While many colleges had stopped accepting SAT and ACT scores, they are back to being important standardized tests for seniors to showcase skills and be admitted to various colleges.
Students will take their first SAT or ACT in the spring of their junior year and may retake in the fall of their senior year to improve their scores, according to Counselor Kim George. She said, “For SATs, the College Board runs the testing. We give the practice test to the SAT, called the PSAT, in the eleventh grade year. Currently, the information is in the eleventh grade Google Classroom. We also do callouts regarding the practice SATs. Not all colleges accept the SAT anymore; UC schools and state colleges do not accept them as part of their admissions, and many other colleges do not. Some private schools have started to now, but it really depends on the college.”
George said, “SATs and ACTs are like entrance tests into a college that gives you a score; so in addition to the classes that you’re taking in your transcript or from high school, some of the private universities ask that you take the SAT or the ACT. The SAT is more strictly math. Meanwhile, the ACT has subjects like English, Science, and other stuff. So you can take either one, or you can take both, and the colleges will take both, if they accept them.”
“When you go onto the College Board website, you pick the date and location to take the test. Not all schools are a testing site, so you just have to go onto the College Board website to see. They each have dates and locations that you sign up for. If you qualify for a fee waiver, you can get the fee waiver form from Ms. Van Bemmel. Every year you have to qualify for a fee waiver,” said George.
Senior Natalie Koussa said, “For the colleges who accept ACT and SAT scores, I definitely think it’s worth it, because it’s another way to show your academic progress aside from grades. Sometimes kids don’t do too well in school but taking that test might prove otherwise, and show that they may be very intelligent.”
Koussa added that along with these tests comes stress. On top of the stress caused from the tests themselves due to the expected high score, parents and students can begin to compare scores which can make one feel self conscious. “There are a lot of resources you can use to your advantage to study the math and reading sections and definitely a lot of time to practice,” said Koussa.
“I think they are important, because it shows general knowledge of the education that we’ve learned in high school. To study, I took the general advice my teachers gave me, continued taking notes, and made sure I did all my work Monday through Friday to make sure I’m getting general knowledge,” said Senior Jacob Herfindahl.
Most of the universities that accept the SATs and ACTs are outside of California. “If you are planning to apply out of state, yes, one hundred percent, [one should take the tests]. But if you are planning to stay in California, and only apply to California schools, then maybe it’s not worth the resources,” said Senior C. J. Harrison.
Harrison said, “I’m not as prepared as I could be. I think it would be helpful if the school provided an SAT course, but otherwise, I’ve been using SAT prepbooks to help me. It’s more of a test to test the basics, and you need to prepare for each one differently. Based on the last one I took, it was a good learning experience to take it junior year.”
According to an article about the SAT and ACT, “Both the SAT and ACT can help you stand out on college applications, access scholarships, and plan for your future. When comparing the two, many students find that the SAT is best for them” (bigfuture.collegeboard.org).