 I am extremely happy to introduce our speakers, Mr. Prasad Kumar, with over 12 years in the overseas education space, Prasad has helped hundreds of students through his mentorship. As an expert on studying in the USA, Prasad is able to guide his students through every minute detail of the process for bachelors, masters, MBA and even PhD. He has a well-diversified knowledge with expertise in Canadian, Australian, UK and European education systems as well. Joining him today is Aditya, his colleague, who again is an expert in the field of study abroad. So, thank you Prasad and Aditya and welcome to the study abroad series at Alfa International School. It is a pleasure to host you both, over to you guys. Thank you so much, Sugandha. It's a pleasure connecting with students of the IB because I myself was an IB student and I went abroad and went through the entire journey. So I'm really excited actually to speak with everybody here about both the ACT and the SAT. And I mean, Prasad specifically, he has tons of experience helping a variety of students on a variety of tests, including the ACT and SAT. So yeah, this is going to be a great session. But before we get started, I just wanted to hear from everybody, right? Guys, can you let me know in the chat, where are you in your journey to study abroad or in your schooling? Are you guys currently 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade students? What are your future aspirations, basically? 9th grade, awesome, 11th, IB, 12th, 10th, awesome, great mix of all grades. This is great to see. Okay. So just very quickly share my screen. Okay. There we go. So, guys, today, what we're going to be speaking about is the ACT and SAT. The various sections and test durations that will be there for each of these tests, how they're scored and what the grading systems are like, how you can prepare for the test and what limitations you might be facing, and also how you can register just the basic of where you can go through that. We'll also speak about how the ACT and SAT compare, as well as various test prep tools you could use to make your test prep easier, right? And finally, we'll also do a Q&A, but don't hesitate to ask questions in the chat. We'll be happy to answer them there or live or at the end of the session, right? So feel free to ask us questions at any point during the session. That being said, what are you guys planning to do next, right? Are you guys planning on studying further in India once you complete your 11th and 12th grade? Are you planning on maybe taking some vocational experience or are you all looking to study abroad? I assume that a lot of you will say study abroad because even when my class was going on an IB, which was back in 2012, so a while ago, I know a lot of students do intend to go abroad because the program itself is tailored to that. But I'd love to hear from you. As I see in the chat, most of you are saying undergrad in the US or study abroad. Awesome. Yeah. Pretty much what was the case with my school as well. That being said, which country are you looking at? I know one person said the US, but let me know, are people exploring other countries like Germany, Spain, France, even Japan, a variety of options. Anybody looking outside the US, okay, Canada, Germany, UK, awesome, a lot of responses. Oh, Singapore as well, Korea and Australia as well. That's great to hear. Okay. Awesome. So Prasad, over to you. I'd love to hear from you on the ACT. Definitely. First of all, thank you very much for this opportunity and thank you, Sugandha, for the lovely introduction, which is my favorite part always. And thank you, Aditya, for the being a co-host and a great colleague from workmate. Let's, let's first of all, let's understand what is the test is that. Now today we are going to discuss about the ACT and ASAP. Now let's go in depth and let's dive what is ACT, understand what is the test and what is the importance of this test in the higher education for the universities or maybe the country. We are not talking about each country here, we are talking in general, we're talking about the importance of this test and we're talking about the importance of getting in a particular dream university or a particular kind of a university that you are targeting into. Now let's dive into the ACT. Let's first talk about what is ACT? The ACT is an American college test. This is an entrance test to get an admission or we can say it's a standardized test to get admission into the US universities and college for the undergrad program. And it's a standardized test for admission and ACT or we can say American college test consists of four sections. One is English, second is a science, third is a reading and fourth section is a mathematics and we have another section called SA which is an optional, which is an optional. So it's purely depend upon the student whether he wants to opt for the SS session or whether he wants and again it's depend upon the university. Now we have to check the requirement whether the university is really requiring to take an essay or not and now let's talk about the fees. The fees varies from $168.5 to $188 if you're opting with SA the cost of the fees is $188 and if you're opting for non-SA or optional SA then it's $168.5 and if you need more information on how to register for the exam, here we have shared a link where you can register yourself and you can understand what is the important of ACT or how the rates are available and different test centres and about the program of ACT. Yes, now let's talk about the structure. Now as I said that we have four sections in ACT, the one is English. In English, I'll talk about the duration of the exam. It's two hours of 55 minutes and if you see about the four sections, English, Science, Mathematics, Writing and Reading. Okay, now let's go with the English section. Here we have 75 questions and the duration of the test is 45 minutes. So it's divided in four parts. So English, 75 questions and you have 45 minutes to answer all the questions. Second is the mathematics. Again, 40 questions and 35 minutes. The same with the mathematics, you have 60 questions and you have 60 minutes to answer all the questions and the same with the reading, 45 questions and 35 minutes. Here, English and Writing, once you're done with the reading section, you get a 10 minutes break and the same with the mathematics and the science. So you get a 10 minutes break in the each section. Gauri, Prasad, would you mind telling us more about the kind of questions that could be asked during these sessions? Yes, in English, we have a reading, they have a passages available. So they'll give an essay and they'll share the instruction, how to answer this question. And it's the same with the mathematics also. If you talk about the mathematics section in ACT, it's more advanced mathematics. It's include algorithm and trigonometry. It's more into the advanced and apart from your high school mathematics, you can see the algorithm and mathematics available in this section. So that's why it's advanced. If you feel that you're very good at the advanced mathematics level, then I've always recommend to go with the ACT. Otherwise, there is other exam that we have. Science, also again, with a basic skill required with the science and English. Chemistry or physics, kind of things. And reading, it's a passage