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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the college board has ended the sat essay.

On January 19th, 2021, the CollegeBoard announced that it would stop offering the optional SAT Essay after June 2021. 

This is a big change, and students are curious about how this may impact the college admissions process. In this article, we’ll cover these new changes to the SAT Essay testing process and help you understand what they mean for you. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

The College Board No Longer Offers the SAT Essay

As of June 2021, the College Board will no longer offer the SAT Essay to high school students. That means high schoolers will no longer be able to schedule or take the SAT Essay exam after the 2021 June SAT date (June 5, 2021). 

There’s one exception to the no-more-SAT-Essay rule. If you’re required to take the SAT Essay as part of the high school graduation requirements for your state, you may still have to take the essay test! 

States that require students to take the SAT to graduate also participate in SAT School Days . SAT School Days is when students are able to take the SAT for free during...well, a school day! The College Board will continue to administer the SAT Essay to students on School Days in participating states. 

There’s a good chance that these states may drop the SAT Essay requirement in the future. Be sure to check with your high school administrators or guidance counselors for the most up-to-date information on whether you have to take the SAT Essay to graduate. 

SAT Essay Options for Currently Registered Students

If you’re already scheduled to take the SAT Essay exam in 2021, you have a few options going forward. 

First, if you've already registered for the SAT with Essay in March, May, or June of 2021, you can still take the essay test!  You can write your essay, have it scored, and send it to your colleges...no changes necessary. 

But you might decide you no longer need to take the SAT Essay as a result of these new changes. The College Board is letting students who’ve already registered for the SAT Essay cancel their registrations free of charge. 

To do this, just log into your College Board online account and cancel the essay! In order to avoid any additional charges, make sure you cancel your SAT Essay test prior to the registration deadline. 

Why End the SAT Essay? 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a tough year for both high school students and the College Board. Not only were SAT tests cancelled repeatedly, many universities dropped the SAT requirement entirely for 2020-2021 ...and in some cases, beyond . 

In their official statement about dropping the SAT Essay test, the College Board acknowledged how hard circumstances have been for high school students because of the pandemic. The College Board explains that by dropping the SAT Essay, they're helping to “reduce demands on students” both now and in the future. 

While the desire to help students is sincere, experts point out that the College Board may have made this decision for more practical reasons as well. In his article for Forbes , journalist Akil Bello points out that most universities don't require SAT Essay scores as part of the admissions process. That means the SAT Essay has been optional for most college-bound students.

As a result, many students had already stopped taking the SAT Essay —in 2020, only 57% of SAT test takers also took the essay portion of the exam. So the College Board may have dropped the SAT Essay for financial and operational reasons, too. 

What Does This Change Mean for Students? 

Starting in June 2021, students taking the SAT will no longer be able to take the SAT Essay exam (unless it’s part of an SAT School Days requirement). 

Not being able to take the SAT Essay is most impactful for students who’d planned to use their essay scores to make their applications stand out. For instance, if you’d hoped your essay score would help overcome a low SAT Math score —or even a less-than-stellar GPA—then you’ll have to make your college application stand out in other ways. We recommend making sure your application has a spike , but you can also add extracurricular activities to your resume, boost your GPA , and raise your SAT score !

Additionally, if your college required the SAT Essay in the past, you may see some differences in the admissions process. Some schools may simply drop the essay requirement, while other schools may ask you to submit additional writing samples to fulfill that requirement. 

The same will be true for departments that used the SAT Essay to determine whether to admit students . Students applying to degree programs that involve lots of writing—like English, History, or Journalism—may end up having to submit additional samples, or even take a department-specific placement test. 

But what if the colleges you’re applying to never required the SAT Essay? If your dream school didn’t require the SAT Essay or consider SAT Essay scores, this change won’t really affect you. The admissions processes at these schools aren’t impacted by the College Board’s new policies, so your chances of getting in are the same as before the College Board’s announcement. 

Our advice? Check with your potential schools to see how the new SAT Essay policies will affect your admissions process and chances. Admissions counselors will be happy to help you out! 

What’s Next? 

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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SAT Discontinues Subject Tests And Optional Essay

Elissa Nadworny

Eda Uzunlar

Updated at 5:03 p.m. ET

The College Board announced on Tuesday that it will discontinue the optional essay component of the SAT and that it will no longer offer subject tests in U.S. history, languages and math, among other topics. The organization, which administers the college entrance exam in addition to several other tests, including Advanced Placement exams, will instead focus efforts on a new digital version of the SAT.

In the announcement, the organization cited the coronavirus pandemic for these changes: "The pandemic accelerated a process already underway at the College Board to reduce and simplify demands on students."

College entrance exams have had a hard go of it during the pandemic. Many in-person testing dates for the SAT were canceled because of social distancing needs and closed high school buildings; a previous digital version of the SAT was scrapped in June after technical difficulties; and hundreds of colleges have removed the exam from admissions requirements , in some cases permanently.

