It’s like two different sides of the spectrum for seniors and juniors right now. Seniors just wrapped up decision day, and juniors are preparing themselves for a long application season.
For juniors, getting themselves ready to apply for college includes taking standardized tests like the SAT which is upcoming this Saturday, May 2nd.
College Board calls the May SAT one of its more popular, with it being one of the last opportunities for students to perfect their scores before college applications are due.
Junior Ryan O’Sullivan will be one of the many test-takers this Saturday, and he hopes to make this his final attempt at the SAT and get the highest score possible.
“I feel really good about it,” said O’Sullivan. “I’ve been studying a lot for it, so it definitely makes me feel very confident to take the test.”
Although many students put a lot of effort and pressure on themselves to get a really high SAT score, the SAT is just one part of the application process and it doesn’t even determine what grades a student may have or what extracurricular activities they are involved in. Some schools have even gone test-optional, giving students the option to submit their test or to not submit if they don’t feel happy with their score.
“I don’t think the SAT is ultimately going to be too important for my future, especially because you can submit test-optionals to most schools,” said O’Sullivan. “So really, I just look at it like the SAT can only help you.”
Some of these schools that are currently test-optional include in-state giants UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, Duke, and also tons of other out-of-state schools like Michigan, UCLA, and Princeton.
So this weekend, when you sit down to take the SAT, just relax and take a big breath. The SAT is a great chance to show off your intelligence to colleges and universities in your application, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter too much, as more and more colleges are going test-optional.
After this Saturday’s May SAT, the next SAT will be on Saturday, June 6th, as just a few more chances arise for juniors and rising seniors to take a standardized test.
