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In the past few years, many schools are making the submission of SAT or ACT scores optional. However, this should not stop students from taking the test. If a student can obtain a good score on one of these two tests, it is always a bonus for the application.

The key is to get a good score. Both the ACT and SAT are ways to predict a student’s ability to do well in university, meaning that they are both just as difficult. Students shouldn’t be asking “which one is easier” as they make the choice between the two. Depending on the students’ abilities, one test may be a better fit than the other. When it’s easier for students to prepare for these tests, they will generally be able to improve on their scores faster and with less effort.

To help students make a sound choice, here are some questions you can ask yourself to help determine which one is a better fit.

1. Am I comfortable with reading information and working through problems quickly?

If you answer to this question is yes, ACT will be a better fit. The pace on the ACT is much quicker compared to the SAT. On the ACT, students are given about two-third of the time compared to the similar section on the SAT. This leaves little room for you to make mistakes or second-guess yourself. If you work well under pressure, and you are a meticulous person rarely committing careless mistakes, you will find that the ACT will reward you for such precision.

2. Can I understand more advanced concepts and apply the knowledge to solve more complex problems?

Being able to understand and apply advanced ideas tends to mean that SAT is the right test for you. To compensate for the quick pace, questions on the ACT tend to be more straightforward but broad. SAT, on the other hand, focuses on narrower topics but expects you to be able to understand these topics in a more in-depth way. This means that for choosing the ACT, expect to learn and know many topics, while for choosing the SAT, expect to be an expert on a smaller set of topics.

3. Do I enjoy getting hands-on with scientific experiments and finding patterns in data?

The biggest difference between the ACT and SAT is the Science section that is present in ACT but not SAT. If you have enjoyed the various scientific topics learned throughout your academic, tackling the ACT Science section should be a breeze. Even if you did not study any scientific subjects extensively prior to taking the test, you can still do well with an analytical mind. The Science section on the ACT is more about your ability to link various information together, not as much about scientific knowledge.

4. Do I prefer reading about the findings of scientific discoveries and their ramifications?

Three of the five passages on the SAT Reading section are about science, so if you prefer reading about how scientists tackle a hypothesis or verify a conjecture, you will find yourself having an easier time preparing for the SAT. While the authors of these passages will apply technical (sometimes quite advanced) terms in their writing (they are scientists themselves, after all), the focus is on the your understanding on how the authors present their views. Similar to the ACT, the purpose is not to test your scientific knowledge but using scientific background to determine your ability to follow, understand, and digest logical arguments.

Even students who have done extremely well in their classes can find these tests challenging. They key to success is to apply your own strength to maximize your score. If you are still not sure which test is better for you, try to experience them first-hand. With the right mind-set and perseverance, this is one obstacle that anyone can overcome.

Continue Reading: ACT and SAT Exam Strategies to help you get into the TOP 10 US Universities >>

Check out The Edge’s other blogs>>

About The Edge

The Edge Learning Center is Hong Kong’s premier Test Preparation, Academic Tutoring, and Admissions Consulting services provider. Founded in 2008, The Edge has helped thousands of students improve their ACT and SAT scores as well as their IB and AP grades. The AC team has just finished off another successful period in which student gained acceptance to schools such as Stanford, University of Chicago, Brown, and more! Check out the rest of our latest Admissions Results!

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The post The Edge’s 2020-2021 Admissions Results appeared first on The Edge.

The Edge’s students have continued to receive acceptances from great schools this year! Huge congratulations to the students who got these wonderful acceptances:

US TOP 20 & UK Top 5 Placement

US National University

US National Liberal Arts College

US Specialty

UK University

Others

* US, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, and Netherlands Ranking – U.S. News 2020 Best Colleges | UK Ranking – University League Tables 2020 | Art & Design Ranking – QS World University 2020

**Last updated: 17 April, 2020

***Click to view our last year Admissions Results

The Edge’s Admissions Consulting Team is proud to offer families across Asia unparalleled admissions expertise, with our team having over 10 years of experience coaching students to the top universities. Our holistic service takes care of families’ needs each step of the way and gets the results you’re looking for.