Few colleges require the optional writing portion of the SAT or the subject tests, though students can still submit them to supplement their college applications. The AP exams have become far more important in demonstrating mastery of subjects and, in some cases, providing college credit.

The Coronavirus Crisis

Colleges are backing off sat, act scores — but the exams will be hard to shake.

"Removing the subject tests can remove a barrier for students," says Ashley L. Bennett, director of college counseling at KIPP Sunnyside High School in Houston. But, she adds, "I believe that standardized testing in general needs to be less emphasized in the college search process."

Elizabeth Heaton advises families about college admissions at College Coach in Watertown, Mass. She thinks the changes could help put some students on a more level playing field. "For students who aren't getting great advising, it is nice to see that they haven't been eliminated from competition just by virtue of not having a test that they may not have known about."

But Catalina Cifuentes, who works to promote college access in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, has reservations. She worries that removing the SAT subject tests will create more barriers for her students, rather than less.

"Hundreds of my students take the subject tests in Spanish and other languages because it provides them an opportunity to show their understanding of a second language," explains Cifuentes.

Many of her students speak a second language at home and would be the first in their family to go to college.

She says her college-bound students often enroll in the University of California and California State University systems, which both require two years of coursework in another language for admission. The SAT foreign-language tests sometimes filled that requirement, but the removal of these exams means Cifuentes will have to shift gears.

"We will need to work closely with our world language teachers to expand on ideas ... for students who already read, write and speak another language," she says.

Her job is all about helping school districts adapt to decisions from colleges and organizations like the College Board, Cifuentes explains.

"Every decision they discuss — there's real repercussions. There's no right or wrong decision, but with everything they do, it should be students first."

Eda Uzunlar is an intern on NPR's Education Desk.

Correction Jan. 20, 2021

A previous version of this story misspelled Ashley L. Bennett's name.

• Campus Life

The SAT Eliminated Its Essay. Now What?

College Board announced last month it will  no longer offer its SAT Subject Tests  effective immediately and eliminate the essay portion (except for states where the essay is required for School Day test administrations).

While the Subject Tests’ elimination made a big splash, the scrapping of the essay likely impacts many more students:  fewer than 500,000  Subject Tests were taken yearly (and students often took multiple Subject Tests, so this represents even fewer students), but  over 1.2 million  took the SAT essay in the class of 2020.

Students will likely welcome the elimination of the essay. Removing the SAT essay means admissions teams will no longer consider the score of a single, timed essay completed at the end of a three-hour-long test.

College Board was  advocating  for the essay’s validity and usefulness in predicting college performance as recently as 2019; instead, college admissions counselors will now rely on a much larger data set: years of high school essay writing in addition to the essays written in the application process.

It’s worth noting that the SAT still includes a rigorous writing and language section, which assesses proofreading skills, so there’s no escaping an important assessment of editing skills, but the essay writing portion is no more.

Some Context: SAT’s Century of Changes 

Over its near century-long existence, the SAT has adjusted both its name and its construct multiple times. Therefore, removing the essay component is not necessarily as momentous as it may be perceived.

In fact, the essay was only  added in 2005 , and this most recent iteration of the essay (a 50-minute rhetorical analysis of a provided persuasive text) has only been part of the test since 2016.

Over the last few years,  fewer and fewer schools  have required the SAT essay as part of a student’s application. In many ways, this change was simply following colleges and admissions teams’ lead.

Better Way to Assess Writing Ability

Indeed, while the  grading rubric behind the SAT essay is valuable (focusing on important principles of evidence-based reading writing), its administration often provides students with little opportunity to demonstrate their true skills in that arena. First, consider the circumstances under which students write the essay: during a 50-minute block at the end of a three-hour test. Second, consider the grading conditions: graders are expected to score  20 to 30 essays per hour , and there have  long been concerns  about the accuracy of the grading.

In other words, the SAT essay does not reflect the kind of extensive subject-matter engagement required for college-level writing, and its grading doesn’t reflect the assessment most college professors provide for written work.

In the end, eliminating the essay means that college admissions teams will continue to focus on a much better measure of students’ writing ability: four years of sustained writing in English and social studies classes reflected in grades in high school transcripts along with essays carefully crafted throughout the application process.

These examples of writing show not only students’ mastery of writing but also their progress over time, which serves as the best index to their ability to maintain a high level of performance or learn and apply new skills, both essential for success in college.

Ongoing Need for Rigorous Writing Instruction 

College Board explained its elimination of both the essay and Subject Tests as part of an effort to simplify the SAT. Indeed, AP test scores can stand in for the latter and essay composition grades and application essays for the former.

While the ACT has not yet made any indication that it plans to eliminate its optional essay, the SAT’s change is a welcome simplification for test-takers and admissions teams.

College readiness, however, will still require mastery of both grammar and essay composition skills, and admissions officers will always be looking for evidence of mastery of these essential skills.

While the SAT essay is no more, students still need to demonstrate competence in essay composition and proofreading. Educators still need to ensure that students can develop cogent, evidence-based, persuasive arguments and have the mechanical writing skills to share those arguments effectively.

