Test availability in Singapore is still a major issue for many students. If you go to a school that is a "closed" SAT test center, then lucky you. These schools administer the test only to present or past students. If you don't go to these schools then seats are absurdly limited and at present the earliest reliably available date is March 12, 2022. Large local Singaporean system schools used to take up the lion's share of the demand for the SAT, but these schools are currently not acting as test centers due to Covid-related restrictions. Until these schools open up again, this situation will not improve. If you are stuck not being able to take the test, don't despair! Universities can't require that you take a test that you can't access and nearly every one of them is formally test optional for those applying to start in August 2022. Take a few deep breaths and talk with your university counseling team at your school or contact us if your school doesn't have one.
In the past, there was an option available for letting "College Board find you a place" for the SAT. This allowed College Board to vet testers and prioritize those that are bone fide Singapore residents for places. Otherwise all the spots were historically taken by students from China who are unable to take the test there. The registration platform has been "upgraded" in the last 4 months and this option seems to be no longer available. College Board as an organization is focused on the domestic American market (where the real money is) and phone calls to the customer service lines or pleading emails will sadly probably be a waste of time. So, get your spot for March or May 2022 now! If you are applying this year to start in 2022, not having a test score shouldn't hurt you, so concentrate on other areas of your application.
What about the ACT? The test is listed as available on the registration website with a number of options through Spring of 2022. This test is now taken exclusively on a computer in an authorised test center but we have profound concerns that what is listed on the website doesn't match up with reality. There are some test centers in the region listed on the website as available that we know aren't going to be open for months to come. So, have a try if you feel lucky but don't worry or stress if the test doesn't actually happen. We are operating in a world of modest hopes and low expectations. Your grades in school have always been the most important part of your application and is where you should be focused.
Fools Rush In
The single biggest mistake that we see every year is students taking the SAT too early. Now with summer options curtailed, more rising 11th graders think that they can just use the entire summer to prepare for the SAT and then "get it out of the way" in August. No. Just no.
There are two main arguments against:
A) The SAT tests content that is learned in school. The longer a student spends in school reading, writing, and doing math then broadly, the better the SAT score. In math in particular many students haven't covered all the content that is tested on the SAT until well into 11th grade.
B) The start of 11th grade is vital for university applications and if possible students should throttle back on other activities as much as possible to ensure that they hit the ground running and keep that GPA up. Clearing the decks and not doing SAT-related activities during the school year until November and then targeting the December test is a decent compromise as that allows a few more later bites of the apple in March/May/August if need be.
We can't dictate when kids actually take the test, and despite some 30 years experience in test prep, students regularly blithely think they know best and test in August or October of their 11th grade. This often leads to kids getting stuck in a Sisyphean cycle of test/prep/test/prep/test that consumes way too much of their 11th grade, and results in the same score they would have gotten from just holding off a bit.
The only (sort of) rational argument for testing earlier than December of 11th grade was for potential student athletes who need to fulfil NCAA testing requirements. The NCAA has dropped this requirement for now, so this argument no longer stands.
If the student is a high achiever who will score a 1450 plus in August with loads of prep, the same student will likely score over 1500 with next to no prep in December and maybe 1550 come the following March. Older students score higher, it is just that simple.
We have our modular test prep programs that use the summer effectively and have a break before resuming leading to the December test. These are specifically planned for rising 11th graders. Doing any SAT-specific prep earlier than the summer before 11th grade is not something that we would condone for any reason, and indeed we will not take such students into our test prep programs - though we'd welcome them into our other 101 and Head Start enrichment programs, as appropriate. We only work with students who are preparing for the right test at the right time. We turn business away regularly from students looking to start too early, and also those students who really don't need any formal preparation.
March 2021 FAQs
With the recent changes afoot in testing and admissions it is hard to keep track of things and there is much bad information floating around on WhatsApp groups and other social media. Here are just a few common testing misperceptions debunked. Check the webinars for more details....
- The SAT is no longer required.