consist of all the essays, sorry, all the passage on a particular topic, then you have the answer on that part. And most important thing is that all the sections are, sorry, it's a multi-antique use. So you have options available there and you have to choose the best answer which suits that question. And most important, again, with the writing section, yes, writing is one of the important aspects in this exam. They want to understand what are the ideas that you have and how you analyze that part. And again, with the language, if you see the scoring here, ACT, as we have four sections and each section is 36 marks. The maximum is 36 and your skills start with 1 to 36. Each section has the maximum scoring of 36 and overall, the scoring is done on the basis of your four sections. The best score or the maximum score is 36 and the good score is 32 and the average score is in between 26 and 28. This is the scoring of ACT. If you look at the top scores across the universities, if you see at MIT, Harvard or any IV schools in the US, the minimum is 33 and the maximum goes to 36 of your ACT score. And the value of the ACT score is five years. And you can see the total attempt allowed in a year for a particular student. I believe that's 12 total attempts in total, I think. Yes, but yes. And I personally feel that don't go with that many number of attempts because if you're attempting many times and you're ending with a low score, it's a negative impact. So try to minimize at least three times or four times with the test. That is an important part. Would you suggest that students take the test more than once? Yes, if you feel that your story is not matching to the particular dream university or the target university that you're looking at, then definitely. Right. So that's an important case. So understand and analyze and then take the test because it takes a lot of preparation for ACT. We need a lot of time also on that part. You have to invest a lot of time. A lot of preparation is required. A lot of practice is required for that. Right. Prasad, somebody has asked how important is applying for ACT for students this year and next year? So yeah, Prasad, do you want to add your question? Yes, we'll talk about ACT in the next slide. I'll definitely answer your question. Before that, let's finish. What is ACT? Then we'll jump into the ACT and I'll answer your question on the last Q&A session. Don't worry, I'm here to answer all the questions, whatever you have in your mind related to ACT, SAT and the university department. Now, we have analyzed and we got a feedback from the students or maybe from the mentor. So these are the tips that we have written in the slide. So please have a look into that and understand and plan accordingly before you write your ACT. Right. But I think a few things that maybe we should point out are answering every question since there are no negative markings, guys. So I think a while back, the SAT before 2016 had this system where negative marks were provided for wrong answers. Considering this is the ACT, they never had this system and they've made it very easy for you to at least give it your best to just try every question, even if you don't know the answers to say 20% of the exam. Answering them, just giving an answer gives you a chance of getting a few more points. And when it comes to tests like these which are highly competitive, having just a couple more answers jumps you up in your percentile scores, which we'll also get to. But that being said, ensure that you're being precise with your work as well, because these tests are graded. If written in person, which the ACT is, these tests will require you to use a pencil. And when you don't erase properly, these are graded oftentimes by machines. So what happens is they're not able to make the difference between what has been filled and erased. And if there's two answers on a specific answer, it'll just mark it as wrong. It might ask it to go for re-evaluation, but it's better to always be safe and ensure that you're not penciling in your answers too hard before you've actually decided this is the answer I want to go with. And once you're ready with the answer, you can go ahead and pencil it in properly, or you can erase it if you think this is in the right answer. And finally, make sure you practice at least once a week, every week, for at least two months before the exam, having as much practice in as possible just ensures that you go through a variety of type of questions, and ensures that you don't get caught off guard by any question that you weren't expecting or any type of question that, you know, wasn't something that you practice. Great, but thank you, Aditya. I want to add few things on the ACT part. Can you just move the slide? Yes, right. As Aditya rightly said, please answer all the questions because there is no negative marking there. And before answering any question, you have to read the question carefully then and attempt the answers. And as Aditya rightly said, most important part is your practice. For any exam, the practice is play an important role. And there is no age limit to take an ACT. If you are 13 plus, then you can always eligible to write ACT exam. There is no age limit, and you can write as number of many times. But as I say that, please restrict yourself up to three or four times, not more than that. Because you know, if you always look at your average, so if you take many times, then they feel that, okay, the student is writing many times and is ending with a low score. You do also have the option of choosing not to submit your scores. Not to submit your scores. Yeah, so you can take a call accordingly. Yes, and don't send any negative hints to the universities that, okay, this many times that you were tempted and but you ended with this score only. So don't, like most of the universities look into your GPAs of your eighth, ninth, 10th, and 11th, or maybe if you're 12th, that is an important part. Plus apart from your GPA or apart from your grade, your test scores, ACT or a SAT, play an important role to get an admission into that university plus a scholarship. So keep in mind and always plan. And as I said that, you can also write in your eighth grade or ninth grade or 11th grade or 10th grade. But as you ask me personally, then I can say that write or prepare for your ACT in your 11th standard. And as soon as you get your break in the month of May, try to give your exam in the month of June or July, which is an ideal time to give your ACT on that part. So most important as Aditya and everyone says that practice makes man perfect. So make sure that you have more practice on the sessions or a test and give as many as test, mock test, you can. Awesome. Also another question, are these exams compulsory to give for the, to get an admission at a university abroad? Yes. If you see at a particular contrast, then we have US and Canada, they look into the major league about your ACT or a SAT. This is an, as they say, this is a minimum requirement to get an admission. As we said that it is a standardized test to get admission into the US universities for your undergrad program, irrespective of your major. That can be for your major can be humanities, arts, liberal arts, engineering, non-engineering management, anything social work, anything, anything, irrespective of your major. This is