While the SAT is transient, the relevance of those skills and their necessity for college and career readiness persists.

DISCLAIMER!  The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The College Post.

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College Board Eliminates SAT Subject Tests and Essay

The College Board will permanently eliminate the SAT Subject Tests or SAT with essay to better adapt to the pandemic-era admissions process, the company announced last Tuesday.

“As students and colleges adapt to new realities and changes to the college admissions process, the College Board is making sure our programs adapt with them,” the statement reads. “The pandemic accelerated a process already underway at the College Board to reduce and simplify demands on students.”

While the tests have been canceled for students registered in the U.S., College Board will continue to administer the Subject Tests — exams that assess specific topics, such as Chemistry, World History, or French — and SAT with essay to international students through June 2021.

Jay R. Rosner, executive director of the Princeton Review Foundation, described the use of the SAT Subject Tests and SAT essay in college admissions as “steadily diminishing.”

“The deaths of both the essay and subject tests are several years overdue,” Rosner wrote. “Harvard will eventually see the light and jettison the SAT, but maybe not without a fight.”

Harvard College spokesperson Rachael Dane said the Admissions Office will still review all test materials submitted by applicants.

“Harvard admission officers review all material that an applicant submits, so if a student has already taken Subject Tests or the essay portion of the SAT, they may still submit it along with their other application materials,” Dane wrote.

Harvard College — along with its peer institutions — removed standardized test requirements for this year’s application cycle given the challenge of scheduling tests with Covid-19 restrictions.

Brian Taylor, managing director of private college consulting service Ivy Coach, said College Board’s decision was "entirely predictable."

“This was an entirely predictable move by College Board,” Taylor said. “When certain elite schools make a move, other universities soon thereafter follow their lead. College Board read the writing on the wall.”

In eliminating the SAT Subject Tests, College Board could make AP exams — end-of-course tests offered by the same company — more profitable, Taylor speculated.

“AP exams are already hugely important in highly selective college admissions,” Taylor wrote. “This move by College Board hammers home their importance.”

“These exams, which went online last year, are also more of a revenue driver for College Board,” he added. “Each test costs test-takers around $95, whereas SAT Subject Tests cost test-takers around $26.”

Conner M. Huey, an admitted student to the Class of 2025, had taken one SAT Subject Test, but not the SAT due to the limited availability of testing centers. He wrote in an email that he had “mixed feelings” about the removal of the Subject Tests.

“In a way, it definitely makes college admissions less driven by test scores and more holistic, which I greatly appreciate,” Huey wrote.

“I am concerned, however, that this will lead to increased stress for students since they may feel the need to compensate for what would have been excellent Subject Test scores,” he added. “In a sense, I think by removing the pressure of more standardized tests for students, I believe another pressure has been amplified.”

—Staff writer Vivi E. Lu can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Dekyi T. Tsotsong can be reached at [email protected].

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Watch CBS News

College Board to cut SAT essay section and subject tests

By Kate Smith

January 19, 2021 / 12:38 PM EST / CBS News

The College Board announced plans to scrap the optional essay portion of the SAT college entrance exam, as well as discontinue its SAT subject tests, major changes to the ubiquitous college application ritual as a growing number of schools have temporarily stopped requiring the exam due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beginning this summer, the College Board, the nonprofit that administers the SAT, will no longer automatically include the essay portion of the test and only offer the section in states where it's required for SAT School Day administrations, the organization said in a Tuesday announcement to members shared with CBS News. The group also said it planned to continue working toward developing a digital version of the SAT, but did not provide a timeframe. 

The changes come as the standardized testing group has moved to streamline its test offerings, an effort accelerated by the pandemic.

"As students and colleges adapt to new realities and changes to the college admissions process, the College Board is making sure our programs adapt with them," David Coleman, chief executive officer of the College Board, said in an emailed statement shared with CBS News. "The pandemic accelerated a process already underway at the College Board to simplify our work and reduce demands on students."

The pandemic has pushed more colleges and universities to reconsider testing requirements. In the past six months, about 500 schools have announced they were waiving standardized test scores from their admissions process, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing . For some, the hiatus may become permanent; a handful of colleges have said this might be the start of a new admissions process. Currently, two-thirds of the United States' colleges and universities, nearly 1,600 institutions, have either temporarily or permanently suspended testing requirements, according to the group.

The College Board also announced it would discontinue offering its SAT subject tests, a series of exams in 20 different specific topics intended to enhance a student's college application. The exam will be immediately cut in the United States, phased out by next summer for international students. Because the College Board has expanded its Advanced Placement availability for low-income students, the group said the SAT subject tests were "no longer necessary for students to show what they know."

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The SAT is permanently dropping its optional essay and subject tests

The College Board is scrapping its SAT subject tests and the SAT's optional essay, among other new pandemic-induced changes.

COVID-19 has cost the College Board both opportunities to hold its SAT college admissions test as well as incentives for students to take the test as colleges loosen admissions requirements. So in an effort to make the college admissions process more "flexible" and "streamlined," the board is abandoning some of its products while working on a new version of the main SAT students can take entirely online, it said Tuesday.

