The time of year has come around for the sophomores at school to take PSATs, a test that prepares students for the SATs, a standardised test that colleges and universities use to determine which students to accept to their colleges. Over the years SATs have been getting criticised and in 2020  the UC system dropped SATs and ACTs from their requirements. With PSATs coming up, I asked students whether they thought SATs were necessary and here’s what they had to say:

It seems that while a good percentage of students still think that SATs are necessary, most students don’t think we need them anymore. Here’s what a handful of students who answered the question said:

• “Most colleges still require SATs and even if you don’t have to put your SAT score, if you don’t it’s kinda like, how badly did you do?” – Cole Matarazza (11).
• “It’s optional now so not really” – Abby Stien (10).
• “It’s necessary to an extent but it also doesn’t give people with test anxiety a  chance” – Joe Keeler (12).
• “A lot of things can define how good a student is and while English and math is one of those things, there’s also a lot of other things to consider.” – Nikita Mathew (9).
• “Some colleges require it and some don’t so I guess it depends” – Mac Churby (9).
• “It’s not necessary for some colleges but it also lets colleges know how good of a fit you are, like how well you’ll do in their college.” – Amber Belk (11)
• “Yes because colleges need to know who they’re accepting” – Redha Jaweed (10)

Even though SATs aren’t a requirement for a lot of colleges anymore, it looks like they will still be around for some time and there will still be people taking them. PSATs are on October 12 so good luck to the sophomores and anyone else who’s taking the test!