Nearly every American school has been forced to go "test optional". The main driver for this is the fact that the SAT is not openly available due to Covid and schools can't require tests students can't take. Some schools such as the University of California system have gone full "test blind" and have committed to not even considering test scores for a few cycles. However, most schools have adopted some form of "test optional" policy where kids can submit scores if they want to but those who do not should face no negative consequences. Read the exact policies on the university websites. The tests are still required for many scholarship/ROTC programs at public universities and also for public schools in Florida.
- So I shouldn't submit scores at all.
If you have a poor score relative to the average level at that university then submitting scores is not a good idea. However, if the median score of past admitted students at university A is, say, a 1250 and a student scored a 1400, then that score should absolutely be submitted. If it makes you look good, then show it. More on this can be found in an article by our friend Jed Applerouth here.
- I should take the Subject Tests while I still can.
No. These tests are dead though they will still be administered internationally through June 2021 for some strange reason. American universities will hence stop looking at results on these exams and the only schools asking would be schools in other locations that maybe didn't get the memo yet. IB results, A Levels, and AP tests are much better gauges of subject-specific mastery, and is a core reason why these exams got cancelled.
- The SAT will not come back.
The great Andrew Sullivan really stirred the pot last week with this impassioned defense of the test. It is really too soon to say for sure what will happen come 2022, 2023, 2024, etc. but most universities like the idea of a common metric. Universities know full well that kids from very wealthy families will have access to test preparation and that a 1400 from such a student isn't nearly as impressive as a 1350 from a student with more modest economic circumstances. Grade inflation has made GPAs less useful over the years and larger universities in particular will really struggle without the SAT score to consider. If all American high schools ran the IB then it would be a different story, but that will never happen. Each state closely controls the specific curricula used at public schools; ceding this control to a Swiss-based NGO is not in the cards.
In a perfect world of rainbows and unicorns each student would be personally interviewed, letters of recommendations would be fully considered, and a full personal examination would be conducted. Small, well-funded liberal arts colleges can do this. Large universities getting upwards of 100,000 applicants can't.
Stay tuned on how this dynamic situation develops in the future.
December 2020 FAQ Answered!
How do I get a seat to take the SAT test in Singapore?
If you attend a school that is a closed test center (you know who you are), then get the secret test center number from your school and register via the College Board website. If you do not, then things get a bit more complicated.
In normal times the bulk of the openly available seats to take the SAT in Singapore were supplied by local MOE schools with large capacity such as ACJC and VJC. There are presently restrictions from these schools administering the test and hence a major mis-match in supply/demand for seats. We anticipate that when we move to "Stage Four" then things will open up and these centers will again open up. When this happens, students who are on the official College Board wait list will be first in line. You get on this list by letting "College Board find me a place" during the registration.
No amount of emails or calls to College Board in New York will be of any use. If you can't test, don't worry about it. (see below)
What if I can't get a seat to take the SAT?
Note that this test availability problem is hardly unique to Singapore and kids all over the world (including large swaths of America) are not able to test. As a result, all American schools are now test optional at the very least and you will not have to submit scores. If you do not submit scores, this will not hurt your application. Chartering a speedboat to try to get a to a test center in Batam or Johor is completely crazy town.
What about the ACT, should I take that in April/June?
As reported earlier, the ACT gave up on international by cancelling international tests until April 2021 and firing all the international staff. Presently there are places notionally available in Singapore for the June test administration but we doubt that these will be fully open. Try to take the SAT instead, the ACT is even more of a mess at present.
What does "Test Optional" mean?
It means that the SAT/ACT test scores are OPTIONAL and you do not have to submit them, especially if you can't take the test! Universities will use other parts of your application in lieu of test scores.
Should I still submit test scores?
If the university is test optional (U. California legally can't even look at scores now!), and your test scores are solid, then go ahead and submit test scores. If your test scores are poor relative to the rest of your application, then no need to send them.
Will it hurt my chances if I do not submit scores?
No, schools are test optional, see above. Universities need students and will be making it easier, not harder.
Will universities be test optional for class of 2022 as well?