The pandemic has hit both the SAT and its rival, the ACT exam, hard. While 2.2 million students signed up to take the SAT last year, just 900,000 actually did so, the College Board told The Washington Post . The entrance exams were already in decline before the pandemic as critics examined just how effective they were at determining success in college.

The College Board had already made its essay portion optional in 2014, and said Tuesday that the pandemic had simply "accelerated a process already underway ... to simplify our work and reduce demands on students." After all, its Advance Placement exams weren't that different from the subject tests, and AP courses had grown in popularity over the past few years, College Board CEO David Coleman told the Post . So the subject tests will be dropped immediately, while the essay will be abandoned in June, save for in some states that use it to measure school performance. Read more at The Washington Post .

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SAT subject tests and essay are canceled in welcome sign of exam's pending demise

When the College Board recently announced that it was eliminating the two optional SAT tests — the subject matter achievement tests and the writing test — it came as no surprise to many higher education professionals. The move seemed to acknowledge that the nonprofit behind the most widely used U.S. college entrance exam has lost millions of dollars in income and will likely need to adjust its business plans in order to stay viable.

Inherent imbalances are then greatly exacerbated by the private test prep industry. Many students rely on courses and tutors that can cost thousands of dollars.

The $1 billion testing industry depends on colleges and universities across the country insisting that applicants submit test results as a requirement for entry, but many institutions are now questioning their role in college admissions.

After the University of California system announced last year that it was no longer requiring applicants to submit scores from the SAT or ACT (a test run by the College Board’s competitor), some educators heard the death knell sound for the SAT. When the pandemic left thousands of students with no opportunity to take the exam, many more colleges set aside the testing requirement for this year. That precedent, combined with the large number of institutions that had already made the test optional, suggests the College Board is losing its captive audience.

Indeed, it’s likely the SAT has outlived its usefulness. Though premised on a noble concept — leveling the playing field for college applicants — most admissions officers believe the test is unhelpful to institutions seeking to diversify their student bodies. Both the content of the test and the industry that surrounds it have become barriers for students from less privileged backgrounds.

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The College Board was founded as the College Entrance Examination Board in 1900 by 12 universities seeking to bring order to the college admissions process. It now has thousands of member institutions and takes in hundreds of millions of dollars each year , especially from its Advanced Placement operation, and has an executive team as well paid as those at for-profit corporations .

Beyond the tests themselves, the College Board makes money from selling information about the students who take the SAT to interested colleges and universities seeking to recruit them. It also owns some of the $1 billion test prep industry , which itself has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

Although the College Board has insisted that the recent move to eliminate tests is designed to simplify the admissions process for students, many college officials think otherwise . Problems with test administration during the pandemic have revealed that the College Board needs to focus on improving its digital presence in order to make the test more easily available. Cutting back now frees up resources to use on pressing new developments.

Since the first SAT was created in 1926 , generations of prospective college students have had to endure the test as a rite of passage to a college education. Originally conceived of as an aptitude test designed to even the playing field for ordinary people and predict college success, Harvard welcomed the test as a means of diversifying its student body, though its origins go back to people associated with the eugenics movement .

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Since its introduction, many students and educators have increasingly come to view the test as a way to exclude diverse students rather than foster access . High scores on the SAT are strongly correlated with socio-economic status and tend to disadvantage Black and brown students , who score significantly lower than their white peers.

For starters, the cost of the test itself can present a major hurdle for low-income students. The College Board charges students roughly $50 for the basic SAT , and many take it several times. And test-takers also have to pay to send the results to more than four colleges , which is typical today. It also takes social capital simply to sign up for the tests and obtain information about the test format, like the need to bring No. 2 pencils and a calculator, no longer staples in student backpacks.

These inherent imbalances are then greatly exacerbated by the private test prep industry. Many students rely on courses and tutors that can cost thousands of dollars . Additional costs include transportation and free time, which students with jobs simply don’t have.

College admissions officers have used the test to compare students from schools and school systems with very different standards and expectations rather than trusting high school grades . But the data doesn’t bear out the assumption that the universal exam tells them more. Many high-scoring students don’t perform well in college, and many low-scoring ones do just fine. Colleges that have made these tests optional have not found any difference in academic achievement between students who submitted tests and those who didn’t. Research shows that grades better predict success , perhaps because they more accurately reflect a student’s motivation and work ethic.

Few people today accuse the College Board of intentional bias or favoritism, but it’s not difficult to understand how less privileged students are hindered. The College Board itself has acknowledged the differential in scores across race but blames them on inequities in educational preparation rather than test bias.

But many educators and students have argued for years that the SAT is itself biased , and its questions and tasks disadvantage students by gender and race, even by geography. The questions are associated with cultural capital , easily accessible to those from more elite backgrounds with broader life experience. For example, a passage on rugby might confuse students who don’t even know it’s a sport. Students may not read these texts accurately and successfully respond to questions about them.

