These days, many of our students end up taking both tests. Even though the tests are in some ways fairly different, there is a big carryover for preparation. So, if you decide you want to take the other test, you will not need as much time to prepare for the second one. Having worked with the student already and being very familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the tests, we can be efficient about the second go-around, zeroing in on the key elements.
By the way, we are not in favor of one thing we hear people contemplate: taking a test without any preparation, just to “see what happens” or “get a baseline.” So, lets say you took the SAT and were not all that happy with your scores and are wondering whether you’d do better on the ACT. Please do not just sign up for the next ACT and go in cold. In this scenario, it’s unlikely that you will be wowed by your ACT score. We have seen a few students do well going in cold, but that is unusual. Put at least as much effort into preparing for that ACT as you did for the SAT. This will give you a more realistic sense of which test is likely to work better for you.
PS. Please do not go into the ACT without first getting clued in about the ACT science section – this can make a huge difference!