Find out how we can help you on the path to university – Register for a Free 30-minute Consultation with one of our Admissions Consultants today!

The post The Edge’s 2019-2020 Admissions Results appeared first on The Edge.

The Edge’s students have continued to receive acceptances from great schools this year! Huge congratulations to the students who got these wonderful results:

US & UK Top 10 Placement

US National University

US National Liberal Arts College

US Specialty

UK University

Others

*US Ranking – U.S. News 2019 Best Colleges | UK Ranking – University League Tables 2019

**Last updated: May 20, 2019

The Edge’s Admissions Consulting Team is proud to offer families across Asia unparalleled admissions expertise, with our team having over 10 years of experience coaching students to the top universities. Our holistic service takes care of families’ needs each step of the way and gets the results you’re looking for.

Find out how we can help you on the path to university – Register for a Free 30-minute Consultation with one of our Admissions Consultants today!

The post The Edge’s 2018-2019 Admissions Results appeared first on The Edge.

 In our previous blog post, The Edge’s test prep expert and admissions consultant provided their insights on the scores that you need to get into the Top 30 US universities and the best study strategies to achieve those scores. This time, we will be focusing on targeting Top 10 US universities as they require relatively high ACT/SAT scores.

Top 10 US University– ACT Strategy

Score: 33

English: 69/75, Reading: 37/40

Math: 54/60, Science: 37/40

ACT English

Achieving a 33 in the English section on the ACT is approximately equivalent to getting 69 out of 75 questions correct. This leaves very little margin for error.

It is imperative for students to memorize the grammar rules that are being tested in this section. In addition, students need to be able to recognize the question type in order to quickly identify the rule that should be applied. If students are consistently missing grammar questions, a quick way to improve in this area is to break down the sentence in question into essential parts: remove non-essential phrases, get rid of prepositional phrases, find the subject and verb. Once a sentence is deconstructed, apply the rules to find any grammatical errors.

If students are struggling with rhetorical strategies, try reading the entire passage first. Because these questions depend on the context or the language, having a sense of what the passage is about, and the tone that is established, can help students eliminate the incorrect answers. To minimize errors/careless mistakes, when in doubt, providing a reason why a choice is correct/incorrect can help eliminate uncertainty.

ACT Reading

Achieving a 33 in the Reading section is approximately equivalent to getting 37 out of 40 questions correct. With room to make only three errors, students must be able to finish this section in a timely manner. This means the first thing students must achieve is to quickly read the passage and process the essence immediately. Many students prefer highlighting or underlining important information in each paragraph. Paraphrasing with students’ own words may help improve their understanding than identifying pieces of information. Summarizing forces students to actively read.

Using elimination in this section can also help students minimize careless mistakes. While the passages and the questions are straightforward, the answer choices do not come directly from the passage. Instead, they are often reworded to capture the essence of the passage. If the idea or the tone of the answer choice does not match the passage, eliminate and look at the next answer choice.

Lastly, because the passage types are fixed, students can actually prepare by reading articles in those specific fields. Instead of only reading topics of their interest, students should broaden their knowledge by reading into different areas. Many times the faintest familiarity with a topic may just give students the slight edge needed to get the questions right.

ACT Math

Achieving a 33 in the Math section is approximately equivalent to getting 54 out of 60 questions correct. Again students need to battle against time to ensure all questions are attempted. With only 6 errors to spare, students cannot make any careless mistakes in the first 40 questions at all, nor can they spend too much time on any specific question. As mentioned earlier, even though the questions tend to progress in difficulty, this does not equate to needing more time to solve. Many of the harder questions simply test students’ understanding of a concept, which means the correct answer can often be spotted right away.

With that in mind, knowing the concepts is the first thing students must commit to tackling. It is not necessary to master each concept, but it is important to be able to identify the concept being tested and the mechanics behind it. Students should work to identify their weaknesses and focus on those specific areas. Once students are comfortable with the general mathematical knowledge, they should spend more time on the more advanced question types that occur in the latter section of the test. When students review their exercises, they should focus on how they make mistakes. If students simply cannot understand the question, they should learn about the mathematical concept behind it and the way it is being presented. Students should analyze the process they use to arrive at the correct answer. Solving many of the hard questions requires a correct stream of logical reasoning instead of pure calculation.