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Furthermore, the format of the test itself needlessly handicaps many students, particularly ones with certain types of disabilities. Holding the SAT under strict time limits is efficient, but the ability to take timed tests does not assess intelligence or ability . Perhaps most important, the SAT has an outsized influence on high school curriculum and student learning. Educators eager to see their students enter selective institutions shape their lessons to conform with parameters set by the College Board . And that means teachers are adapting their instruction to the priorities of a self-interested business.

The removal of the SAT as a gatekeeper would open higher education to a student population more varied not only by race and socio-economic level but also by interests and abilities. For many students and educators, the weakening of the power of the SAT is welcome news.

Peshe Kuriloff recently retired as a professor of practice at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she coaches teachers in urban schools. In addition to writing about education issues, she enjoys writing personal essays about her life experiences.

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SAT Subject Tests + Essay Discontinued: How This Impacts College Admissions

What’s covered:.

• Major Changes to the SAT
• Reasons for These Changes
• How This Will Impact the 2020-2021 Admissions Cycle
• Which Students Will This Negatively Impact?
• How Can Students Compensate?

On January 19, 2021, the College Board announced some major changes to the SAT. Here’s a summary of these changes and a deep dive into how they’ll impact college admissions. 

Major Changes to the SAT 

Sat subject tests are discontinued.

SAT Subject Tests will no longer be offered to domestic students, effective immediately. There will still be two more administrations in May and June 2021 for international students. 

Domestic students will have their registration canceled automatically, and they will be refunded.

The College Board states that Subject Tests no longer offer the same value as they once did, as AP exams are now more widely available and cover a greater range of subjects. Eliminating the Subject Tests will also open up seats to students who need to take the SAT (and haven’t had the chance to do so during the pandemic).

Colleges that used to require SAT Subject Tests will decide how to adjust their policy going forward.

The SAT Essay is Discontinued

For similar reasons, the SAT Essay is also no longer offered after June 2021. Only students in select states will have access, if they’re taking the SAT through the SAT School Day program.

Students registered for the Essay in Spring 2021 will have the option to cancel the essay at no extra cost.

The College Board recognizes that there are many other opportunities for students to demonstrate their writing abilities, such as the college essays. The SAT will continue to evaluate writing and editing skills through the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing sections, which are “among the most effective and predictive parts” of the test.

There Will Eventually Be a Fully-Digital SAT

The College Board is making “substantial investments” in developing a digital test, likely encouraged by the pandemic and the difficulty it posed to testing in-person. They state that they will release further details this spring.

Reasons Behind These Changes

Finances and accessibility.

For the College Board, this move is all about finances. Replacing the SAT Subject Tests with AP exams reduces costs. More importantly, it increases revenue because the College Board charges around $30 per SAT Subject Test versus $95 per AP exam. 

By removing Subject Tests, the College Board can save money in administering and scoring the exams, and reduce the operational complexity that goes into setting up testing spaces. Getting rid of the SAT’s essay component makes the test completely multiple-choice, meaning the grading can now be completely automated, and the company saves even more money by not having to pay essay scorers. 

Growing concerns about the SAT catering to more privileged and affluent students may also have factored into this decision. Getting rid of these additional testing requirements may increase perceived accessibility in standardized testing, though students also have unequal access to AP exams. 

The Decline of Subject Tests

Furthermore, SAT Subject Tests were already on the decline. The number of test-takers peaked at 300,000 in 2011, but in recent years, it’s dropped to around 200,000 students. Most universities have eliminated Subject Test requirements, either making the Subject Tests optional or not considering scores at all. Overall, Subject Tests have played less and less of a role in admissions every year, except at the 50-60 most selective colleges in the country. 

The purpose of Subject Tests was to provide another dimension along which colleges could compare applicants. However, top applicants to selective colleges almost always had a score of 750+, usually on multiple exams, so they became less of a competitive advantage and more of a requirement. In addition, the language Subject Tests were mainly being taken by native speakers, which didn’t give colleges helpful information in making admissions decisions, so colleges started to discount strong scores on those exams 

It had reached the point where not taking the Subject Tests could hurt students’ chances of admission, but there was essentially no advantage to having those high scores.

The Redundancy of the SAT Essay

The SAT Essay similarly decreased in importance in the admissions process. On the old version of the SAT (the 2400 point version), the essay used to factor into your overall Writing score. This meant you needed a good score on the essay in order to have a strong Writing score, and a strong SAT score overall. 

Now that the essay is no longer a part of the overall SAT score (on the 1600 point scale), colleges have been giving it less and less weight in the admissions process. The same is true for the ACT essay, and the ACT might end up cancelling its essay section for similar reasons. 

Furthermore, colleges have many other opportunities to evaluate your writing, namely through college essays. Some schools such as Princeton have also started asking for a graded paper as part of the application.

How will this affect the 2021-2022 admissions cycle?

