SAT

16th November, 2018, by Irene J. (G.11)

The sudden cancelation of the Standardized Assessment Test (SAT) brought a chaos to the students at Korea International School Jeju (KISJ). Originally scheduled to be held on October 6th, the SAT was unexpectedly canceled due to Typhoon Conrey. While a few of the students were delighted that they did not have to take the test, most were not. In fact, the seniors, who were looking forward to this exam as their last chance before submitting their college applications, panicked.

Typhoon Conrey was first spotted on the radar on Monday, October 1st, and on Tuesday, it was confirmed that the typhoon was very likely to pass Jeju directly. And on October 3rd, the students were informed about the cancellation of SAT. It was already too late to register for another test. “I was so shocked when I first heard it,” said Caroline R. (G11) “I really wanted to take the test, but there was nothing I could do about it.” With no alternative options, students merely waited for further announcements about the make-up test. However, the make-up test was yet to be scheduled.

As troubling as it was, this incident clearly showed the hardship the students can face on their roads to college. SAT is seldom scheduled, which gives a significant disadvantage to those who miss it. If they miss a test, they need to wait for a few months while keep solving practice tests to maintain their skills and thereby wasting time they could have spent on other works. Some students even fly overseas to take the test during the summer during which SAT is not administered in Korea. However, such effort can be futile, too, like the recent SAT cancellation in Hawaii—by which many students missed yet another opportunity to take the test—shows.

It is, therefore, very important for students to plan their schedule in advance. It is recommended to register for more than just one test since the test can be canceled at any time. Veronica Y. (G11) commented, “I was fortunate because I had already registered for the SAT in December.” Then she added, “it would’ve been chaotic if I hadn’t.” Furthermore, it is helpful to take the test at least once in the junior year. Some people may consider it quite early, but because a test can be canceled unexpectedly, it’s safe to have a score—even though it may not necessarily be the score one had aimed for—to turn in to colleges. This would prevent the worst case of applying to colleges without meeting the application requirements.

While it is solely the students’ responsibility to plan ahead, the school’s role is just as important as that of the students. It is crucial for the school to guide the students since the students are not used to the whole application process. What’s more, students already have too much to care about—managing GPA, working on extracurricular activities, and writing essays—that it may not occur to many of them that they must register for a couple of SAT tests in advance. Thus, the school should constantly check each student’s progress.

Students should also reach out to their counselors since the counselors might not be able to pay close attention to every single student. Yet when students seek for help first, the counselors would welcome them at any time. When the school guides the students and the students actively reach out for help to the school, the road to college wouldn’t be as complicated as it seems to be

Just as helpful as the school’s support are the online resources, the most prominent one being the College Board Big Future. Directly managed by College Board, the very organization that organizes the SAT exams, it contains virtually all the information that students need for the test preparation. It has helpful articles about many aspects of the SAT—from best preparation methods to the actual test dates. It also helps students to find their best fit colleges and inform them whether those colleges require SAT or not, and if they do, to what extent it is considered important. Another helpful resource is PrepScholar. Although it is very similar to College Board Big Future, it is more informal, and students can ask any questions as comments.

While SAT is stressful, there are ways to make the whole process much easier—especially when students and counselors work together and plan ahead. What’s more, it is important to remember that SAT is not what the most important factor that colleges look at when they make admissions decisions. Granted, some colleges do require high SAT scores, but even those colleges consider each applicant in a holistic manner; high school grades, extracurricular activities, personal essays, and teachers’ recommendations are all considered significantly. Knowing this is beneficial as it makes the college application process more enriching, clearing any obstacles there may be at the roads to college.