ACT Science

Achieving a 33 on the Science section is approximately equivalent to getting 37 out of 40 questions correct. Similar to the Reading section, to miss at most 3 questions means students must first be able to finish all 6 passages in 35 minutes. Students rarely have time to double-check their answers in this section. This means students need to focus on speed and accuracy at the same time.

While this section focuses on students’ ability to interpret data quickly, it is still important to be aware of some of the basic terms and concepts commonly seen in physics, biology, and chemistry. This means students should prepare by reading general science topics prior to the test.

Something students can do to help improve speed and accuracy during the test is to read the answer choices before coming up with the answer. Many question types on this section involve a choice of two possible scenarios with a corresponding explanation. Being able to determine the correct scenario and eliminate the wrong reason can help speed up the process. At the end of the day, this section is more about students’ ability to think critically and quickly.

Top 10 US University – SAT Strategy

Math score: 740 | English score: 740

SAT Math

Achieving a 740 in the Math section on the SAT is approximately equivalent to getting 52 out of 58 questions right. This leaves very little margin for error.

Students who struggle with achieving this score range normally have one of three main problems: i) they constantly make careless mistakes even though they are comfortable with the knowledge required to answer the questions, ii) they struggle with particular topics and get bogged down when they encounter questions in those topics, or iii) they struggle with the difficult questions.

To mitigate carelessness, students need to get into the habit of underlining important information in the question and writing down steps as they work on a question. It is also important for students to ensure that they are memorizing the rules/theorems correctly. Many questions in the Math section require students to simply identify rules/theorems without doing any calculation. However, there are also many trap answers that correspond to the common careless choices. Creating flashcards to help memorize these rules is strongly recommended.

For students who struggle with specific topics or difficult questions, learning the question pattern may help reduce such errors. The SAT does not test concepts beyond what it has listed on its website. The difficulty usually comes from the way a question is phrased or the novel way it’s presented. When students make mistakes on such problems, instead of brushing it off, they should focus on analyzing the question and find out how it is different than the types that they can handle. The SAT is about knowledge as much as about preparation. Because the SAT is now more similar to the testing skills learned in school, students should practice with textbooks in addition to mock papers.

SAT English

Achieving a 740 in the English section of SAT is approximately equivalent to getting 89 out of 96 questions right.

With room to make approximately 7 errors at the very most, students should focus first on perfecting the W&L section.

At the heart of the W&L section is still the application of rules. Students who are getting more than 3 questions incorrect in this section need to first recognize their weaknesses. If students are still struggling with grammar questions, they need to correctly identify the type of questions, and the corresponding rules, that they must reinforce. If the students are struggling with the content questions, they may need to change their strategies in this section. One way to help answer the content questions more accurately is to read the entire passage first. Finally, because this section is really down to finding the right answer, students should use reasoning to support their answer choices. Quite often when we think out loud, we can avoid careless mistakes.

If students are able to make at most 1 mistake on the W&L section, this leaves some breathing room in the Reading section, particular for those students who find this section difficult. Mastering the Reading section not only requires good comprehension skills, it also helps when we have some knowledge on the topic being discussed. The type of passages on the SAT Reading section is fixed: there will always be a narrative passage, two science passages, one social science passage, and a US founding document or Great Global Conversation document. While we cannot predict what will be on the next test, we can use past exams to help us find similar passages. In the end, the more the students read, the better they will become at this section.

Read more from the previous blog “Getting into the Top US Universities – ACT & SAT Exam Strategies (I)” on the scores that you need to get into the Top 30 US universities and the best study strategies to achieve those score.

Need help with your AP/IB coursework? The Edge is offering a FREE Trial Lesson*(English/ Math/ Physics/ Biology/ Chemistry/ History/ Economics/ Business/ Psychology/ Latin) to new students, so join our class and learn how to apply the knowledge you learn in school to your IB/AP/IGCSE examinations. SIGN UP HERE!

