As if taking the SAT or ACT weren't hard enough, registering for the tests may be the biggest challenge of all.
Post-pandemic, there are fewer testing centers, especially locally in the Monterey Bay area. Students in the 831 often have to travel outside of the county just to find a testing site. And there appears to be no change to this in the near future.
Thus, as you work your plan for test preparation, be sure to have a solid plan to register for both the SAT and ACT. Below are some tips so that you aren't surprised by the challenges of test registration:
Plan ahead: Test sites fill up quickly. Monitor the College Board website for the SAT and/or the ACT Inc. website for the ACT. Seats are added for the dates that are posted on the site and the early bird gets the worm.
Schedule multiple sittings: Taking the test once is not enough. Most students increase their scores on a second sitting. Some even increase scores on a third sitting. So plan to take the SAT or ACT at least twice.
Set up only one account: When you register, you will need to set up one account on each site. Be sure you set up one, and only one, account for each site.
Prepare to travel:Â With fewer sites available for tests, many students will need to travel outside of their local area to find a site. For example, as of this writing, the closest available ACT testing site for families in the 831 is San Jose. There is a site in Aptos but seats are already full for both the September and October tests. It is not uncommon for families to reserve sites far away and get a hotel the night before near the testing center.
Take advantage of school test days: Both the SAT and ACT have worked with schools to host test days during normally scheduled academic days. If your school offers this, take advantage of it. Taking the test at your school during a school day significantly reduces the stress and uncertainty of a test at a testing center. If your school doesn't offer this, ask your counselor to see if your school can become a site.
If applicable, apply for a fee waiver: Fee waivers are available for low-income students. Contact your school counselor for a few waiver code if you are eligible.
Determine if you wish to send scores: When you register, you can input the colleges where you wish to send scores. You have up to four schools where you can send scores for free and then you pay for each additional school. If you are unsure about this, you can decide later (the SAT gives you up to nine days after the test day to change your free score sends). In this test-optional world, you may want to wait to send your scores just to see if the score is in range of admitted students of the college(s) on your list.
Play with the options (ACT only): For the ACT, you may find more spots available if you play around with your testing options. For example, if you sign up for the ACT test with the writing, then you may have more options since the no writing option generally fills up first. Same goes for your option to go paper or on a computer. The ACT computer version is being piloted in certain areas so see what pops up in your local area when you opt for computer versus paper options. Also, the ACT Science will soon be optional. Students may find more registration spots if you opt to do the science.
Bottom line, don't be surprised by the challenges of finding a testing site. As long as you are putting work into your test prep, be sure to put in the work on finding the right site and timing for you.
If you need help, CROSSWALK is here for you.
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