For decades, the SAT was the "gold standard" on the coasts. Harvey Mudd College , a prestigious engineering school, was the very last institution to begin accepting ACT scores, finally doing so in 2007 .
A high school counselor in Maine tracked 10 years of data and found that students who took the ACT alongside the SAT qualified for significantly more merit-based scholarship awards—totaling over $1 million for her students over four years. Recent and Upcoming Changes (2025-2026)
Created in 1959, the ACT was designed specifically to compete with the SAT. While the SAT was originally intended to measure aptitude or "innate intelligence," the ACT focused on curriculum mastery —essentially testing what you actually learned in school.