Check out The Edge’s other blogs

Causeway Bay: 2972 2555 | Mong Kok: 2783 7100

About The Edge

The Edge Learning Center is Hong Kong’s premier Test Preparation, Academic Tutoring, and Admissions Consulting services provider. Founded in 2008, The Edge has helped thousands of students improve their ACT and SAT scores as well as their IB and AP grades. The AC team has just finished off another successful period in which student gained acceptance to schools such as Stanford, University of Chicago, Brown, and more! Check out the rest of our 2018 Admissions Results!

The post Getting into the Top US Universities – ACT & SAT Exam Strategies (II) appeared first on The Edge.

Since the New SAT was introduced in 2016, students and parents have been trying to gauge the minimum caliber needed to secure a place in top US universities. This time, The Edge’s Admissions Consultant and Test Prep expert are teaming up to provide you with the most needed insights!

In the latest US News Ranking, Princeton University is ranked as the number 1 National University. In the 2017-18 application season, the median SAT scores of students who got accepted to Princeton lie between 700 and 780 for SAT Math, between 680 and 760 for SAT English, and between 31 and 35 for the ACT. This implies an average total SAT score between 1380 and 1530, both out of 1600.

Duke University, which is currently ranked no. 10 in the US News Ranking, has also shared its admissions data. The median scores of students accepted to the Duke University are 740-780 in SAT Math, 740-790 in SAT English, and 33-35 in the ACT. This implies a total between 1480 and 1570 in the SAT, which is certainly not an easy score to achieve!

In comparison, Cornell University, which is currently ranked no. 15 in the US News Ranking, accepts students who scored between 700 and 790 in SAT Math, between 690 and 760 in SAT English, and between 31 and 34 in the ACT. Hence, the total score lies between 1390 and 1550.

Moving down the ranking, however, we do see a slight dip in the scores required. In particular, New York University – currently ranked no. 30 – accepts students who have scored between 650 and 780 in SAT Math, between 660 and 730 in SAT English, and between 29 and 33 in the ACT. This means a total SAT score between 1310 and 1510.

Notably, schools with very strong Math, Science, and Engineering programs also have high expectations of students’ English abilities. Carnegie Mellon University, for instance, accepts students who scored between 650 and 770 in SAT English, and between 640 and 800 in SAT Math. As for the ACT, the Pennsylvania-based engineering school requires students to have achieved a score between 31 and 35.

MIT, on the other hand, accepts students who have achieved a minimum of 770 in SAT Math, and a minimum of 730 in SAT English. The range of their accepted students’ total SAT score is 1500 and 1580, whereas the required ACT score is between 34 and 35.

Top 30 US University – ACT Exam Strategy

Score: 29

To achieve a 29 on the ACT, here are the approximate numbers of questions required in each section:

English: 64/75, Reading: 32/40

Math: 48/60, Science: 34/40

ACT English

This section tests a combination of students’ grammar knowledge and rhetorical strategy. Generally, the two types of questions are fairly balanced: 40 questions in grammar, 35 in rhetorical strategy. With 45 minutes to work on 75 questions, this is a fast-paced section, just like the rest of the test. The large amount of questions may cause students to become careless towards the latter part of the section. Since half of the test is about the application of grammar rules, students should focus on memorizing such rules and learn about the type of questions that frequent the exam. The other half of this section requires students to understand the context/language requirement to make the correct choice. Many questions can be correctly answered simply by carefully re-reading the sentence to look for clues.

The passage types, and the language used in these passages, are rarely difficult. The five passages do not get progressively harder either; the distribution of difficulty is approximately the same throughout the section. What students should be aware of are the tones of these passages. Students quite often ignore the passage’s specific tone and make the wrong choice. In order to get 64 correct answers in this section, students need to avoid getting more than 2 incorrect answers out of the 15 questions per passage. By staying alert throughout the entire section, identifying the question types, and memorizing the grammar rules, students should find that this section is not such an obstacle after all.

