The pandemic has given rise to a dilemma between the scholarship and college admission requirements. While a majority of the universities/colleges have gone ‘test-optional’ for the standardized exams but a certain number of scholarship programs still demand test scores like SAT or ACT. Candidates are expectedly running after lucrative scholarships for which taking tests is a necessity. With the Coronavirus cases surging, the SAT test centers are mostly shutting down.

It has so happened that certain candidates are flying to different places to access the test centers but that is a huge hindrance for low-income family groups. “More than 1,450 US colleges and universities announced they are moving to a test-optional policy, and more will surely follow,” the National Association for College Admission Counseling stated. “By going test-optional, institutions are making a definitive statement that they will not need test scores to make admission decisions this year.”

The fact is contradicted by Loyola University Chicago, Clemson University, and the University of Oklahoma who had already regulated their test-optional structure but has made it mandatory for certain top-notch merit scholarships.

The decline in PSAT Test Takers by 2 Million

This year as low as 1.4 million students took the PSAT exam which was 3.8 million students in the 2019-20 academic years. The College Board has stated that it is offering the candidates another chance to take the exam which might as well be again sabotaged due to the pandemic wave. The College Board has further reported that from 2.2 million in 2020 the count has come down to 2.1 million test-takers.

The SAT and ACT exams are offered quite a number of times in the year, though counselors have advised the students not to reach out to the test centers for taking the test. They have further pleaded with the scholarship authorities to take down their standardized test score requirements. But the test-takers and their parents are concerned about the ‘test-optional’ regulation and have added that they consider the test score as an additional advantage over other requirements. Furthermore, since there is a noticeable downfall in financial aid which has made the parents crave the scholarships even more.

Struggle to Find a Testing Site

Bob Schaeffer, interim director of FairTest, an organization that controls against high-stakes testing, including college admissions tests has stated that the test centers are “very location-dependent”. He has further added that “In parts of the country, like California and the Northeast, it was difficult, if not impossible, to find a nearby testing center”.

The ACT exam’s official site crashed during the summer when the test-takers marched to sign up after trail of canceled exams. A minimum of one student caught the disease in the test center.

There is a thick line of difference between the wealthy ones and the low-income groups. The former always have the ability to hire the greatest private tutors and nurture their SAT scores/ACT scores. In fact, the recent hype is about well-off candidates flying to take tests in another place. This synonymously state that when the authorities are awarding the highest scores, they are inclining towards the highest scorers at the same time.

The College Board has stated how it is expecting an approximate count of several thousand students for their 26th January date. For the National Merit Scholarship Program the PSAT score is considered, and the low-income groups are the most vulnerable ones when it comes to taking the exam.

Excerpts from certain sources state that the candidates from the lower-income or disabilities find the most difficulty in finding test centers. Therefore, in September a California judge stated to temporarily pause the SAT and ACT exams.