What Do Ivy League Schools Think of the ACT

What Do Ivy League Schools Think of the ACT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips As an ACT tutor, I often fielded questions about whether the test would be looked down on by admissions officers, especially those at Ivy League schools. Because the SAT was the dominant college admissions test for so long, many students and parents worry that- at least in the Northeast- schools still prefer the SAT over the ACT. However, that time has definitely passed, and schools will now accept either test equally. Read on for a more in-depth explanation of how Ivy League schools view the ACT today, and learn the differences in testing policies that might affect your decision to take the ACT or SAT. Ivy League Schools' Official Policies on the ACT Officially, all of the Ivy League schools accept both the ACT and SAT,as does every other school in the US.Harvey Mudd was the last no-ACT holdout,but it began accepting the test in 2007. â€Å"Since it’s a choice you can make, it has the feeling of being a significant choice, fraught with implication, but I don’t think it does matter,† Marlyn McGrath-Lewis, director of admissions at Harvard College, told the New York Times. â€Å"Either is fine with us, and we don’t have a feeling that either favors students with any particular profile.† According to ACT, Inc., "The ACT test is the nation’s most popular college entrance exam accepted and valued by all universities and colleges in the United States."The "most popular" comment is just marketing spin, but the basic point stands: every school in the US accepts the ACT and SAT equally. How These ACT Policies Actually Work As you now know, the Ivy League schools claim to view the ACT as equivalent to the SAT, but does that mean they actually do? It's impossible to be 100% sure, but I strongly believe the Ivy League schools treat the two tests equally. For one, I was unable to find any evidence that admissions officers have a preference for one test over the other. Moreover, there is no logical reason for admissions counselors to discriminate against students who take the ACT,especially since doing so is likely to cost them some exceptional students who happened not to take the SAT. If you examine the statistics on ACT and SAT scores among admitted students, some differences in how schools treat scores from the two tests do appear, but they're mostly meaningless. It's been said that there is a slight SAT advantage for students scoring on the low end of schools' accepted score ranges. So if you have the same percentile score on both tests (i.e., you do better than the same percentage of students who took the test), your SAT score will be more likely to get you into a college than your ACT score will be. However, this analysis is somewhat misleading because it doesn't take into account the fact that many students who don't plan ongoing to college take the ACT as part of statewide assessments, increasing the number of low-scoring students and slightly skewing the percentiles. Looking at the data for Ivy League schools, you'll also see that more admitted applicants submit SAT scores than they do ACT scores.However, this trend seems to be evening out. For example, when it comes toCornell's class of 2018, 79.7% submitted SAT scores while only 41.4% submitted ACT scores. Yet for the class of 2021, 63.7% submitted SAT scores and 55.9% submitted ACT scores. As you can see, even with these slight changes in percentages, the SAT is still a little more popular than the ACT is among Ivy League applicants. Although this might seem like evidence of bias, this difference is easily explained by regional preference:more than 50% of both the 2018 and 2021 Cornell classes hailed from the Northeast, where the SAT is much more common than the ACT. Yale University (in the winter, obviously) Ultimately, there's no compelling evidence that any schools, including members of the Ivy League, judge the ACT more harshly than they do the SAT.As such, you should ignore this perceived bias when deciding between the two tests. Instead, focus on determining which test is better for you. Since most students score similarly on the two, it's usually just a question of which test you feel more comfortable with. Alternatively, you might want totake both the ACT and SAT. Next up, let's go over the two differences in testing policies that might affect your decision of which test to take! Schools' Testing Policies: Superscoring and SAT Subject Tests Though colleges accept the ACT and SAT equally, schools can still have slight differences in what supplementary tests they require and in how they calculate your final score depending on which test you took. SAT Subject Tests Rarely, at some schools, if you submit ACT with