Should International Students Take the SAT or ACT? - The Olive Book Blog (2023)

FAQs

Should international students take SAT or ACT? ›

While the SAT has generally been more popular than the ACT for international students, it might not be the better option for you if you're strong in math and science. Unlike the SAT, the ACT has a Science section and tests some more advanced math concepts.

However, the following reasons may make the SAT considerably harder for international students: Command on English Language: As all sections on the SAT require reading passages or understanding word problems, a good command of language structure and syntax is important.

Students will be awarded points for each correct answer with no points taken away for any incorrect ones. This is why never leaving an answer blank on your test is so important. You can only gain by taking a stab at the question. If you leave it blank, you will most certainly get it wrong.

Generally speaking, any SAT score around or above the 50th percentile is considered great. But, this is not enough for most Ivy league colleges and other renowned universities. Therefore, it is advisable that you aim to score in at least the 75th percentile i.e.,1200 or higher.

In reality, all colleges and universities that require standardized testing accept both the ACT and SAT. And college admissions counselors have openly stated they do not prefer one test over the other.

In addition to SAT I scores, your SAT II (SAT Subject Test) scores are also very important to international schools. Whereas many US universities do not require SAT II scores, international universities often do.

✅ Gaokao (China)

Each year, millions of students in China take the gaokao, taken by students in their third and final year of high school typically from June 7 to June 8 or 9. It's China's version of the American SAT and British A-level tests, and is known as one of the hardest exams in the world.

A 1500 SAT score is automatically good enough to get into some of the country's top universities and colleges. However, it's not enough to guarantee admission.

The SAT is scored out of 1600 and the average SAT score is between 1010 and 1060.

Because the composite score is rounded either up or down, you won't have to answer every single question correctly to get a score of 36.

Is C the most common answer on SAT? ›

Every answer choice on the SAT will have a statistically even distribution of 1 in 4 for each answer choice letter, A, B, C, or D. In other words? There is no most common answer on the SAT. Ultimately, guessing C (or any letter!) will give you the correct answer only a statistical 25% of the time.

C or H are right (and wrong) as often as any other answer choice. The only guess letter you don't want to use when you are completely guessing is E or K because they only show up on the math test. Ok, myths exposed, let's move on to how and when to guess.

Harvard University's SAT scores for admitted students range from 1480 - 1580, with an average score of 1530.

The SAT is the same test no matter which country it is administered in. It may be more difficult for students in Asian countries, especially for those who are not fluent in English, but it will not be an objectively more difficult test.

Harvard, like the rest of the Ivy League and most other colleges, requires either the SAT or ACT for admission. They have no preference between them, so choose the test that's a better fit for you, thoroughly prepare for it, and plan to take it multiple times.

No matter what you might've heard, Ivy League schools have no preference between the ACT and SAT. You can submit scores from either test or from both of them without worrying that your application will be dinged.

A common myth is that prestigious schools, like the Ivy League (Yale University, Princeton University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania) prefer the SAT. This is not true, though. Schools have no preference in regards to ACT vs.

Usually, a GPA of 3.0 - 3.5 is considered good enough at many high schools, colleges, and universities. Top academic institutions usually require GPAs higher than 3.5.

The biggest reason international students are so highly sought by US universities though, is the tuition dollars they bring in.

Can you take ACT internationally? ›

ACT is committed to helping international students reach their education goals by offering the ACT test in as many countries on as many dates as we can.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the CFA exam is the most difficult exam in the world, with less than 1/5th of candidates clearing it, after repeated attempts, on a yearly basis.

Students can take the SAT as many times as they want. We recommend that they take it at least twice—in the spring of their junior year and the fall of their senior year. Most students get a higher score the second time, and most colleges consider a student's highest SAT score when making admission decisions.

Yale has no official cutoff or minimum SAT score that they require from applicants. However, most students who are accepted to Yale have SAT scores above the 95th percentile nationally.

The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1470, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1560. In other words, a 1470 places you below average, while a 1560 will move you up to above average. There's no absolute SAT requirement at Yale, but they really want to see at least a 1470 to have a chance at being considered.

Even though there are many changes on the SAT, there are still many factors that remain the same. The test is still out of 1600 points, the sections of the test are the same, and the SAT will still cover the same topics. That's why you will want to work with our tried and true tutoring and SAT prep programs.

