Students are traveling hundreds of miles to take their SAT as less than half of California SAT centers have reopened after COVID-19. “All over the Bay Area, kids are struggling to get seats for the SAT and ACT, not just at M-A,” M-A College and Career Center counselor Mai Lien Nguyen said.
Junior Niklas Klemmer plans to fly to Pasadena and possibly Beverly Hills for the SAT. “Originally, I was going to have to go to Arizona, near Phoenix. That’s pretty common for people,” he said. “It’s really hard to find a testing location unless you log on the day that they post the link to get it.”
“I scheduled an SAT for Oct. 5 during the summer, probably in early August, a month after the actual dates dropped. The closest thing available was in Bakersfield, a four-hour drive away,” junior Phineas Bjorlin said.
Senior Mayra Arias began looking for openings in her junior year. “The only testing spot I could get is three hours away and in May,” she said. “I was hoping to take the test near M-A, but all the spots were full, so I had to make my appointment for June 1st in Fresno.”
“I had to go to Nevada to take the SAT in August during my junior year,” senior Holly Cheung said.
Senior Ryan Dyer took the test in far Northern California. “The booking was a couple of months in advance, but the closest one was still six or seven hours away,” he said.
“I couldn’t find anything nearby,” senior John Cutler, who went to Portland, Ore., said. “There was nothing within 100 miles.”
Although M-A offers in-school SATs for seniors, many students prefer to take the exam earlier. The College Board advises students to take the SAT in their junior year and retake it later if necessary.
“Honestly, after junior year, I’m hoping to not have to think about standardized testing again,” Klemmer said.
“I really wanted to start early,” Bjorlin said. “I studied over the summer and throughout junior year and took a couple more tests this year, just so I can get it over with.”
However, as testing center availabilities grow limited, not all students can afford the travel costs. Moreover, not all parents can take time off to accompany students to take tests at distant locations. Students who retake the SAT usually score higher, disproportionately placing wealthier students—often with the time and resources to travel to further locations—at an advantage.
Sometimes, students book more sittings than necessary in anticipation of retakes. “What I actually learned was that a lot of people just schedule all the appointments,” Dyer said. “A lot of people take up all the places, and then they cancel and more spots open up.”
“I think a lot of people trying to get into really competitive colleges try to do a lot of SATs because, obviously, I have as many opportunities to retake as many tests as there are, and just use my best score,” Bjorlin said.
“I’m lucky enough that my parents are comfortable and able to book flights, as opposed to driving, or even just not being able to go like many people,” Klemmer said.
“I think it’s also very evident that if you can’t afford to travel, it’s gonna be a lot harder,” Cutler said.