the minimum requirement. And this test is conducted to judge your IQ levels and they want to understand whether you're really able to handle the coursework that provided by the US university. It's a simple math, or it's a simple matrix. They want to judge you whether you can, or you are able to, or you are able to pressure your, I mean, you are able to take that pressure what university has in terms of their academics. So they want to see that, and which is most important part. So they analyze based on your scores, whether you are able to take that many classes or that kind of a pressure the university has in terms of their academic part. Sahil, Apurva, you all both have very similar questions. I can add this that there are universities, as Prasad mentioned, universities do want to see the amount of effort you're putting into your academic work. And these are strenuous exams, but there are also some universities that will accept you without these scores, but your options are very limited. And that being said, it's often better to go ahead and give the exam, even if you don't have the time to prepare, or if you're really late in the stage and you want to still go ahead and get more options, go ahead and give the exam. There are ways that you have a lot of backing with the IB, a lot of difficult English and math courses, especially if you're doing something at a higher level. So you can go ahead and give the exam, get a base score at least, that'll open up your options to apply to a variety of universities as well. When is an ideal time to give the ACP? As Prasad mentioned, if you're in the 11th grade, the best time would be to give it your break between your two years. It's a good time because one you'd be preparing for the IB, which again, is very difficult math, very difficult English. So you do have a reason to prepare anyway. And yeah, it's a great time, but earlier the better often, so that you can see your scores, you can maybe give another couple of reattempts like Prasad mentioned, too many is not good, but having a few gives you the chance to actually prepare for the exam by actually giving the exam beforehand, right? There are exam centers available in India. Somebody has questioned that. There are exam centers definitely available, but the SAT also offers it online. So you would be able to take it online as well. And what about the APs? I believe these are advanced placement classes. Amit, could you, yeah. Yes, now I want to answer Sahil's question. Yes, I totally agree. Because of the pandemic, most of the university have the requirement in terms of ACT or SAT. But even though, now the best part of this exam is that you're telling the universities indirectly that you are very particular about your highest studies and you want your sincere and very serious students about your highest studies in the United States or Canada, this exam will brighten your chances to get admission as well as the scholarship part. So even the pandemic is that there is an option available to write an exam. Yeah. So please attempt your exam, give a hint to the university that you're a serious student. That is the most important part. And don't skip, don't skip. Most likely there will be students that will apply with this course. So they'll be more competitive than you when they're applying. I understand India is having a tough time with the COVID but what about other countries? So you have to tell the university that you're also standing in a race. And this course will reach you in your dream school or a high school or a top rank university with a good funding in the universities. And yes, I tell them, as I've already said, that they prepare in your 11th standard as soon as you're done with your 11th exams, give your best shot for your AACD exams in your same break. So this is an ideal time. If you want to understand your basic, then you can start at the time of your 10th standard. But before starting of your 12th standard, this is an ideal time to give your exams. So Amai is asking, what about AP exams? Would that be something that would help with the, I guess, registration? And yes, Aditya has already said that AP is an advanced placement test. This is, this exam will help you to get a few credits waived in the US universities. So we'll talk more about that also. Now, Sujatha mentioned a question like sad, are getting canceled from the last year. Yes, I agree because of the pandemic, the situation were out of control but now the situation is under control. And I think the next sad available date is in the month of August and October and the dates are open and you can register yourself for the exams. Just adding to what Prasad said about advanced placements, Amai, I don't know if you know this, but even the IP does allow you to transfer credits. So for example, if you do bioHL, like I did you, if you have a bio class in your undergrad, you would be able to just claim those credits and complete that beforehand. Right, you said. Asmi, 30 is a really comparative ACT score. It puts you in the top 80 percentile of the grades. 30 is a good score, as I said that most of the university, if you're looking at the top schools or maybe into the ID schools, the minimum starts with the 32 and the maximum goes to 36. If you come down to top 20 or 30, your 30 will be an acceptable score in the universities. Right, Amai, I understand you're in the CBSE. He was the one asking for advanced placement classes. So yeah, definitely advanced placement classes will not only help you with getting better credits, just like you would with the ID, but I'm not too aware whether the CBSE allows you to transfer credits. There might be. Only ID allows you. Only ID allows you, okay. Awesome. Shall we move ahead to the ACT? Yes. Now, let's understand the ACT. This is also one of the type of entrance exam to get into the universities across the globe for an undergraduate program. Not only the US, even a few universities in India, they also look for your ACT scores. So as I said, this is a minimum requirement to get into the admission. Yes, okay, can I answer the question or we can continue here? I'll answer the Rupali question. Yes, the exam duration is three hours. And if you're taking essay, it's three hours, 55 minutes. And the validity of both the score is five years. Your scores are valid for another five years from the test date. Okay? Yes. Though it's quality assessment test is a standardized test to get admission into the different universities across the globe, not only the US, Canada, Singapore, or Germany, or UK. Not all the universities will ask for a ACT. But if you see the broader perspectives, US and Canada are very particular about the test. Yes, you can take both. But we recommend you to send any of the one which is the best you feel that. Now, okay, there is a question. Yes, does the essay have to be a specific topic? They will share a topic with you. That can be issue or that can be argument. But you will have options. You have an option there. Yes. As I said that your test, Trish, the ACT or ACT will help you to get an admission in the US universities plus your scholarship. It basically adds to your profile, Trish. It shows that you can go through rigorous training for a rigorous exam and you stand out from the others based on your score. Yes. Okay, so let's jump with the sections. In ACT, sorry, in