After years of dread and anticipation, the SAT is upon the class of ‘25. The Dec. 2nd SAT marks the fourth available SAT in the 2023-2024 school year. While some students opt to take it now while the paper version is available, others are waiting until 2024 to test with the new and unprecedented digital format. In this one and only chance when both options are available to students, what are the perceived benefits of the former or the latter?
Junior Anika Mahuli comments on her SAT experience, saying “I felt a little bit nervous because I desperately wanted to improve [after] my [last] score.” This common theme of nervousness has been seen across the board with the Juniors taking the exam.
An anonymous Junior says “I felt a bit less nervous going in just because I already did [the SAT] in November so I already knew what to expect.” Of course, taking the exam is just half the battle. Prior to it, students spend hours on end in preparation. With a wide array of topics and concepts that are all fair game, it is necessary to cover all the bases. What helped them study the most was “books from the Princeton Review that had a bunch of practice tests in it.”
Sharing her own test prep experience, Mahuli says “I went to Loudoun test prep and I used a lot of practice materials such as practice tests from the past.”
Moving forward, only the digital SAT will be available for students all over the country. With the PSAT being taken digitally this year, students had a glimpse of what the digital SAT would look like.
Mahuli comments “I do like that it conforms to your own learning ability whether or not you get them right. I do like that, but overall a little disappointed, I liked the reading though [it] was really easy.”
The anonymous junior shared a similar sentiment, saying “ I think [the digital SAT] will be easier just because on the reading and writing sections there will only be one small passage and not one big one like the paper SAT.”
Taking the SAT is one of the first, most important steps in a high schooler’s journey to college. That ever elusive 1600 sits in front of every student on test day, but it is up to the individual to put in the dedication and hard work that achieves success.
