American universities ask for an SAT or an ACT score, at the applicant's choice. Most students at French lycées never ask the question and take the SAT, because it is the one people talk about. It is often the right choice, but not always, and the question deserves an hour of thought before months of preparation go into it.
SAT or ACT: universities have no preference
Universities say so plainly. Stanford has no preferred exam, Yale considers both equally, Dartmouth states no preference, Harvard asks for "the SAT or ACT". The choice therefore rests on a single criterion: which of the two will give this student the best score.
Two tests that demand a different pace
Both exams have changed recently. The SAT has become digital and adaptive: 98 questions in 2 hours 14 minutes, in two sections, Reading and Writing then Math, each in two modules, the second adjusting to the result of the first. A graphing calculator, Desmos, is built into the app for the whole maths section.
The ACT was shortened in 2025, and the new version applies to all international sittings since September 2025. The composite score, out of 36, now counts only three tests: English (50 questions in 35 minutes), Math (45 in 50 minutes) and Reading (36 in 40 minutes), a total of 131 questions in 125 minutes. The Science test has become optional; it gives a separate score.
| SAT | ACT (without Science) | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 98 | 131 |
| Duration | 2 h 14 | 2 h 05 |
| Average time per question | about 82 seconds | about 57 seconds |
| Scale | 400 to 1600 | 1 to 36 |
| Outside the United States | On computer, at a test centre | On computer, at a test centre |
The average time per question is our calculation, from the official figures. The gap is the difference that matters most for a student from a French lycée: they read English more slowly than an American, and the ACT, which leaves about 30% less time per question, penalises them more. Conversely, a fast bilingual student comfortable with direct questions may gain from it.
SAT ACT conversion: the official table
The College Board and ACT jointly published a concordance table between the two scores in 2018. It has not been updated since, neither for the digital SAT nor for the new ACT, but it is the only official table.
| ACT | SAT |
|---|---|
| 36 | 1570 to 1600 |
| 35 | 1530 to 1560 |
| 34 | 1490 to 1520 |
| 33 | 1450 to 1480 |
| 32 | 1420 to 1440 |
| 30 | 1360 to 1380 |
| 28 | 1300 to 1320 |
Taking either test from France
Outside the United States, both are taken on computer at an approved centre. The SAT has six sittings in 2026-2027: 3 October, 7 November and 5 December 2026, 6 March, 1 May and 5 June 2027. The international ACT offers seven, from 5 September 2026 to 9-10 July 2027, most over two days. The list of SAT centres in France is on the College Board website, and on 3 October 2026, several Paris centres were already full for November and December. For the ACT, the centre is chosen at registration.
2026-2027 fees and dates. SAT outside the United States: $68 registration plus a $43 international fee, $111 in total (fees valid until June 2027). International ACT: $188.50, or $198.50 with Science. Dates and prices published by the College Board and ACT, checked in October 2026.
How to decide
The safest method: one full practice test of each, in real conditions, a few days apart. The SAT offers them in the Bluebook app, the ACT on its website. Compare the two scores using the concordance table, and look above all at where the student ran out of time. Once the choice is made, stick to it: preparing both in parallel scatters the work.
For maths, whether the student takes the SAT or the ACT, I prepare them in private lessons, and Summit, our digital SAT practice platform, is freely available with our other free tools. To know which score to aim for depending on the universities, see What SAT score to aim for.