ACT, we have two major sections. One is English and second is a mathematics. English, again, divided in two parts. Or as we can say, it's a subsection, reading and writing language. And second is a mathematics part. The best part of ACT in the mathematics part is you can use the calculator here. Yeah, but just adding to that, there are two sections to it. One with calculator, one with the non-calculator. Correct. So coming to reading, just wanted to add some points here. So there are four passages that will be provided to you with about 500 to 700 words per passage that will be based on US plus world literature, history, social studies and sciences. So you'd have to read this and answer quite a few questions. Coming to writing and language, again, you'd be required for four passages with 11 questions each, which are 400 to 500 words a passage, where you have to express your ideas on using standard English conventions. Coming to maths, you would be given without the calculator exam, would have 15 multiple-choice questions, which are to do with algebra, problem-solving, data analytics, geometry and trigonometry like Prasad had mentioned earlier. And maths with calculator would be 30 multiple-choice questions with algebra again, problem-solving, data analytics, advanced math, geometry and trigonometry again. That being said, to apply for the scores, currently the fees are about $104 with a duration like Prasad mentioned of three hours and 15 minutes. Sorry, this is actually a mistake. All the exams are coming with the assay now. So, oh, absolutely, Sri. I'm so sorry about that. So I'll just go through the sections again really quickly. The reading includes four passages of 500 to 700 words based on U.S. world lit, as well as history and social studies, as well as science, right? Coming to writing and language, this is based on expressing your ideas and standard English conventions. And would it require four passages with 11 questions each of 400 to 500 words per passage. Moving over to math, you would have algebra, problem-solving and data analytics, advanced math, geometry and trigonometry, and that would be the same for math with a calculator, except you would have 30 questions in the calculator exam and 15 questions in the non-calculator exam. Again, if you want to apply for the coming up SAT tests, you can go over to collegeboard.com where you can go ahead and register yourself and find more details on the upcoming exams. Are there specific tests of foreign languages? Dirkha, I don't believe that there will be a test on foreign languages. It will be on English and math. I hope that answers your question. Yes, like as Aditya rightly said that SAT has already explained about the paragraphs on the syllabus available. The best thing is that you can, if you need more information on the same thing about the syllabus and about the sample questions, you can always log into the website and you can see and you can always see that the latest test, mock test is available on the website. You can always download and take the exams before you want to start and preparation with that. Now, as fees is $104, if you're taking with an essay, that will increase and the duration is three hours. If you want to write and you want to go over the essay, it's three hours and 55 minutes. And the website is collegebook.org where you can find most of the information available for your exams about your test date and about the syllabus that you're gonna study or you're gonna take there in the SAT exam. And the validity is five years from the test date. And each section, now when we talk about the section, we have a reading and we, sorry, we have English and mathematics. Each section consists of 800 marks and the maximum is 1600. If you talk about the good score, a minimum of good score will be at 1300 and the maximum can go to 4,150 also. And the average score will be 1,000, so like 1100 of your mathematics and English sections. If you want to take the essay part that will add another 800, then the overall become 2,400. If you want to go with the SAT with essay, the good score will be at 23, the very good score will be at 2300 and good score will become 2,000 select at 2100 and the average score will become 17,000 select at 1,900. And you can give attempts as we mentioned here, five times allowed each year. But as I said earlier also, try to minimize that because I personally recommend any exam not to give more than four times. So it's a limitation, try to keep it sweet and simple and short, make it at a one or two go. Awesome. Just a couple of questions in the chat right now. Yeah, go ahead. Are the social studies question based on your USA or is it a basic things, whatever you study in your high schools? That is a thing that you have to go with. But Manthan, yeah, they are somewhat based on the US while the SAT is doing the exam internationally. It's, there is a bias towards US based social studies. But again, this will be generic and you won't be required to know US history or US politics for that matter. Yes, no, as Aditi also said there is, the hints is also given at the question starting. You can read carefully as we already said that please read the questions carefully. And then we can go with that. And yes, what is the highest ever sport? It's purely dependent on the individual, like few ended with 23 plus, few ended with 24. Also a few ended with 1,600 and few ended with 1,500. It's purely dependent on the individual category or individual capabilities that is the thing. But I believe the next score you can achieve is 1,600, right? Yes, yeah. It is better to go with an SA or without SA. Does it make a difference? No, like as university come up and say that they need an SA optional. So it's purely dependent on you. And before applying to the university, check their university's requirement. If the university is very particular about an SA, then yes. And if you ask me personally, yeah, I recommend you to go with an SA because you're not going to write again and again because it's include cost, time and preparation. So I personally recommend to go with the SA because you're going to complete everything in a one go. Suresh has asked if we take the ACT should we give the IALTS or TOEFL? Yes. Now ACT is an admission requirement as the same way IELTS or TOEFL, it's an English best test. So it's an again important factor to give IELTS or TOEFL either of the exams to get qualified in their universities or in their country. I think you're the right person to answer the next question. Where can I find today's recording? I think Sugandha Ma'am will be able to help us with that. I believe she'll inform us at the end of the session. But coming to other exams only for undergraduate studies or for PG2, these exams are the ACT is for undergraduate studies. For PG, you have the GMAT or the GRE, sorry, the ACT and the ACT are for undergraduate studies. Coming to the IALTS or TOEFL, that is actually for both. If you have done your IALTS or TOEFL within five years and you do your masters right after your undergrad, the scores will be applicable mostly. But if you're doing it five, six years apart, then you might have to retake the test for the PG. Should we be discussing ACT subjects? We won't be going into detail on the specific subjects in the ACT. Shree, sorry. So Amit. No, I'll answer the question. Yes, Shree said that