As a high school senior, I have spent the last few years thinking that my SAT score would make or break my career. However, I always thought that the SAT’s did not truly show who I was as a student. Colleges would only get to see who I was based on my English and math skills. How come they didn’t get to see that I had a 97 in engineering, or a 95 in Spanish? By limiting the subjects a student has to present themselves, their true potential is hidden away. I believe that students having the option to not send in their SAT scores is a fantastic opportunity for people, like me, who’s scores did not reflect their true potential. Students are made up of many different aspects besides math, reading, and a number scale of 400-1600. SAT scores can not reflect my real potential, as I am so much more than the score collegeboard has given me.
Math and English are the basics of almost every job in the world, but there are other subjects that come into play. I would like to go into mechanical engineering as my future career, which does require a lot of math, but there is no section on the SAT that does actual engineering equations. In my school, I have taken engineering courses for the past 4 years, in which I have succeeded very well. If colleges were to only see me as my SAT score, I would just be one number on a 400-1600 scale. What I wouldn’t be is a high 90’s engineering student, or a 90’s physics student. When it comes to these numbers, my real potential is hidden behind the number range of my SAT score. The other subjects that are not featured on the SAT, throw away the idea that I could be good at science, or history. By limiting the ways I can show my knowledge, colleges cannot see the other things I excel at.
Another thing that is not on the SAT, but plays a huge role in a students potential, is outside of class activities. The SAT won’t show colleges that I can manage large groups of people, from being the president of a club, or that I can present myself to groups of people with a common interest, from being a school ambassador. All of my extracurriculars, can not be reflected on this test score. With the SAT only showing our academic skills, it’s harder for colleges to see that I spent two hours a week volunteering at a hospital, or that I worked at a summer camp. The constraints that I faced when taking the SAT, made me feel as if I had to fit myself into a box, a box that only said “here are my math skills!” and “here are my English skills!”
The SAT forces many students to push themselves to only be good at two subjects, just so they can get into college,. What colleges don’t see behind the 1100 or 1350, is that a student has 100s in every other subject, or works as a tutor after school. The constraints put on a student by the SAT’s on college applications can not reflect a students real potential, as many are much more than the score.