While coronavirus has caused a drastic change in the way many things are done, one of the most noticeable differences for high school students is its effects on standardized tests and the college admissions process. This process is often stressful enough, without a pandemic, and students must now deal with many of their standardized tests—an integral part of college applications—being postponed or cancelled due to coronavirus.

SATs and ACTs

Perhaps the two most important tests for this year’s juniors are the SAT and ACT. The test dates for these two exams seem to be undergoing seemingly constant change, with new tests cancelled or postponed to different dates almost every week.

As of the writing of this article, the March, May, and June SATs have been officially cancelled, and the April ACTs have been rescheduled to June 13th. However, it's likely that as the situation unfolds these dates may change too. This has been especially infuriating for students who studied hard for these tests, only to have them cancelled a few days before the date they were scheduled for.

“It’s stressful because I had been studying and gotten to a place where I was happy and felt confident,” said Graham Routhier, a junior who was planning on taking the March 14th SAT in Yonkers, and who seems to represent the feelings of a lot of students I talked to who were in a similar situation. “To have the test canceled and pushed back so many months was a bummer.”

He also added that now he’s unsure when to start studying again because he doesn’t know when the tests will be rescheduled to.

“It’s stressful.” Atri Ray, another junior who was planning on taking the March SAT, told me, “It’s a shame all my preparation went to waste.”

In some countries, the College Board even cancelled the scores of students who had already taken the test, saying that the coronavirus may have had a “psychological impact” on students and affected their results.

In addition, The College Board has recently sent out emails to students explaining what would happen if it remains impossible to take the exam in a physical testing center: “In the unlikely event that schools don't reopen this fall, the College Board will provide a digital SAT for home use, much as we're delivering digital exams for three million Advanced Placement^® \students this spring. As we're doing with at-home AP^® Exams, we would ensure that at-home SAT testing is simple; secure and fair; accessible to all; and valid for use in college admissions.’”

AP Exams

Many students will be affected by the new format for the AP exams, which will now be at home, online, and only 45 minutes in length. In previous years, the exams have always ranged from 2 and 3 hours and were made up of multiple choice and free response questions.

Other changes to the exam also include there being less material tested due to school closures. The exams will also be limited to just one or two free-response questions. The most significant change perhaps is that the exams will now be open-book, due to the College Board's inability to stop students from looking things up. This will likely shift the focus of the exam, emphasizing conceptual understanding more than memorization.

While a shorter exam, fewer questions, and access to notes and the internet is certainly appealing to some students, others are understandably not a fan of this switch.

“I’m terrified. My plan was to take a bunch of old APs to prepare but with this new format I feel more lost,” said Celeste Paerels, a junior who was planning on taking the Chemistry and Economics APs.

The fact that it is only two questions is especially scary, as students feel that small gaps in knowledge might result in them doing very poorly.

As for the teachers, they are doing their best to respond to this change to the format of the exam. Many are posting review material online, offering google hangouts for students, or making short videos of themselves explaining different concepts. The College Board has also just finished producing a series of YouTube videos covering the material for each subject, as they know that not all students finished the curriculum before switching to online learning.

Reaction to AP Exams

As of the writing of this, the first of the AP exams have just been administered, and a lot of new information has come out.

It turns out that the College Board has decided not to assign the same questions to each student, in an attempt to prevent cheating. While this is likely an effective technique, it is raising concerns over whether some questions are harder than others, and how the grading process will account for this.

Another issue that has come out is the multiple stories of people who were unable to submit their exam due to technical difficulties. Be it because of faulty wifi, corrupted files, or slow uploading times, many students have found that they are going to have to take part in the make-up exams in early June. This is understandably frustrating, especially for those who felt confident on this exam and now have to study all over again for the next one.

New York State Regents Testing

It was also recently announced that the June Regents exams will be cancelled due to coronavirus. While this does not affect students as much as some of the other changes have, there is a small group of people who were unable to take the English and History Regents during midterm week and were hoping to do so in June. Students who missed these exams are not sure what will happen to their grades, as the exam usually makes up ten percent of their final averages in that class.

College Expectations

As for colleges and universities themselves, they seem to understand the chaos of these standardized tests. Many are choosing not to have SATs and ACTs be required for next year’s admission season, are waving different fees, and are extending deadlines.

Schools like Boston University, Tufts University and all University of California schools have announced they will be going test optional this upcoming year, explaining that they understand the difficulty of taking these exams and want to be flexible. Many Ivy League schools are also doing so. Some schools are saying that students will not be at a disadvantage for being unable to send in AP scores, having transcripts with pass/fail grades, and only taking the SAT/ACT once.