Writing scores, you don’t have to submit SAT Subject Test scores. However, since many top-ranked schools no longer require SAT Subject Test scores, this policy has begun to disappear. At present, no Ivy League schools have this policy in place. That said,Duke is one selective schoolthat does allow applicants to submit an ACT with Writing score in lieu of SAT + two SAT Subject Test scores. For many students, SAT Subject Tests offer the opportunity to exhibit deep knowledge of a topic. Especially for the extremely competitive Ivy League schools, these tests can be a valuable part of your application (assuming you do well on them). Superscoring Superscoring- the process by which your highest component scores among multiple test dates are combined to create a new composite score- is a common practice for SAT scores. Generally speaking, though, admission committees don't superscorethe ACT.(This rule holds among all schools and not just the Ivy League ones.) While schools will still look at your highest ACT scores and some will consider individual section scores, few will combine ACT section scores from multiple test dates into a single superscoredcomposite. Though this policy might seem like a huge disadvantage to the ACT, it doesn't actually make that much of a difference. Policy by School This table breaks down the Ivy League schools' policies on SAT Subject Tests and superscoring. The second column indicates how many SAT Subject Tests the school requires/recommends. The third column explains the school's superscoringpolicy, which can be one of three options: Doesn't superscore at all Superscores the SAT but only looks at yourhighest composite ACT score Superscores the SAT and looks at your highestACT section scores Note that even schools that claim to superscore the ACT usually look at your highest ACT section scores withoutactually combining them to create a composite superscore (as they do with the SAT). School # of SAT Subject Tests Recommended/Required Superscoring Policy Brown 2 recommended Superscores SAT; considers highest ACT section scores but does not calculate superscore Columbia None Superscores SAT and ACT Cornell Varies by program (usually 0 or 2 required) Superscores SAT but not ACT Dartmouth 2 recommended Superscores SAT; considers highest component ACT score Harvard 2 recommended Superscores SAT; considers highest component ACT score Princeton 2 recommended Superscores SAT; considers highest component ACT score UPenn 2 recommended Superscores SAT and ACT Yale Recommended (no # specified) Superscores SAT; considers highest component ACT score What You Need to Know About the Ivy League and the ACT 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 withoutworrying that your application will be dinged. Ultimately, choosing between the SAT and the ACT comes down to personal preference.There will occasionally be a large difference between how a student scores on the SAT and the ACT(a difference of more than 100 points once the ACT is converted to its SAT equivalent). Most students, however, score similarly on both tests. Nonetheless, the styles of the two tests are different enough that you may find the ACT easier than the SAT, or vice versa. Perhaps you struggle with the ACT's less generous time limits, or maybe you think the SAT's evidencequestionsare particularly confusing. What's Next? Planning on applying to Ivy League schools? Get a handle on what kind of SAT score you really need, and check out this in-depth guide tohow to get into the Ivy League, written by a real Harvard grad! Trying to decide whether to take the SAT or ACT? Read our guide to learnthe 11 key differences between the two teststo help you decide which is better suited to your strengths. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

How To Use the Common Spanish Verb ‘Tener’

How To Use the Common Spanish Verb ‘Tener’ The everyday Spanish verb tener, usually translated as to have, is particularly useful. Not only is it used to indicate possession, it is also used in a variety of idiomatic expressions to indicate emotions or states of being. Note that when tener means to have, it does so in the sense of meaning to possess or to own. The equivalent of the English auxiliary verb to have, as in you have seen, is haber (as in has visto, you have seen). Using Tener To Mean ‘To Have Most of the time, tener is used in much the same way as to have is in English. Depending on the context, it can also be translated using using synonyms such as to possess and to own: Tengo tres hijos. (I have three children.)Tiene un coche casi nuevo con una garantà ­a fuerte. (He owns an almost new car with a strong guarantee.)Antes de la guerra, tenà ­a tres casas. (Before the war, she possessed three houses.)Tuvimos cuatro campeones en el mismo