselves. Also, many students decide to only take one of these tests, but it is recommended that a student should take both pre-tests to understand the organization of each test, and which one the student does the strongest in.
Although some colleges are test-optional, taking the ACT and SAT is extremely important for college applications to prove a student’s level in testing. These tests reflect a student’s academic abilities and strong suits which may provide success for college.
Further, these tests may seem similar, but when taken, they are extremely divergent. The SAT strongly focuses on reading and writing and a student’s ability to understand and analyze a text. The SAT also includes a math section to score a student’s understanding of basic algebra and other mathematics. On October 26, 2024, students at Hingham High School entered the school on a Saturday morning to take the PSAT. Test taker, Tessa Grossman, comments, “Overall, I feel the strongest in my PSAT and will be taking the SAT later this year. Although I enjoy science, the SAT is a better fit for me and how my brain works. I strongly suggest each student take both pre-tests to decide which one is better for them.”
Like the SAT, the ACT includes a reading and writing section but also includes a science section. Overall, the ACT is seen as a more curriculum-based test and would be recommended for students who are agile in science. The Pre-ACT at Hingham High School was distributed at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Junior, Emily Kiernan, stated, “I took both the PSAT and the Pre-ACT and concluded that the Pre-ACT was a better fit for me. I will be taking the ACT later this year due to my intelligence in science.”
Taking the Pre-ACT and PSAT is extremely important to decide which test a student should take based on their academic intelligence. The SAT and ACT are crucial in college applications and should be taken seriously.
