SAT Testing at Whitney Young

Ethan Nakashima

Do juniors still need to take the SAT and ACT? | WTOP

This August, out of the 402,000 students registered to take the SAT, 178,600 of them were unable to take it, thanks to our current pandemic. For many students, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Starting from March of this year, many testing sites for the SAT have reduced their test capacities or have flat-out closed due to safety concerns. Stephen Luo ‘24, feels that safety regulations “should be enough to keep people safe,” but the College Board seems to want to play it safe. After getting their tests cancelled, students have to try their luck at reregistering for another test, hoping that the test center won’t close on them again. This cycle means that some students are taking the SAT for the first time on Wednesday. 

Over quarantine, students have taken prepping for the SAT into their own hands. With the amount of options available online, there is easy access to a lot of different SAT materials. Even then, some students still feel uneasy about the test. Since the PSAT had been cancelled by CPS in 2019, a number of seniors don’t have experience with taking the real test. Edwin Chen ‘21, a senior at Whitney Young who will be taking the SAT for the first time on Wednesday, September 23, said “I just feel it’s unfair that I haven’t taken the PSAT.” This view is shared among a variety of other seniors at Whitney Young, but they are doing their best to prepare for the test. To seniors taking the SAT, good luck.