By Travis Wu
Sorry future classes, but the SAT is back! The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), distributed solely by The College Board, is beginning its return back into the college applications process after COVID saw many prestigious schools such as Cornell and CalTech going test-optional and test-blind respectively.
Sadly, many colleges began missing the SAT and really wanted it back. Ivy League colleges such as Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown and Yale have announced their reinstatement of the SAT for the fall 2025 admissions cycle (class of 2030). Many other universities are following suit, such as Stanford and Cornell reinstating the SAT for the fall 2026 admissions cycle (class of 2031). This means it’s required for you to submit the SAT in order to even apply to the college.
That’s more money down the drain.
The College Board must’ve bribed these colleges! Of course, the College Board needed a way to recover from the losses during COVID. With $68 per attempt at the SAT and millions of students taking the exam per year, this “non-profit” organization is really trying to make sure to maximize its profits.
The SAT being a supplemental resource was completely fine; however, it does not deserve to be a REQUIREMENT to the college application process.
Do you know what gambling and the SAT have in common? They are both addicting!
The very nature of the SAT is meant to be addicting, especially for perfectionists and competitive minds. Got a 1590 on the SAT? Well, guess I need to donate another $68 and try to get a 1600! With the SAT coming back to more colleges, this just means that people are more inclined to spend more money to try to get the best score possible.
One of my biggest issues with the SAT is that it only covers two categories. A few decades ago, the SAT was split into subject tests that included math, science, writing, and more. Now, it’s only English and Math. As an “aptitude” test that is meant to measure the student’s ability in College, the SAT absolutely fails to do that. A world-class scientist who is terrible at English could fail the SAT because of how the test is structured, even though they are definitely well-prepared for college-level work.
And I cannot stress enough how the SAT is just a studying simulator where you practice problems over and over again. The test questions become repetitive to questions you find in study resources such as Khan Academy and Prep books. This means that it’s not even about being prepared for college-level coursework, it’s about who can memorize how to do all the problems.
Just know that you’re spending all this time studying for a test that becomes lost in the void after you get into college. There are so many other things you can be doing with your time!
Why should a single test taken on one random Saturday be required to determine your future college? What if you’re sick? What if you have other responsibilities? How about personal or family issues going on? The SAT doesn’t care. It’s a one-shot, high-stakes gamble that doesn’t consider anything else about you.
Of course, you can pay another $68 and spend a few hours of your weekend to take it again though! Your years of hard work? SAT does not care. Your passions? Definitely not. Your money? Possibly.
Bringing back the SAT as a requirement just makes the college application process even more stressful and ridiculous. Yet, the pressure of the education system convinces students that this overpriced, glorified exam is somehow the key to success. Spoiler alert: it’s not. No more SAT!