This new policy is going to have a major effect on the 2021-2022 admissions cycle, impacting current juniors and younger students. Due to the pandemic, most universities went test optional or test-blind for the SAT Subject Tests in 2020-2021, meaning they would not require Subject Test scores in the application, and some wouldn’t even consider them if submitted. Given this announcement from the College Board, our projection is that most schools will probably extend these policies moving forward.

Unfortunately if you already have strong SAT Subject Test scores, this means you probably won’t receive much of a boost from them during this admissions cycle.

One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of special programs at colleges do require SAT Subject Tests. These include guaranteed admission medical programs (BS/MD programs) and Honors colleges. If you’re interested in these types of programs, you’ll need to keep close track of their specific policies. Consider reaching out to the program in a couple of months to see where they’re at in terms of accepting and considering Subject Test scores. Some programs might ask for AP score or minimum grades in specific courses in lieu of Subject Tests. 

Which students will this negatively impact?

This policy could potentially harm applicants who were banking on high Subject Test scores to give them a competitive advantage. 

If you are homeschooled or attend a school that doesn’t offer AP classes or has an unknown or uncommon course system, the lack of Subject Tests could affect your application negatively. Subject Tests traditionally provide a standardized metric that helps admissions officers compare students from these backgrounds to the larger applicant pool. However, this method of comparison is now gone, making it harder for applicants in these situations to easily be sized up in the admissions process. 

Similarly, this change may hurt you if your extracurricular profile doesn’t match up with your area of interest in academics, and you plan on relying on Subject Tests to demonstrate your ability in a specific field. Others have used Subject tests to make up for poor grades in a course or even to compensate for a weaker overall GPA. Now that the Subject Test advantage is gone, if you’re in these positions will have to compensate in other areas of their application.

How can students compensate?

With this new policy in mind, AP exams, SAT scores, and essays will now all play a slightly bigger role in the decisions process.

The main alternative to Subject Tests will be AP (or IB) tests, which can showcase expertise in a subject area on a national, standardized scale similar to Subject Tests. The Biology, Chemistry, Physics, U.S. History, and World History AP exams all test at about the same level as their Subject Test counterparts. That said, the tests have different formats, and APs have free response and other question styles while the Subject Tests were multiple choice. But, the material itself is essentially the same. 

However, not all Subject Tests have an AP test equivalent. For instance, the AP Literature exams test at a higher level than the Literature subject test, and has an essay component as well. Similarly, the Math I and II exams cover high school material, from Algebra 2 through Precalculus. The AP math tests, Calc AB, BC, and Statistics, don’t really include Precalculus, and have additional material, meaning they’re not directly comparable. 

For languages, AP tests have a Japanese, German, French, Latin, Italian, Chinese, and two different Spanish exams. This more or less lines up with the Subject Tests, although there is no comparable AP exam for Modern Hebrew and Korean.

Outside of math and literature, you’re not missing out on too much as long as you take the AP exams. However, the stakes will ramp up for AP scores and you’ll want mostly 5’s with minimal 4’s to be competitive at top schools that have historically placed importance on Subject Tests. 

The SAT itself will also carry more weight, so you might want to consider doubling down on increasing your score. 

Furthermore, admissions profiles for super selective schools now have one less data point, so there’s going to be an increase in the importance of the subjective elements of your application. This is largely driven by your essays — so expending extra effort on this portion of your application could help alleviate the lost advantage from Subject Tests. 

If you’re a future college applicant, know that we are in unprecedented times and these policy changes are probably the first of many to come. As you craft your admissions profile, it is important to stay informed about any changes and consider how they might impact you. Stay tuned to CollegeVine on our blog and livestreams , where we’re constantly working to research and interpret the most up-to-date data in our admissions tips to help demystify the admissions process. 

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

On January 19th, College Board announced a few significant updates in regards to its SAT Suite of Assessments, including the elimination of the optional essay portion of the SAT and the discontinuance of the SAT Subject Tests (SAT II tests). Let’s take a look at these changes and how they might affect students’ plans for the spring of 2021 and beyond.

In the release, College Board announced that the optional essay will be discontinued from the SAT following the June 2021 test date, with the exception of school day administrations in states which require the essay for evaluative purposes. Students currently registered to take the exam with essay between now and June will have the option to cancel the essay portion via their online account with no change fees up until the test’s registration deadline. In their statement, College Board observed: “This decision recognizes that there are other ways for students to demonstrate their mastery of essay writing. At the same time, writing remains essential to college readiness, and the SAT will continue to measure writing and editing skills.”

Although the vast majority of colleges no longer require (or even recommend, in many cases) students to submit SAT Essay scores, it is somewhat unclear what effect College Board’s announcement will have on the few schools that still utilize the essay portion of the exam in the admission process. Ultimately, the best advice for students and families is likely to check with any colleges they are interested in to see what they recommend, but it seems likely that the SAT essay will not play any role in college admissions for any students in the class of 2022 and beyond.

