---
title: Should You Take the SAT or the ACT?
description: A new Kaplan Test Prep survey finds 43% of students now plan to take both the SAT and ACT tests for college applications.
authors:
  - name: Greg Daugherty
    url: https://money.com/author/greg-daugherty/
    at_money_since: 2015
    articles: 22
    covers:
      - Education
      - Business
      - Economy and Politics
      - Lifestyle
      - Personal Finance
    former_staff: true
published: '2015-11-05T18:22:24.000Z'
modified: '2015-11-05T18:22:24.000Z'
section: Education
tags:
  - act
  - College Admissions
  - SAT
  - standardized tests
  - Tests
word_count: 206
canonical: https://money.com/college-sat-act/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![students with backpacks](https://img.money.com/2014/10/141017_gen_ff_education.jpg?crop=119px%2C85px%2C2536px%2C1427px&quality=85)

For many college-bound students today, the question of whether to take the [ACT](http://www.actstudent.org) or the [SAT](https://sat.collegeboard.org/home) seems to have gotten a whole lot easier. They’re just taking both.

That’s according to a survey of parents of college applicants released today by [Kaplan Test Prep](http://www.kaptest.com). It found that 43% of respondents said their child was planning to take both exams.

The most common reason, according to Kaplan, was that the students were hedging their bets and planning to submit the scores from whichever test they did best on to the colleges on their wish lists.

[![Best college education image](https://content.money.com/wp-content/themes/money2018/img/college-site-banner-02.png)](https://best-colleges.time.com/money/search-colleges/?xid=cm-mcpFindTheCollegeWidget)

While that may be a valid reason, the second most common reason was a belief that schools in certain regions of the country preferred one test over the other—the ACT in the Midwest and the SAT in Eastern states, for example. Kaplan says that’s a misconception and that currently, “all schools nationwide accept both tests equally.”

For advice on doing well on the two tests, whichever one (or ones) you decide to take:

[Here’s What It Takes to Boost Your ACT Scores](https://money.com/improve-act-test-scores/?iid=sr-link1)

[Here’s the SAT Score You Need to Beat](https://money.com/average-sat-scores-2015/?iid=sr-link2)

And for a list of fine schools where your scores aren't an issue:

[10 Great Colleges That Don't Care About Your SATs](https://money.com/best-value-test-optional-colleges/?iid=sr-link1)

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/college-sat-act/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Education",
          "item": "https://money.com/education/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "SAT",
          "item": "https://money.com/sat/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "Should You Take the SAT or the ACT?"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/college-sat-act/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/college-sat-act/",
      "name": "Should You Take the SAT or the ACT?",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2015-11-05T18:22:24.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/college-sat-act/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/college-sat-act/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2015-11-05T18:22:24.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "Should You Take the SAT or the ACT?",
      "articleSection": "Education",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2014/10/141017_gen_ff_education.jpg?crop=119px%2C85px%2C2536px%2C1427px&quality=85",
          "width": 1012,
          "height": 569,
          "caption": "141017_Money_Gen_FF_Education"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "Greg Daugherty",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/greg-daugherty/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/greg-daugherty/#author"
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2015-11-05T18:22:24.000Z",
      "description": "A new Kaplan Test Prep survey finds 43% of students now plan to take both the SAT and ACT tests for college applications.",
      "abstract": "A new Kaplan Test Prep survey finds 43% of students now plan to take both the SAT and ACT tests for college applications.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/college-sat-act/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2015-11-05T18:22:24.000Z",
      "wordCount": 206,
      "keywords": [
        "act",
        "College Admissions",
        "SAT",
        "standardized tests",
        "Tests"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Education",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education"
          ]
        },
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "SAT",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```