Testing Information
Colleges and universities across the country accept and/or require a wide variety of college admission testing. Most colleges and universities accept and require either the SAT or the ACT. Beyond this, admission testing preferences vary widely. The University of California system, as well as most Ivy-League institutions, require at least three SAT II subjects in addition to the SAT or the ACT. On the other hand, a growing number of colleges and universities are no longer requiring testing. Whatever the case may be, the FCDS College Counseling staff will help students determine which testing is necessary given their application plans.
As if college-bound FCDS students need more to digest, both the SAT and the ACT are changing as of the first 2005 test date. Though the changes differ depending on the test, each new test format will offer a required writing section. Much has been made in college admissions circles of which tests students should and should not take. Colleges and universities, as well secondary school counselors, are not certain how scores differences in the current and new tests will be used in making admissions decisions. As the FCDS College Counseling staff communicates with colleges and universities over the course of this year, we will probe each institution for the latest information. As of today, good admissions practice leads us to believe that a college or university will always try to put an applicant in the best light, which would include considering the best scores regardless of the test format.
The chart below provides some guidance based on the best information the FCDS College Counseling staff has obtained about the new SAT:
Class of |
Old SAT I |
New SAT I |
2005 |
YES |
NO |
2006 |
YES/NO* |
YES |
2007 and beyond |
NO |
YES |
*indicates that there are differing opinions nationally on whether the class of 2006 should take the current SAT.
The addition of the Writing Test to the ACT should present less of a challenge to understand. The existing ACT will remain the same. What students need to determine is whether the colleges to which they will apply will now require the additional ACT Writing Test. Please visit the ACT Testing Information link below for more information about the ACT Assessment change.
Click here for SAT Testing Information
Click here for ACT Testing Information
Click here for PSAT Testing Information
Click here for Advanced Placement (AP) Testing Information
Click here for information on FCDS's SAT Prep Course
Click here for the Princeton Review
These practice tests are for the SAT and ACT tests.
The Princeton Review’s research: Who Wants What Test? (from July 2004)