momento. (We had four champions at the same time.)En 2016 Paulina no tenà ­a carnà © de conducir. (In 2016 Paulina didnt have a drivers license.)No tenemos suficientes bosques en el planeta. (We dont have enough forests on our planet.) ¿Crees que tendremos una mujer presidente? (Do you believe we will have a female president?) Tener can similar be used similarly as to have even when it is used figuratively or referring to nonphysical things: Espero que tengas una buena excusa. (I hope you have a good excuse.)Mi amigo tiene dificultad para pronunciar las palabras espaà ±olas. (My friend has difficulty in pronouncing Spanish words.)Cada là ­der debe tener una visià ³n de lo que podrà ­a ser. (Every leader should have a vision of what could be.) Idiomatic Uses of Tener Expressions using tener are also quite common. Many of them would not be understood by English speakers to indicate possession, although they often can be thought of as referring to to the having of various emotions and feelings. For example, tener hambre, would be translated literally as to have hunger, although it would normally be understood as to be hungry. The following listing, which is far from complete, shows some of the common expressions or idioms using tener: tener ____ aà ±os (to be ____ years old): (Tiene 4 aà ±os. She is 4 years old.)no tener antecedentes (to be unprecedented): La crisis venezolana no tiene antecedentes. (The Venezuelan crisis is unprecedented.)no tener arreglo (to be beyond repair): Siento que esta semana no tiene arreglo. (I feel this week is beyond repair.)tener calor (to be or to feel hot):  ¿Tienes calor? (Are you hot?)tener cuidado (to be careful):  ¡Ten cuidado! (Be careful!)tener dolor (to have a pain, to be in pain): Hay muchos excelentes remedios para dolor de cabeza. (There are many excellent remedies for a headache.)tener la culpa (to be at fault): Mi madre dice que tengo la culpa. (My mother says its my fault.)tener efecto (to have an effect, to be in effect):  La patente dejà ³ de tener efecto antes de que el dispositivo comenzara a ser utilizado a gran escala. (The patent went out of effect before the device began to be used on a large scale.)tener à ©xito (to be successful): Mi hermano tiene m ucho à ©xito. (My brother is very successful.) tener frà ­o (to be or feel cold): Los exploradores tendrn frà ­o. (The explorers will be cold.)tener hambre (to be hungry): Los nià ±os siempre tienen hambre. (The children are always hungry.)tenerlo fcil (to have it easy): Los dos equipos no lo tienen fcil. (The two teams dont have it easy.)tener miedo (to be afraid): El paracaidista no tenà ­a miedo. (The parachute jumper wasnt afraid.)tener prisa (to be in a hurry): Mi hija nunca tiene prisa. (My daughter is never in a hurry.)tener que infinitive (to have to): Tengo que salir. (I have to leave.)tener razà ³n, no tener razà ³n (to be right, to be wrong): Tengo razà ³n. No tienes razà ³n. (Im right. Youre wrong.)tener sed (to be thirsty): El camello no tiene sed. (The camel isnt thirsty.)tener suerte (to be lucky): Los ganadores tenà ­an suerte. (The winners were lucky.) Conjugation of Tener Like many other commonly used verbs, tener is irregular. Following are the conjugations for the most common indicative tenses. Irregular conjugations are indicated by boldface. The only other verbs that follow the same conjugation pattern as tener are verbs based on tener, such as mantener (to maintain) and sostener (to sustain). Note that these verb forms can be translated in other ways if the context calls for it. Present tense: yo tengo (I have), tà º tienes (you have), à ©l/ella/usted tiene (he/she has, you have), nosotros tenemos (we have), vosotros tenà ©is (you have), ellos/ustedes tienen (they/you have).Preterite tense: yo tuve (I had), tà º tuviste (you had), à ©l/ella/usted tuvo (he/she/you had), nosotros tuvimos (we had), vosotros tuvisteis (you have), ellos/ustedes tuvieron (they/you have).Imperfect tense: yo tenà ­a (I used to have), tà º tenà ­as (you used to have), à ©l/ella/usted tenà ­a (he/she/you used to have), nosotros tenà ­amos (we used to have), vosotros tenà ­ais (you used to have), ellos/ustedes tenà ­an (they/you used to have).Future tense: yo tendrà © (I will have), tà º tendrs (you will have), à ©l/ella/usted tendr (he/she/you will have), nosotros tendremos (we will have), vosotros tendrà ©is (you will have), ellos/ustedes tendrn (they/you will have). Key Takeaways Tener usually means to have in the sense of to possess, but not have when it is used as an auxiliary verb.Tener is highly irregular, not using the same conjugation as any other verb other than those that derive from tener.A wide variety of phrases use tener in which it frequently is used for indicating emotions and various personal feelings.