For juniors, April 12 can be an extremely stressful day. The SAT is required to be taken at Antioch Community High School for students to graduate. For students applying to college, the score they receive on the SAT could be the determining factor for getting into their dream school.
ACHS students received an email regarding optional SAT prep classes on Dec. 16. The students could pick from two different time slots; in-person classes 3:30-4:30 p.m. or virtual classes 5:30-6:30 p.m. They could then pick between taking an English prep class, a math prep class, or both. To take one of the classes, the cost comes out to $45 and to take both, it costs $80. The classes were held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school.
“There are so many free courses or practice tests that [students] can take online,” post-secondary counselor at ACHS Genesis Casillas said.
Before the SAT, students are advised to get a good night’s rest and eat a hearty breakfast to help them during the test. Something that students might overlook is the clothes they wear; the test is three hours long so students want to wear clothes they will be comfortable sitting in for a long time; along with that, there are only a few breaks allowed during the SAT that are each roughly five minutes long.
The SAT becoming optional like the ACT is something that has been discussed recently as some colleges are moving to test-optional admission, meaning students applying are not required to submit their SAT or ACT scores. The ACT used to be required for graduation at ACHS but is now an option for students to take if they would like, the fee for taking the full ACT with writing is $85 and without writing is $60.
The topic of colleges only looking at test scores has been discussed a lot. Some think colleges should look at more than just test scores; others think the opposite.
“I think colleges should look at GPAs and grades for specific classes because people could be really smart, but then they just don’t try at all and then that’s going to transfer over into college,” senior Caitlyn Osborne said.
There are many other arguments that students make about the SAT: they do not plan on going to college or the college they are applying to does not require score submissions etc. However, whether students think the SAT is important or not, it is required for them to graduate so it is important to show up and put forth a good effort.
