As the chaos of the coronavirus circulated through the country, many testing locations for the SAT on March 14 began closing.
One day before the test, Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) Twitter account announced the cancellation of all SATs scheduled in FCPS locations.
“I am upset that I couldn’t take [the SAT] because I had spent so much hard work and time on preparing,” junior Sanjoli Jain said. “[But] I definitely think it was the right decision health-wise because there are so many students from all over that are gathering in one school. That is such an immediate health risk and I’m glad we are taking those precautions in order to stay healthy..”
The College Board did send out an email to students who were unable to test because of the closures, citing COVID-19 concerns. Additionally, most colleges have stopped visits from potential students for approximately one month. Jain said such cancellations are affecting the junior class as a whole.
“This year’s juniors are having it very rough for their future,” Jain said. “College visits are cancelled, SAT tests are cancelled, and we can’t go anywhere or do anything. This is a huge setback to our plans for the future, and we don’t know how to bounce back from it.”
In the same email, the College Board said they would refund registration fees for those scheduled to test, but will not be providing a makeup test.
“Giving a refund is a huge aspect that needs to be done matter what,” Jain said. “However, once everything does subside, I would like a makeup earlier than the May SAT […] This virus is something new, so we just have to play everything by ear and hope for the best.”