After returning from spring break, students were greeted with the news of the upcoming SATs, and many are feeling stressed and unready. The purpose of the SAT is supposed to be to measure a high school student’s readiness for college, but many consider the test to be unnecessary nowadays. This idea comes from the fact that the number of colleges not requiring SAT scores is growing.

Junior Colton Markwell said his reaction to the SAT was becoming a little stressed out but also relieved that it’ll be over soon. He also said that his plan for preparing is, “Making sure to get plenty of sleep the night before so that I have the energy to give my full attention and not fall asleep.”

  Some high schools, like SLHS, require students to take the SAT to graduate. Whether or not a college is test-optional, one must have SAT scores to qualify for certain scholarships or admission into specific degree programs. The good news though is that the overwhelming majority of community colleges don’t require the SAT for admission and that’s because community colleges are usually considered to be open enrollment schools.

“I panicked a little bit, our whole future in college depends on how good we do on this test and I don’t want to mess up that chance”, says Junior Alex Hardy. “I’m going to try to study my butt off and pray that I do well and try to get as much sleep as possible.”

Many scholarships also rely on grade point averages and ACT or SAT scores to qualify potential recipients. Scholarships often function the identical way university admission functions. After all, there’s only so much information for a university to decide admission on. Schools will look toward solid numbers like score averages and college test scores to induce a plan of the qualifications of a private student, meaning higher college entrance examination scores do expand student possibilities. Not only can test scores make it possible to go to a desired college, but the higher scores can add options for less-expensive schools too.