Other schools like MIT have eliminated the requirement for SAT Subject Tests. However, some students understandably still think that they might be at a disadvantage if they don’t take these tests, that they have for a long time seen as crucial. Graham says he feels “like the people who got to take these tests before [COVID-19] would have an unfair advantage,” and that “even with some colleges going test optional it seems hard to ignore when comparing students.”

Ultimately, it’s still relatively early on, and the situation is constantly evolving. More colleges and universities will likely make the shift to test optional if students are unable to take these tests, but we will have to wait and see. As of now, most college advisors seem to be recommending studying for the AP exams, and to wait and see what happens with the other standardized tests. However, it’s important to keep in mind that during this time, these tests should not be your highest priority. Colleges and universities are understanding, and all seem to guarantee that you will not be at a disadvantage in the applications process because of coronavirus.

By Caleb Painter

AP Exam Dates:

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/exam-dates-and-fees

Videos for AP Studying:

https://www.youtube.com/user/advancedplacement

SAT Information:

https://pages.collegeboard.org/sat-covid-19-updates

ACT Information:

https://www.act.org/content/act/en/covid-19.html

As many seniors embark on the path most traveled after Hastings high school, college, they will be treading on unfamiliar ground. I reached out to some Hastings graduates in search of advice pertaining to the first year of college.

For Ani LeFevre, a freshman at Prescott College, “transitioning into college is something every person [thinks] they are ready for. They’re ready to move away from home, to get some space from family or friends, and ready to have more freedom. The thing is a lot of people don’t pay attention to the responsibilities that come with moving away from home. You have to feed yourself, you don’t have parents constantly telling you to get your homework done, and you have to take care of yourself physically and mentally.”

For other freshmen, college has been defined by the people they have met. For Jen Caruso, a freshman at Binghamton University, the connections she made and the bonds she created ultimately determined how well she made it through the first couple of weeks, which were “really hard and busy.” Jen Caruso recommends that incoming freshmen, “Keep [their] door[s] open the first week so people can come around and say hi,” and “try to stay out of [your] dorm so you can make friends.” She also explains how, “the transition to college level work is scary but the professors know that and can be understanding as long as you talk to them. Go to office hours!”

Nia Doughtery, a freshman at the University of Maryland, attributes her involvement in clubs, organizations, and sports as what allowed her to bridge gaps and transition swiftly to college life. She also echoed Jen’s advice: “Throughout the first week of school, my roommate and I went down my entire floor (and some of the other floors in my dorm building) and simply knocked on every door just to introduce ourselves. I surprisingly have made some of my best friends just by doing that the first week. People want to meet you just as much as you want to meet them.”

For other freshmen in college, taking advantage of all of the resources the school offers is one of the more important aspects of college. Blaise Rohan, a freshman at the University of Miami, realized that “Miami gives access to all Adobe products like Word, Illustrator, and Photoshop, and they’re fun to use.”

Other students I spoke with embarked into the world of sororities and fraternities. Isabel Duchin, a freshmen at Syracuse University, said that “rushing,” which is a period during which interested students can learn and try out for different sororities and fraternities, was “super fun because I met so many great young women and can now make connections with women who graduated to find work and internship opportunities I might not have had before.”

Michael Limitone, a freshman at Springfield College, recommends being open to new opportunities and realizing that all incoming freshmen are in the same boat, a general consensus held by most of the students I interviewed.

For many freshmen, college is an opportunity to craft who you want to become as a person. No longer held back by the confines of traditional education that aims to apply to the entire student body, college allows for both individual and communal growth.

“Take advantage of the next four years to shape the person you want to be,” said Catrina Spinnozi, a freshman at Coastal Carolina University She also recommends that incoming freshmen should “take opportunities that you wouldn’t usually say ‘yes’ to, such as hanging out with new people and joining organizations on campus, because you will be so surprised by the amazing new people you will meet.”

Ani LeFevre also wants incoming freshmen to accept and embrace what they can and cannot control, and to create a balance between what they can handle and not getting overwhelmed. She recommends that incoming freshmen do not overload themselves to the point that they lose themselves, and get into “bad habits like one meal a day and trying new drugs.”

She goes on to say that “you might make friends right off the bat or you might not, and that’s okay. You might struggle with schoolwork or you might surpass your own expectations, and that’s okay...Whether or not you feel prepared to go off to college, there are always things that come up you don’t expect. You must remind yourself that you can only do as much as you can handle, and that’s okay too.”

By Kaylee Oppenheimer