Probably. Hard to say for sure and schools are likely not keen to commit to anything that far out but unless things snap back to a new normal very soon, then most universities will be test optional for kids starting in 2022 as well.
What about the SAT Essay and SAT Subject Tests?
Just a few American schools still technically "recommend" these tests and that number goes down every week. We anticipate (and hope) that these tests will die a graceful death with the next admissions cycle. They are still required by some non-American schools so check with the specific university. We can see the tests being quietly fully cancelled and still being required by some universities who didn't get the memo.
Where can I get more specific guidance?
Our webinar in December covers all of this ground, but the best person to help you is your university advisor at your school. NOT a commercial university placement agent. NOT a WhatsApp group. NOT what you heard from your friend's cousin's half-brother whose kid "got into Stanford". There has been a proliferation of fake news on all things of late, and admissions and testing has hardly been spared.
We encourage people to have a look at our blog for our most recent postings as well as our Twitter feed where we post interesting links.
October 2020 Update on Testing
As the ACT just basically walked away from the international table, College Board (CB) continues to muddle through by woefully mismanaging the SAT both internationally and at "home" in the US. This Forbes article is the best we've seen in a while in detailing the problems in the domestic market that are only worse abroad. CB has grown fat and bloated operating as an oligopoly and as an organization could just about walk and chew gum in normal times. Now, it is being asked to walk, chew gum, juggle chainsaws, and balance a bowling ball on its head. Unsurprisingly, the net result is testing chaos.
About half of the kids scheduled to test in September and October globally were cancelled, many last minute. This is often completely out of the control of CB as the decisions are regularly made at the local level by the actual school or local authorities. What is very problematic is that often test centers are shutting but that information takes weeks to percolate through the College Board system to get back to students. This is doubly so in Singapore. Students have even been getting assigned test centers that are actually closed and not findings out the actual situation until a few days before test day - spending time and money on prep for a test that they can't take. A terrible state of affairs that is repeating around the world.
There is an online resource that CB claims will update students on the situation but in practice it is slow to reflect the latest information and the focus is, as ever, on the domestic market with international testing an afterthought. Only several test centers in Singapore are open to outside students and several that students are assigned to for December aren't actually presently planning to be open. Singapore regulations could change tomorrow that would allow for testing at MOE schools and that would help things greatly, but we just can't predict that. The large MOE schools have traditionally accommodated the bulk of the testers in Singapore and with them shut there is a massive supply/demand imbalance. If you are attending a school that is a "closed" test center then you should be just fine, but register early (and often!).
If CB told you that you have a place at a given test center in Singapore to test on December 5th, check with the test center directly to verify that it is still happening. Hopefully the schools will put this information on their websites. If that test center isn't happening then the chances you getting a place at another center that actually has seats is scant, and you'd probably better off not worrying about the test for now. If you are applying to start university in 2021 then the test is optional at just about every American school. If you are applying for 2022 then you should have a clearer run next year to test and even then, it will probably still be optional for you as well. The key thing: don't worry too much as universities need students, and if you can't test, then you can't be asked for a test result. Universities need students, especially full-fee paying students from abroad. Hence, all universities will be more flexible in terms of test and other requirements for the foreseeable future. Check the individual university websites for specific requirements and updates; Twitter feeds in particular often have the most recent information. Note that asking what the exact requirements will be beyond the present 2020-2021 admissions cycle will not get you far as schools really just don't know.
Kids in the class of 2023 should not even be thinking about testing for another 12 months or so and should work on regular school work and whatever other worthy activities they have access to.
Pretty much every school is now formally "test optional" for 2021 and maybe also 2022. That said, if you are able to sit these tests and get a good result then that will help your chances as there are fewer things for universities to consider now as most sports and other CCAs have been shelved. There is much speculation on how everything will pan out and if 2022 kids will have a harder time getting into the most competitive schools due to the many students deferring or not. Anyone who claims to know the answers now should not be trusted, or even listened to.
Needless to say, we are watching this situation very closely. If you want an update just send us an email and we can arrange a time to talk.
