ACT vs. SAT - does it matter?

Answered

All colleges that are test optional are completely agnostic to whether you submit an SAT or ACT test score or both. What is true is that there are more ACT test centers in the Midwest and South and more SAT test centers on the West and East coast so if the college you are applying to is in the Midwest like Notre Dame in Indiana, they will get more ACT test submissions because of more MidWest applicants. So there is probably a teeny advantage to submitting an SAT on the lower 25% band if you are applying to a Midwest college. 1410-1550 is the SAT range at ND, and 32-35 is the ACT range. So 1410 is really a 31 ACT but 1550 is a solid 35 ACT. I would look at each college's common data set to verify if there is a misalignment of test scores submitted. Most schools have equivalent SAT to ACT scores.

I do not think it ever matters if you have a 35 ACT and 1560 SAT to submit both since they are equivalent but some students want to flex their test scores and submit both, thinking that someone will think they did twice as much standardized test work so they deserve a higher admit pile position. But I feel that smart reader will nod their head and wonder why they didn't put the 200 hours of extra work into an EC activity or take a college course instead.