are these exams only for undergrad studies or PG studies? Yes, SAT and ACT is for your undergraduate studies. It restricts your bachelors. If you want to go for your highest studies in terms of masters, it's again dependent upon the program or a bachelor that you want to go for. If you're going for an engineering program, we recommend you to go with the GRE. If you're going with the management side, then we recommend you to go with an MBA program, sorry, GMAT. And so this is a big difference we have. Apart from that, yes. TOEFL or IELTS is a mandatory as we are applying to a country where the English is, their English is a primary speaking country. So we have to give basic, we can say basic English proficiency to apply to the particular university and then. So IELTS and TOEFL is mandatory for that in terms of UG or a PG or a PhD. You have to give that. That is a mandatory thing. It's a country requirement and the university requirement. Which exam should we take for a medical field? It's for a UG or a PG. For undergrad, you can take for ACT or a SAT. That's not a problem. Anything is fine. Awesome. There's another question. Swami was asking about the ACT and ACT subject exams, the specific exams in science and so on. I believe we won't be covering them today or would he be taking it up? Yes, now we have a SAT subjects available. If you want to specialize in a particular major called biology or chemistry or physics or business, the university will recommend you to go with a SAT subject also. It's an added advantage if you take a SAT subject also. It's again, people depend upon the university requirement. If the university is insisting you to give a SAT subject, then go ahead and write the subject as well. Each subject consists of eight subjects. Most, if you're looking at the engineering part, they will look for your mathematics subject and the physics. If you're looking at biology, then go with the math and biology. And if for a medical student, go with the biology subject or subject. Before applying, try to check the university requirement. You'll get a basic idea of what that is. Also on screen, guys, just for reference is the scoring distribution for the SAT. You can see a 90th percentile, which is the top 10% of applicants get about a 1370. So those are the scores that Ivy Leagues generally look for and you have different tiers for different sets of schools. So accordingly, you can go ahead and understand where you should fall. But as Prasad had mentioned earlier, good score is anything about the 80th percentile, which is about 1270 or 1300. We'll be coming to what the difference between the SAT and the ACT is, Durga. Yes, definitely. Okay, now as Aditya has already mentioned about the scoring part. So the grading will depend on your right answers. So it's your grading, your increment can be calculated with a 10 points. Right, a lot of questions coming in chat. Yes. I suggest we continue with the presentation and then take the questions. Sure, sir. At least there is flow to the entire presentation. Absolutely, yeah. We'll just go ahead with the how to prepare section, which is a variety of points Prasad, do you want to take them through? Yes. Now, any exam before you write and try to understand their instructions and try to read your instruction carefully, the instruction gave you the basic direction about the question, how to answer the question and how much time is there and what is the limitation of that? So you have to answer each and everything on that part. Okay, answer the question you know first. It's again depend upon the student, which one he has to answer. The most important part is spend some good time before answering a question. Let's, like most of the Indian students, they face a little difficulties in the English section, but for them, the mathematics is a cakewalk. Most of the students, they do blunders in their English section, like reading or a passage part or a language part. So for them, try to spend much time in terms of preparation or a practice in the English part because they have vocabulary and our vocabulary is valuable. So try to understand that and give as many as practice and understand the instruction available. Now, these are the few points that we have already mentioned. Prepare yourselves, avoid steady marks, do not skip answers and always work on your time management, which is an important factor. If you see in the sad section, if you, the minimum time that you spent on each question is minimum 30 seconds and maximum 90 seconds. So minimize that and work on your time management, which is an important factor here. And whichever answer or whichever question you feel that it's easy, answer that. Now, as I said that time management is an important factor, work on that, which will give you an advantage in adapting all the questions. And as we already said that there is no negative marking in any of these exams. So try to answer all the questions if you have a time or if you're running short of the time. Most important, adapt all the questions and practice and practice. That is an important factor here. As much as you practice, that will increase your chances of getting a high score. Right. So coming to the differences between the ACT and SAT Basad, can you tell us a bit about that? Yes. Now we see the difference between SAT and, I have mentioned few points here, like non-SAT. If you see the mathematics section, I feel the mathematics section in ACT is advanced mathematics. When it comes to the SAT, it's not that. It's a basic math theory, 11th standard and 12th standard. As I said, ACT have advanced mathematics that include your algorithm and trigonometry. So that is something is there. And most important part, the second big difference is, if you see at the ACT is one-fourth of your mathematics. But when it comes to ACT, it's half of the scoring. Because in ACT, we have a four section, one of the section is mathematics. But when it comes to ACT, mathematics is a half of the section. So that is a big difference. And other third important difference is that your time management. In ACT, you get a time of an average 30 to 60 seconds of each minute. But when it comes to ACT, you get an average time of 30 to 90 seconds. And another difference is that in ACT, you have a maximum number of equations. When it comes to ACT, you have a less question as compared to ACT. Understood. What about application eligibility? Yes. And also there is a difference between ACT and ACT. In ACT, you don't find any instructions related to your formulas. But when it comes to ACT, in your instruction, they give you some formula for your mathematics. And so that is an advantage for a student there. And as I said, a reading section is tough in ACT as compared to the ACT. And most important, before deciding or before taking a call, which exam I have to take, I personally recommend, go to the websites, try to give exam or mock test before your preparation. Then that will understand you which exam is best suitable for you. Right. Awesome. So guys, let's just go ahead and take some of the questions in the chat. Ankita had asked, what grade should my son appear for the IELTS and TOEFL? He's in the ninth grade. I think Prasad, you mentioned this a couple of times. Yeah, I'll tell you that. The most important part of IELTS and TOEFL, we have to keep in mind is that if you see