Around 200 juniors and seniors took the SAT on Saturday, October 11 at Westwood High School.
The SAT came the day after the Homecoming game vs. McNeil, which had been anticipated by many students for a long time.
“I stayed back to watch as much as I could,” Abbey Monroe ’16 said. “I watched three quarters and then ran home so I could get some sleep.”
The inconvenient timing didn’t affect all students however. Many felt they got adequate rest and felt extremely prepared.
“I slept by 10, I think,” Seema Iyengar ’16 said. “I still barely woke up, but I think I was more awake than a lot of people there.”
Another factor affecting the students was the heavy rain that fell as students waited outside to be admitted. The doors did not open until fifteen minutes past the announced time, so many students walked in drenched.
“I wore my jacket to keep myself dry, and it ended up getting super wet,” Monroe explained. “But the room was so cold; I needed a jacket!”
Ultimately, students found that the experience was better than they had expected, despite the setbacks and stress. Most walked out feeling confident, although a little exhausted and hungry.
“I honestly don’t think the rain or timing was that bad,” Neha Shah ’16 said. “We dried off by the time they started, and I feel good.”
While her opinion was the popular one, some students felt that they were affected to the point where they were ready to cancel their scores.
“I don’t know if I want to keep these scores,” Monroe said. “I think I spent a lot of time trying to keep myself warm, so I don’t know.”
While there are no official rules regarding weather conditions, students do have the option to cancel their scores if they aren’t confident about the test.
“If you feel that you didn’t do your best on the SAT,” the official College Board website reads, “you can cancel your scores if you do so within a few days.”
However, the website clarifies in a bold red box that “you must cancel no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the Wednesday after the test date.”