Standardized tests

We require the SAT or the ACT for both prospective first year and transfer students. We do not require the ACT writing section or the SAT optional essay.

Has anyone ever gotten a 1 on the ACT? ›

The absolute minimum ACT score you can get is a 1, although this is very unlikely to happen. You might be more worried about getting a score high enough to get into college.

Admissions Summary

Harvard College is extremely selective with an acceptance rate of 4%. Students that get into Harvard College have an ACT score of 34–36. Regular applications are due January 1.

There's no absolute ACT requirement at Harvard, but they really want to see at least a 33 to have a chance at being considered.

Feel free to pick (C) if you'd like, but know that any LOTD you choose is likely to get you some points in the long run if you use it consistently. If you guess on 20 questions over the course of the test, about 5 of those should match your LOTD. Yay, free points!

Remember, there's no SAT guessing penalty. You should always answer all questions, even if you need to guess. Educated guessing gives you the best chance of achieving a higher SAT score when you get stuck.

For those guessing on only a few of the last ten questions, A/F would be the better option. The Safe Bet: Answer choice E/K is the safest choice because it, so far, has always had one correct answer. In fact, E/K has met or exceeded the expected average 82% of the time, making it the most consistent answer choice.

Guess any letter for any question. It doesn't matter if you guess A,B,A,B or A,A,A,A or any variation. Your expected number of correct answers are equal—actually, you'll actually do sliiightly better by guessing randomly on every question.

When those skills and constructs become more complicated and difficult over time, the ACT reflects that. Those changes tend to occur very gradually, however, not usually within a two to three year span.

There's no absolute SAT requirement at Harvard, but they really want to see at least a 1460 to have a chance at being considered.

We welcome applications from all over the world. Our admissions and financial aid processes are the same for all applicants - regardless of nationality or citizenship.

What grade do international students need to get into Harvard? ›

To get into Harvard, you must have scored an A in all your subjects. Aim for at least a 7+ CGPA out of 10. Letter of recommendation. Your teacher or counselor will have to write a Letter of Recommendation for you.

Myth: The March SAT® is the easiest SAT test date. Fact: There's no such thing as “the easiest SAT test date.” While it's true that some versions of the SAT are easier than others, it's false that some test dates are predictably easier than others.

Most high school student are advised to take the SAT in spring of their junior year and the March SAT test date is a big favorite of many college counselors.

Your Student visa can be rejected due to many reasons. For example, the reason to return to a home country is not strong enough, Not enough proof of financial ability to support yourself, If your university or degree looks suspicious, Invalid passport, Poor Visa Interview, etc.

New York University had around 21,081 international students studying there in the academic year of 2021/22, making it the most popular university for international students in the United States.

The difficulty of the test is most definitely same across the world but the 'weight' is considered on a percentile basis and a lot of colleges while admitting Asian students care more about the student's percentile in their region rather than overall.

The SAT acceptance is spread to around 4,000 universities abroad. However, since the pandemic and even before some colleges are going SAT test-optional.

All eight Ivy League schools will continue to have test-optional policies for the 2022-23 application cycle. While high SAT scores are an asset, they're just one metric that colleges consider. Students should aim to score in the 75th percentile among admitted students.

Most universities are now SAT/ACT optional and a few, like the entire University of California system which includes heavy-hitters like Berkeley and UCLA, no longer accept these standardised tests full stop.

Which SAT is usually the hardest? ›

In online forums, students also tend to identify Test #3 as the hardest of the official practice tests, so there truly seems to be a clear consensus. It's important to remember though that a hard practice test can actually be a great resource!

Yes, you can apply to US universities without ACT or SAT scores. Many US universities have decided to continue with the waiver on SAT or ACT scores in 2022 and 2023 as well. As an international student, you can apply to US universities that are waiving the standardised test scores.

Reading and Writing 730-780, Math 750-800 (2020–21)

Harvard University / Typical SAT scores

But for now, the short answer is that most colleges are not requiring SAT or ACT test scores for the class of 2023.

To have the best shot of getting in, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1580 SAT or a 35 ACT. You should also have a 4.18 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score.

When you apply for admission, you can choose whether or not our review of your application will include your standardized test scores (SAT and ACT). If your scores already are on file before you apply and you choose at the time of your application to proceed without scores, we will not consider those scores.