As a tutor aware of the pressures facing students preparing for the test, I see the announcement as a welcome change. The removal of the optional essay, which was only valued by a small number of schools and did not contribute to students’ overall composite score out of 1600, does offer many benefits to students preparing for the SAT. In addition to reducing the cost of the exam by $15, it shortens the already lengthy test by nearly an hour, which may allow students to devote more energy and focus to the four primary sections (Reading, Writing and Language, No-Calculator Math, and Calculator Math) which contribute to their overall score. Additionally, it allows students to allocate more study time towards other endeavors, whether those be further test prep, academic coursework, extracurricular activities, or even developing a stronger college admissions essay.

College Board Will No Longer Offer SAT Subject Tests

College Board also announced its discontinuation of the SAT Subject Tests, also known as SAT II tests, effective immediately in the U.S. and beginning June 2021 internationally. U.S students registered to take SAT Subject tests in this spring will have their registrations cancelled automatically and their registration fees refunded. Because the SAT Subject Tests are often used for a wider variety of purposes internationally, College Board will offer two final administrations of the exam to international students in May and June of 2021. As to how this might affect the applications of students who already took any SAT Subject Tests, College Board states:

We’ve reached out to our member colleges, and they’ll decide whether and how to consider students’ Subject Test scores. Students should check colleges’ websites for the most up-to-date information on their application policies.

Ultimately, this probably will not have a large role on the college admissions process for most schools . As of the time of the announcement, very few schools recommended students submit SAT Subject Test scores, and while each college is free to decide how to handle scores from previous administrations of the test and what effect this may have on its admission policies, it is rare for a college to alter its admissions policy in a way which penalizes a student for events that are beyond their control. 

College Board attributes its decision to discontinue the tests to the widespread availability of its AP testing, which they consider to render SAT Subject Tests as unnecessary in demonstrating students’ academic knowledge. Both AP exams and SAT Subject Tests are designed as content specific, supplemental exams which allow students to demonstrate their proficiency and interest in specific subjects, and both differ significantly from the standard SAT in their reliance on students’ prior knowledge and comprehension rather than on critical analysis and general problem solving ability. However, there are also some key differences students may wish to be aware of when deciding how to alter their test prep in absence of the SAT Subject Tests . Firstly, because AP exams offer students opportunities to earn valuable college credits, the level of rigor on the exams is closer to that of a first-year college course than to the high school curriculum covered on the SAT Subject Tests . Additionally, there are several key differences in the structure and scoring of the exams:

While the long term effects that these changes might have on students currently preparing for the exams of spring 2021 and beyond remain to be seen, understanding their immediate effects can help students develop effective plans and ease concerns. Additionally, the cancellation of the SAT Subject tests will likely allow schools to offer a greater number of seats to students seeking to register for the SAT this spring.

 I would encourage any students or families with questions or concerns to reach out to their guidance counselor or a test prep professional to discuss how this impacts their current plans.

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The college board is eliminating the sat essay and subject tests and reviving plans to offer the sat online.

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College Board said it would offer a digital version of the SAT last year but abandoned that plan ... [+] without explanation.

The College Board announced today that it is getting rid of the optional SAT essay and subject tests and working on plans to offer a digital version of the main SAT. In a press release, the New York City-based nonprofit that owns the tests describes the changes as an effort to “reduce demands on students.” It says the pandemic has “accelerated a process already underway” to make changes.

But as Forbes reported in September, the College Board and its lone rival, Iowa City-based ACT, have taken a beating since schools went online in March. Numerous test centers have canceled exams, sometimes at the last minute, angering students and families. Colleges have responded by adopting test-optional admissions policies. According to FairTest , a nonprofit watchdog organization, more than 1,600 schools are not requiring fall 2021 applicants to submit scores.

In April, College Board President David Coleman said that if schools didn’t reopen in the fall, the College Board would offer a virtual version of the SAT, but abruptly canceled that plan two months later without explanation. Today’s announcement says that College Board is “investing in a more flexible SAT—a streamlined, digitally delivered test.”

A College Board spokesperson declined to say whether the plan is to offer a remote-only test in the future or to make remote testing an option along with in-person exams. She also declined to elaborate on how the test will be streamlined. But the New York Times reported that the College Board does not plan to offer a test that students can take remotely from home. Instead it intends to give the digital version at test centers with live proctors.

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The test costs $52 and runs for three hours, not including breaks. College Board has been charging $62 for the SAT with the optional essay, which adds an extra 50 minutes of test time. (Fee waivers are available for low-income students.)

The essay will be offered through June 2021. Students should check with the schools where they plan to apply to decide whether to submit scores or sit for future tests. If they have already registered for spring 2021 subject tests, they can cancel and receive a full refund.

The essay will still be given in some states that deem it useful for assessment purposes. The College Board has struck deals over time with 14 states including Illinois and Michigan to give the SAT to all students during the school day, paid for by the states because the test doubles as a federally required assessment.

Standardized entrance exams have long been controversial. Before the pandemic hit, the influential University of California system was already planning to adopt a test-blind admissions policy because of data showing that disadvantaged students and Black and Latino test takers score lower than privileged whites. In May, UC announced it was adopting a test-blind policy starting in 2023 and in November it said that because of the pandemic, all UC campuses would be test-blind this year. UC has said it may develop its own admissions test.

