Testing Colleges’ LIMITS BY DAMALI RAMIREZ
the limited testing opportunities, and about 1,700 schools did not require SAT or ACT scores for this year’s applicants. Yet, many Long Island high school juniors and seniors are opting to take the exam, despite the obstacles they face, like testing sites closing, filling up or being too far. The College Board website advises students to be vigilant the night before and morning of exam dates about test centers closing or making short-notice changes. “I think it’s definitely become normalized, and I feel that [students] just want to show that they do know some of the material,” said Nina Rashid, a Syosset High School junior. Last summer, Nina couldn’t take the SAT because testing sites were closed or too far. Although there is still uncertainty about testing sites closing, she registered for the May and June test dates at her school. She, like other students, said she believes universities prefer high SAT scores over high grade point averages.
Elmont High School junior Noor Shahin believes taking the SAT will increase her chances of getting into any Ivy League school like Columbia. Photo provided by Alexandra Martinez.
Elmont High School junior Noor Shahin decided to take the exam in the hope of getting into an Ivy League school like Columbia. Hearts are beating, legs shaking, sweat dripping. It seems impossible to concentrate. In 180 minutes, students must demonstrate their college readiness by completing the math, evidence-based reading and writing sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Before Covid-19, students’ eyes would wander around the room trying to outscore their peers in the hope of getting into their dream colleges. Now, students sit in socially distant classrooms, wondering if someone around them has Covid-19. Three-fourths of U.S. colleges made SAT scores optional for admissions because of
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From a young age, she said, she was told she had to take a college entrance exam and thought it was a test she couldn’t skip, even though Columbia announced it would not require next year’s applicants to submit their scores. To her, she still believes colleges consider SAT scores important. Last year, Shahin emigrated from Egypt to the United States and felt clueless about the SAT process. She hopped on the College Board’s website to download practice exams, used Khan Academy and signed up for a SAT prep course that her school offered juniors this year.