the validity of this exam is two years. After two years, your scores get expired. Then there is no use of that score. So they don't consider that score. So the best part, if you're looking at undergrad part, then I recommend you to write your IELTS exam once you completed your 11th standard because the validity of the exam is two years. But when it comes to start, the validity is five years. Next one is the application process, a spring admission process, very different. No, it's the same thing. The only difference is that number of seats and when it comes to the intake, we are an international students, for us, the fall intake is a big intake. So we have everything available irrespective of the majors. You have a high number of seats, scholarships, and acceptance ratio is high. And all the universities, which is most important, all the universities are open in terms of the majors for fall intake. I personally feel that fall intake is an ideal intake for an international student. Right, I believe you mentioned a good point, which is that there's few universities that have intakes in the spring. So it does narrow your options, but again, if it depends on when you want to apply and if the schools you want to apply to have their intakes then it shouldn't be that different. Yes, sir. What is the difference between SAT and ACD? I've already mentioned two points. We just covered, yeah. Coming to the next one, I have taken the IBHL, IB English HL. So should I take the IAALTS or TOEFL? Can I get it waived? Ananga, you'll have to check with your schools. So it doesn't work in the way that you just take your IB English HL and it's accepted worldwide. You'll have to check with the school if this is something that they accept. Oftentimes they will. Sometimes there might be a case that they say that you still need to take your IAALTS or the TOEFL exam depending on which school it is. So it's always best to check in with the school once, but considering you've taken the IB English HL, you should be very prepared for the IAALTS and TOEFL writing. Rightly, sir. Before applying, please see the English language requirement on the website. Then they clearly mentioned, if you're not finding any information, you feel free to write an email to the university. They'll follow your question on the phone. Next is how to apply for the ACT. I'll just go back to the slide. Just give me a second. Does the ACT have negative markings? Not anymore, before 2016 they did, but since then they've removed negative markings. Any suggested learning material for ACT, Prasad? Yes, there is a book called Barrens and Princeton is also available. You can check both the books. These are the best books for your ACT preparations. I believe I also use Barrens itself. Yes. It's been long-standing. Yes, you can use the official Princeton book and Barrens, these are the two best books to go for your ACT preparations. And go with the latest edition. Can you just spell the books that you mentioned, Aditya and Prasad? Yes, Barrens, can you just put it on the chat also? Yes, I'm just putting it on the chat. I think Aditya is chatting. Yeah. I believe it's Princeton review, right Prasad? Yes, it's the Princeton review. All right, put it in the chat. Just coming down to the question, we're just catching up with all the questions here. Sorry if I'm missing out question that I'm just coming in. But apart from ACT or ACT scores, will some extra language certification enhance my profile from Sris? Yes, if you want to specialise in a particular language, then go with that. Otherwise, it's not required. If you want to specialise in a special language called Chinese or Italian or French, then go. Otherwise, it's not required. But Sris, it depends also on the country you're playing For example, I did my master's in Spain and they're having a second language. It really makes it easier for you to get into that school, even though the courses that are taught in English, it just gives that university, like Prasad said, showing them that they can be confident in you is important. So learning that local language gives you that one up that another international student won't have, which is you can actually integrate yourself within their society or their culture. So yeah, it depends on place to place. Yes, even the Germany needed a German language, a basic German language or intermediate or advanced language. So look at the country that you're targeting, then go with that language. Otherwise, it's not required. Absolutely. How do you apply for the ACT? Aditya, I definitely will get back to that. I just showed you towards the end. I'll put it in the chat as well for you to pick it up. What materials do we have to study for ACT and ACT? So I think ACT we've just shared. ACT, any suggestions Prasad? Yes, you can go to the website there. You can find the ACT related books there. They also offer a variety of test prep materials for free on the website itself. Yes, but I personally feel that ACT, that they please refer their official books. They will have basic knowledge or in-depth knowledge about the test. Right, Rupali. TOFEL and IARTS validity, they, ideally you should be giving it sometime in the 11th grade as Prasad has mentioned. This gives you enough time. 11th or 12th grade is the right time because that gives you enough time to have your test valid as their only valid materials. How to apply for the ACT and ACT? I'll just send across the links to you. For the October ACT, you can go ahead and check out the website link. I'll just take you to the website page. So collegeboard.org, I'll just put it in the chat for you, is for the ACT. And for the ACT, it's myACT.org. You can go ahead and register for either of the courses through their official channels. That's the only way you can register for them. And yeah, you'll be able to see the upcoming test dates for these as well right there. And as Prasad mentioned for both of them, there's free test prep material on both their websites. A lot of things to get you started, but as you mentioned, there are better guides as well like the Barrens or the Princeton Review, which give you a more in-depth analysis. And obviously it's not free, which is why they have a lot more questions, a lot more backlog of questions. I think Azite, we can see a few more questions. Do they take the SA as an extra? No, it's not, they don't take as an extra. They see your English there, language skills there. So it's always advantage to go with an SA as I mentioned earlier, but it's not an extra. It's part of the exam. And they consider the SA as well, which is an important aspect there. And I think Rupali ma'am have like, she has some technical issues there. Yes, though validity of TOFIL and IELTS is two years, the best time to take this exam, once you complete your 11th standard, you can write in the month of June or July, anything is available. So dates are available, 20 updates are available for IELTS and TOFIL. So book the date and give the exam. And their time is 11th standard. Right, is the ACT online or offline? I believe it's only offline and the same with the ACT as well. I don't believe that they either have options to submit it offline, but I believe they are taking the best precautions they can to ensure that students are spaced enough and there are social distancing norms in place. Yeah. Any thoughts on