SAT subject tests cost $26 for three exams. They have been offered in 20 different disciplines, including U.S. history and world history and nine languages like Latin and modern Hebrew. College Board’s announcement implies that eliminating subject tests expands admission opportunities for disadvantaged students. It says College Board-owned AP exams cover the same ground and are widely available for “low-income students and students of color.” But students are charged $95 for each AP exam, far more than they pay to take subject tests and the College Board’s own data shows that Black and Latino students routinely score worse than white students on AP exams, as they do on the SAT.

More likely, College Board is dropping the subject tests because fewer and fewer students take them. The UC system played an important role in that trend. After it stopped requiring the subject tests in 2012, hundreds of other colleges followed suit.

In September, Forbes estimated that the College Board, whose most recently available tax filing in 2018 showed revenue of $1 billion, had already lost $200 million from canceled SAT tests. That number has surely grown.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, does the sat still have an essay.

Hi! I've heard mixed information about the SAT essay. Does the current SAT still include an essay section or has it been removed? I'd appreciate any clarity on this!

Hello! The SAT has undergone a range of changes lately, and in June 2021, the College Board eliminated the optional Essay section from the SAT. This means that the current SAT no longer includes an essay portion, and you'll only be assessed on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math sections. With this change, it's essential to focus on maximizing your scores in these two sections to demonstrate your academic abilities to colleges and universities.

Additionally, many colleges now place greater emphasis on personal statements and supplemental essays in their evaluation of your writing abilities instead of turning to your SAT Essay score. To make sure your essays are as strong as possible, consider utilizing CollegeVine's Free Peer Essay Review Tool, or submitting your essay for a paid review by an expert college admissions advisor through CollegeVine's marketplace.

Best of luck with your SAT!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

What Is the SAT Essay?

College Board

• February 28, 2024

The SAT Essay section is a lot like a typical writing assignment in which you’re asked to read and analyze a passage and then produce an essay in response to a single prompt about that passage. It gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your reading, analysis, and writing skills—which are critical to readiness for success in college and career—and the scores you’ll get back will give you insight into your strengths in these areas as well as indications of any areas that you may still need to work on.

The Essay section is only available in certain states where it’s required as part of SAT School Day administrations. If you’re going to be taking the SAT during school , ask your counselor if it will include the Essay section. If it’s included, the Essay section will come after the Reading and Writing and Math sections and will add an additional 50 minutes .

What You’ll Do

• Read a passage between 650 and 750 words in length.
• Explain how the author builds an argument to persuade an audience.
• Support your explanation with evidence from the passage.

You won’t be asked to agree or disagree with a position on a topic or to write about your personal experience.

The Essay section shows how well you understand the passage and are able to use it as the basis for a well-written, thought-out discussion. Your score will be based on three categories.

Reading: A successful essay shows that you understood the passage, including the interplay of central ideas and important details. It also shows an effective use of textual evidence.

Analysis: A successful essay shows your understanding of how the author builds an argument by:

• Examining the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and other stylistic and persuasive techniques
• Supporting and developing claims with well-chosen evidence from the passage

Writing: A successful essay is focused, organized, and precise, with an appropriate style and tone that varies sentence structure and follows the conventions of standard written English.

Learn more about how the SAT Essay is scored.

Want to practice? Log in to the Bluebook™ testing application , go to the Practice and Prepare section, and choose full-length practice test . There are 3 practice Essay   tests. Once you submit your response, go to MyPractice.Collegeboard.org , where you’ll see your essay, a scoring guide and rubric so that you can score yourself, and student samples for various scores to compare your self-score with a student at the same level.

After the Test

You’ll get your Essay score the same way you’ll get your scores for the Reading and Writing and Math sections. If you choose to send your SAT scores to colleges, your Essay score will be reported along with your other section scores from that test day. Even though Score Choice™   allows you to choose which day’s scores you send to colleges, you can never send only some scores from a certain test day. For instance, you can’t choose to send Math scores but not SAT Essay scores.

Until 2021, the SAT Essay was also an optional section when taking the SAT on a weekend. That section was discontinued in 2021.

If you don’t have the opportunity to take the SAT Essay section as part of the SAT, don’t worry. There are other ways to show your writing skills as part of the work you’re already doing on your path to college. The SAT can help you stand out on college applications , as it continues to measure the writing and analytical skills that are essential to college and career readiness. And, if you want to demonstrate your writing skills even more, you can also consider taking an AP English course .

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A forum to discuss the SAT and forms of preparation for taking the test. Please use this subreddit to ask for and offer help and to discuss both the exam itself and news about the exam.

Sat Essay removed completely?

I am an Indian. I am trying to figure out since so many days, but the doubt whether would ESSAY apear on my paper or not is still a doubt I am actually planning to register for exam on 28th August. Can someone please help me to know details about Sat Essay?

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The Supreme Court’s ruling intended to remove the consideration of race during the admissions process. So students used their essays to highlight their racial background.

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