ACT Reading

This section tests students’ ability to read and understand a fairly straightforward passage in a short amount of time. Compared to the SAT Reading section, the passages and questions are relatively easier. However, with only 35 minutes to read 4 passages (one of which will be paired) and answer 40 questions, the difficulty often comes down to time management. In order to get 32 questions correct, students cannot miss more than 2 questions per passage. For students who struggle with reading speed, a common strategy is to focus on three passages to ensure all the questions are correctly answered, and then use the remaining time to guess on the last passage.

The types of passages are fixed on the ACT Reading section. It starts with a literary narrative piece, then moves on to a passage on social science, followed by a topic on humanities, and finally ends with a natural science passage. The paired passages can appear in any one of these four types. With the questions being relatively straightforward, most students will find that they can improve in this section simply by increasing their reading speed.

ACT Math

ACT Math, compared to SAT, is also more straightforward. There is no “fill in your own answer” question type, but there are 5 answer choices instead of 4, so the chance of randomly guessing the right answer is slimmer. ACT Math tests students’ breadth of knowledge; in order to score very high, students will need exposure to concepts that are normally taught in Pre-Calculus. However, this does not mean students will struggle with the test if they have only studied up to Algebra II: ACT only has a handful of questions that require more advanced knowledge.

To get 48 questions correct, students will want to focus on accurately and quickly finishing the first 30 questions. The difficulty of the questions typically gets harder in the latter part of the section. This means students may need more time to do the last 15 or so questions. Time management is very important: many students struggle with this section because they run out of time.

Careless mistakes are another aspect students must avoid. There are many word problems in this section that test simple mathematical concepts, but without reading the question properly, it is easy to pick the trap answers. ACT does not provide any equations at the beginning on the section, so students must memorize formulae like the quadratic equation, the volume/area of geometric figures, compound interest, etc. The more advanced equations like the law of cosine, the volume of a sphere, or the determinant of a two by two matrix are commonly provided in the question.

Students who are not doing well in their math classes will find that they need the most preparation for this section. Start by reviewing the current math syllabus. If books/exercises from previous years are available, study them again. Make flash cards of equations/mathematical properties, so they can be recalled quickly on the exam.

Finally, remember that a calculator is allowed on this section. It is strongly recommended that students use a graphing calculator for this exam. If a problem seems to be particular difficult, don’t give up immediately. Try to analyze the question and see if certain answer choices can be logically eliminated. However, don’t linger on a question for too longer either. Quite often students may find that there are questions that can be easily done in the latter part. Remember, there is no penalty for an incorrect answer, so students should fill in every answer choice even if it involves guessing.

ACT Science

ACT Science, as most students find out after taking the test, does not test science knowledge. Instead, it focuses on students’ ability to analyze data and interpret their meaning in a scientific background. Students who are not taking physics, biology, or chemistry in school can still get top score in this section; knowledge from general science learned in middle school is sufficient. The background of each experiment/scenario being described on the test is generally irrelevant. What is important is the ability to swiftly understand and absorb the information provided by the various graphs/tables/charts and quickly find the answer. This is the last multiple-choice section of the test, and most students are already quite exhausted at this point. The fact that this section requires sharp thinking more than knowledge makes it particularly challenging.

The ACT Science section is broken down to 6 passages. One of these will resemble a reading passage, while the remaining 5 involve data interpretation. Knowing the structure and the specific kinds of questions involved with these two types of passages can help students improve tremendously. The difficulty of this section also tends to fluctuate the most: getting 34 correct answers can yield a 31 on a harder test, but it may also become a 27 on an easier one.

Just like the rest of the ACT test, time is of the essence. With only 35 minutes to do 40 questions for 6 passages, students cannot spend too much time lingering on a particular question. It is also important for students to remember that there is a lot of superfluous information in this particular section. Being able to parse the information and determine what is essential will be particularly important.

Students who have not taken any science courses recently may want to brush up on recognizing and reading the various types of graphs and charts. Having a solid understanding of what and how information is presented will greatly speed up the process of finding the right answer. It is also a good idea to review basic concepts in general science.

Top 30 US University– SAT Strategy

Math score: 650 | English score: 660

SAT Math

Achieving a 650 in the Math section of SAT is approximately equivalent to getting 42 out of 58 questions right.