this, Prasad? Which one, sorry? Is the ACT online or offline? Yes, there is no offline as you rightly mentioned. There is one question from Sushil Suresh. Can a ninth grader take mock test for, yes, mock is for to understand how need to prepare for that exams. That will judge yourself whether you need to practice more or you want a tutor or not. It's very different on you, whether you want to go ahead with your self-preparation or you have to take somebody's help on that part. So mock will give you an analyze, where are you standing? I think that's for my end for that question. How can ninth graders who want to go ahead study? Pshashan, can you be a bit more specific? Do you want to learn more about test prep? Are you trying to go ahead and apply to study abroad? I'm a bit lost in the question. I believe it's on test prep. Is there a specific test that you're referring to? Yes. How a ninth grader who want to go ahead with the study? Yes, you can do that. If you're preparing well in advance, that's always good on that part. Coming to Ankita's question, is there any such test for the EU universities? I believe the ACT might be required for some of them, Prasad. Yes, yes. But ACT would not be applicable for them. Yes. Are there any institutes for preparation for these various exams? Sheep, there are. Yes, there are. There are so many. What kind of a mode that you want to go with an online or offline and check the local cities, which are the best ones, then you can opt for that. You can find plenty of options available for your online. If you want to go with offline, yes, check the cities near you or check the centers near you. And you can always take your call on that part. Absolutely. Awesome. Apart from ACT, is there any other test required and for the UK? Ankita, I believe ACT and IELTS would be the one set. Yes. Only the language, apart from the ACT. Do these exams take place only once a year? No, exactly. They happen quite often. They are varying now quite drastically because of COVID. But all the information will be on the two websites that I've shared with you for the respective exams. So you'll be able to find the closest upcoming one to you. Dhruva is interested in doing a BBA. Do I prefer doing it in India or abroad? So I mean, from my experience, Dhruva, going abroad gives you a different experience from studying in India. That being said, it depends on your future goals. And ISP might be a better fit for you if you're trying to get into America or get into a Deloitte in India. If you're trying to work abroad and if you want to settle abroad, then maybe studying abroad is a better option. So it does depend. But yeah, if you have some more specifics and what you're interested in doing with your BBA, I can maybe give you some more thoughts on that. Haridzik is asking best place to graduate US or India or Europe. Personally, I would say Europe. I did my IB in India, master's in Europe and undergrad in the US. I post me preferred Europe, most of all. But Prasad, what is your talk on this question? I'm going to add two points here. It can depend upon the major that you want to specialization. If you want to go with the management, then as Aditya rightly said, Europe is an IB place. If you want to specialize in information technology or computer science, then the US is the right place. Or if you want to specialization in automobile industry, then Germany is an IB place. So depend on your major, select the country. See the prospect you available in that particular country in terms of your major. And everything is available in all the countries, so do not worry. And I want to add a few points, a difference between India or abroad. If you look at the broader prospect you, the value of that Western country degree give you a high mileage in compared to the Indian degree. I'm not saying that the Indian degree is not valid, it's there, but you will give a global prospect there and the degree is globally recognized and you will be studying in the best place and the best university and you will be competing with the best minds in that particular country. This can depend upon the country. It's not like that. But the big difference is the exposure. The kind of exposure that you get in that Western countries is valuable. And if you see the difference between, the major differences, they are more into the practical education. So it's an important factor, one of the important factor to be considered. If you want to study really in the Western countries or in India, how to do medicine in Germany? Again, yes, you have to decide again. And now you have to see the requirement of the particular university. Now, the medicine is available in most of the universities in Germany. Before you apply, check with the requirements, then apply for the medicines there. As we have two types of institutions available in Germany, public and private. Public is being operated by the government. So most of the public university, their fees is very reasonable. When it comes to the private institution, their fees are very high. So check before that and check the programs available in the particular university and then take a call on that part. So Sugandha has asked, is, so she has a friend who has done an attempt of the SAT and was not a good score. So will they be able to submit a blind score as the date for the application to that universities before the SAT date? So what do we recommend? What is the score that she, did she mention any score? No, she hasn't mentioned a score, but she's not happy with the score. So they don't want to submit this. It doesn't depend upon what is that. If you compare the scores with 1400 or 1500, you definitely feel bad that your score is low. Look, there are good number of, you know- Asad, I think the question now is, should they submit a blind score or not at this point? No, don't submit them. It's more, it's definitely recommended to be completely truthful because having a reject from university, especially while giving falsified information will really punish your reputation at that university. So if you can defer your application to maybe the spring semester or if it's already spring, then maybe to the fall semester, it would be ideal, don't you think Prasad? Yes, as you said rightly, you can defer your admission and then you can re-attempt for your exam again. Absolutely. And then you can submit your notes to the university. So where would we recommend Soham to go? He's looking at USA, UK, Germany. He wants to pursue aeronautical engineering and he has a British citizenship already. So that would be an advantage for him if it's the UK. Definitely, because you are a citizen there, so you have an added advantage that he'll be in state or your tuition fees will be very reasonable. But again, like as you said, you want to pursue aeronautical engineering, first analyze your profile, then target the universities. Once you target the universities, check the cool curriculum that's offered by the universities. Compare the cool curriculum between US, UK, and Germany. See where your area of interest is standing. Then again, then try for that. As if you've asked me personally, if you're a UK citizen, then go with the UK then. But I believe US and German schools are better for aeronautical engineering in itself. So I mean, it depends on your needs also, Soham. I think like Prasad said, if fees