Students and their families are often stumped about which test to take: SAT or ACT? The more important thing to realize is now that there's a new version of the SAT, the two tests are actually very similar. There are more similarities between the tests than differences. Here are a few main differences: The essays are very different. The SAT essay asks you to read a persuasive essay and analyze it, and is 55 minutes long. The ACT asks you to take a stance on a position and a