The difficulty of Math questions on the SAT is approximately the same as that of questions at the end of an Algebra II exam, with the additional topics of trigonometry (very minor) and statistics/probability.

In order for a student to get 42 questions right, the first step is to review topics that are covered in Algebra II: exponential rules, exponential growth, quadratics, polynomials, and factor/remainder theorems are common questions that show up on the exam. Algebra makes up of a big chunk of the exam. Statistics/data analysis is another major topic for which many students may not have a strong foundation. Knowing how to read graphs/tables/charts is something that the students must be comfortable with. On top of that, students should also be able to understand linear regression and have common knowledge about data collection/interpretation. In addition, students should have a basic concept of the three basic trigonometric functions (sine, cosine, tangent) and conversion between degrees and radians. Finally, make sure to review topics that were taught in Geometry; while this topic makes up a very small part of the exam, students tend to forget some of the important geometric rules and become unable to answer some fairly straightforward questions.

With 16 questions to spare, students should not miss more than 5 in the non-calculator section, and no more than 11 in the calculator section. In the non-calculator section, there are normally 3 to 4 difficult multiple-choice questions (out of 15) and 1 to 2 difficult grid-in questions (out of 5). For the calculator section, there are normally 6 to 8 difficult multiple-choice questions (out of 30) and 2 to 3 difficult grid-in questions (out of 8). As long as the students are being careful with their calculations and don’t make many careless mistakes, 650 is a very achievable score in the Math section.

SAT English

Achieving a 660 in the English section of SAT is approximately equivalent to getting 77 out of 96 questions right.

Between the Writing and Language section and the Reading section, students can really only study for the Writing and Language Section.

Since there are 44 questions in the W&L section and 52 questions in the Reading section, students should aim for 35 and 42 correct answers in these two sections, respectively.

The W&L section on the new SAT is very similar to the ACT’s English section now. This means students can no longer rely on memorizing rules to do well in this section. However, approximately half of the section is still about grammar rules. This means students should still make sure they are well aware of the rules that will be tested on the exam, and they must know these rules by heart. The W&L section is also putting more emphases on students’ ability to analyze a passage’s content. Therefore, students should practice as much as they can whenever there is a chance.

In the Reading section of the SAT, there are 5 passages, each with 10 to 11 questions. Getting 42 correct is akin to allowing only 2 errors per passage. Most students, even those who are doing well in their English classes, find the varieties in the passage types challenging. In order to prepare for this, students should practice reading different topics/genres before the exam. In addition to improving their reading speeds, students should practice active reading: summarize as soon as they have finished a paragraph to ensure they are absorbing the main idea.

Continue Reading: ACT and SAT Exam Strategies to help you get into the TOP 10 US Universities >>

Need help with your AP/IB coursework? The Edge is offering a FREE Trial Lesson*(English/ Math/ Physics/ Biology/ Chemistry/ History/ Economics/ Business/ Computer Science/ Geography) to new students, so join our class and learn how to apply the knowledge you learn in school to your IB/AP/IGCSE examinations. SIGN UP HERE!

Check out The Edge’s other blogs

Causeway Bay: 2972 2555 | Mong Kok: 2783 7100

About The Edge

The Edge Learning Center is Hong Kong’s premier Test Preparation, Academic Tutoring, and Admissions Consulting services provider. Founded in 2008, The Edge has helped thousands of students improve their ACT and SAT scores as well as their IB and AP grades. The AC team has just finished off another successful period in which student gained acceptance to schools such as Stanford, University of Chicago, Brown, and more! Check out the rest of our 2018 Admissions Results!

The post Getting into the Top US Universities – ACT & SAT Exam Strategies (I) appeared first on The Edge.

Congratulations to our students who received acceptances from:

US National University

US Regional University / College

US National Liberal Arts College

UK University

Others

*US Ranking – U.S. News 2018 Best Colleges | UK Ranking – University League Tables 2018

**Last update: Mar 12, 2018

Related: The Edge’s 2016-2017 Admissions Results

Have questions about College Admissions Process or want to know how we coach our students? Sign up for a FREE 30-minute Consultation with one of our counselors now! Sign up HERE!

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