3 Fun Facts About The ACT/SAT

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Flickr user ADoseofShipBoy

Thoughts about the ACT or SAT give most students sleepless nights.  Well, it is an important test but getting overwhelmed by it is not going to help. These few fun facts about the ACT/SAT are just what you need when you are looking for a short, refreshing distraction from the intense studying.

The SAT was first used by the military

What would have thought that, right? The SAT was first introduced in 1926 as a military IQ test. It was used to assess recruits during WWI. That initial version was, of course, several times more difficult than the test we see today. One section even had the test-takers translate sentences into a completely made-up language.

‘SAT’ does not actually stand for anything

It started out as an acronym for Scholastic Aptitude Test. To pacify critics who found fault with the name, it was later changed to Scholastic Assessment Test. Well, other critics found fault with that version too, and it was changed to SAT I: Reasoning Test. In its latest adaptation, the letters SAT do not stand for anything. They are just redundant letters that are carried forward from the original name!

Cheating on the ACT is considered a criminal offense

A group of students in New York found this out the hard way when they were caught taking the ACT for others. They were brought up on criminal charges but eventually the charges were dropped and none of them did any jail time.

Interested in seeing how your ACT / SAT score affects your acceptance odds for nearly any college in the US? Check out College Raptor’s free match tool to find out!