are something that you're looking at, studying in the UK would give you that advantage of being a citizen and having lower fees. But if you do have the option of choosing a better university, don't put all your eggs in one basket, apply to the UK, apply to the US and Germany. See if your US, Germany admits are way higher ranked and if that's something that you believe in terms of a career will give you a boost, which it definitely will. But it depends on whether you want to work outs at the UK also. But yeah, a lot of factors to consider. I would say don't put all your eggs in one basket and look at a variety of options. Which country is the best for studying psychology? All the countries. Because now, which specialization in psychology that they want to pursue? Because psychology is also again a big major. There are many subsections is also available in that. The US is a good place. Even the UK is a good place. Canada is also a good place for the psychology. You can decide and take a call on that part. Right, Pratik is asking which country can you do an MTech abroad? Usually there is no MTech. We call that MS program or an MBA program or M Engineering program. Right. So it's equivalent to the MS. It's again depends. There are so many factors available. So you have to shortlist the country. Then you have to narrow down the options related to the program. Then see that your future prospects in that particular country. And apart from that, one of the major factors is the cost. Look at the cost of that particular country in that particular program. Then that will give a basic idea which country is the best for you. I as I already said, depend upon your major, select the country as per your major, which will play an important part. And that will give a high mileage for your future. I think a good way to also look at it is to see which industries are doing best in those countries. Like for example, Germany is known for its automobiles and known for its engineering models. So it's a great prospect for any engineer. And the colleges also do produce students of that caliber, which is why the industries are booming. So similarly for other countries, even understanding what economy, what their economy thrives on is a great way to find a good university. That is the most important. You invest so much of money. If it didn't get your return of investment, then there is no point of that. So that is an important factor. What are the future prospects available? And how many industries are there for the particular major that you major in that particular universities? And see the placements in that particular universities. That's an important part. What about human resources management Prasad? Do you have any suggestions for HR? Yes, there are options available and it comes into the management. And again, depending upon the country, you can always pick a major. There is HR is also available across the universities and across the country. That's not a problem there. So when I mentioned that her friend's score was 1200, I believe that's a little above median. So any suggestions that Prasad? Yes, if you say at a general prospect, 1200 is not a bad score. When you compare your 1200 score with 1500 or 600, then you definitely feel bad. Now, I assume that she has taken SAT, then she must be targeting for United States of America. Look, there are plenty of universities available in US. So there are universities which accept your 1200 also. And there are a few good number of universities they don't consider or they don't require SAT also on that part. So in my opinion, SAT is a decent score. So go ahead and apply. There is a good chance to get an admission as well as the scholarship part also. Dharmar, Raya has asked, will they be giving any syllabus? Dharmar, I'm not too clear on the question. If you could maybe elaborate a bit more, we'd be happy to take it up. Coming to Sojata, can we apply in college with only a TOEFL score if we have not given the SAT? I believe we've answered this. Yes, you can. There are, you know, still are waving it, but again, as Prasad had mentioned earlier, giving the SAT only makes you seem more competitive compared to other applicants who might not have. So again, you coming in without an SAT score will make you not seem as competitive as those that have given it. But that doesn't mean that the university might not like your profile and might not pick you. Which country can I recommend HRM? We spoke about, awesome. How do I specialize in a particular language? Can you again be more specific? I feel like this is a tricky one because my answer to this is you need to be able to speak it proficiently. If you can converse with somebody at an emotional level, if you can have a full conversation with them, I think you can comfortably say that you are specialized, but again, this has to be a fluent conversation and can't be a narrated conversation, right? Are there any diploma courses that people can apply to any good prospects for them? Yes, as I can depend upon the country that you are using that. This is which diploma that you want to talk about. You want to talk about a diploma after your 12th standard? What is that? Can you be as specific on that part? Yeah, but that would really happen. Yes. Diploma after 12th. Yes, look, yes, if we talk about Canada, they offer PG diploma courses. They offer a diploma course in variety of courses. So it's much available. You can do the diploma after your 12th standard. Apart from that, there is an associate degree in the United States of America, which is for two years, you can also pursue that. So yes, diploma is much available. All right. Are there any further questions on the floor? Aditya Prasad, for you guys directly? Nothing in the chat at this point. So I think we've covered almost all of them. Anything that maybe you have that you want to ask, Sugandha, I know you were asking a couple. No, I think I asked the one that I wanted to. But yeah, I think there were some great questions and thank you for the answers. I believe there is something else that you all want to talk about. So let's just quickly jump on to that. We'll do. So guys, like we mentioned, this was about the ACT-ACT, but we do have a variety of other workshops happening. One of them is on test prep, and we'll be getting speakers from Gapolin as well as other test prep agencies, as well as universities abroad. So coming action 16th, 17th, and 18th, we have every day four sessions happening. There's a link right here. I'll be putting in the chat as well for you to take a look at. You can register for a specific session if you are interested. And these will be speakers from a variety of universities across the world. So you can get a chance to ask them questions, maybe get some insights groups on their specific universities. And this includes the surf temple, NYU, and a variety of other universities around the world. That's about it for the most part. If you'd like to share any feedback, you can, using this link. Finally, there's a WhatsApp group. Also, if you guys are interested with counselors on board that you can have questions, ask them. And yeah, you can also go ahead. I know a lot of you had a lot of questions. You can go ahead and reach out to us at any point if you do have any. But that being said, yeah, I think that's about it. Thank you so much for your time.