Pressure rises for students attending MRHS, as stress over the 2024 SATs increases due to parents, teachers and college admissions.
Many high school students are focusing on the SAT, an entrance exam used by most colleges to make admission decisions, especially juniors and seniors as they approach college life.
When asked what is causing her stress, senior Soraya Medina replied, “I am trying so hard to get a good score for colleges and making sure that what I’m presenting in my SAT is reflected in my score, and I work so hard to get the desired results.”
College admission facilities are looking for students with higher than 1200-1500 SAT results, to exemplify the full potential of the student that is under consideration to be accepted into the university. Students like Medina understand these desired scores from colleges, and therefore are pressured to work harder to reach that goal.
Medina explained, “When I think about the colleges I’m applying for, I think about making sure I look good for them so I get into a good college, for both my major and myself.”
Medina recognizes that the SAT outcome has potential to be very beneficial for her future self, therefore she pushes herself to work harder so she can thank herself after being accepted into her dream college.
Similarly, senior Yousif Aljamry explained, “I’ve been really stressed [about SATs] because it’s so important since the results determine which colleges you get into, depicting your entire future.”
Aljamry understands that colleges are helpful in a variety of ways, from the first stepping stone into a job or career, or to make connections and learn valuable subjects. That said, Aljimary believes he should work for the results of his SAT as a pass to get into a college that will help prepare him for his future.
Aljamry also explained, “[The cause of my stress is because of] pressure from parents mostly.”
Parents and teachers are present in schools and home life to help guide students and children towards a happy and successful life. Often, parents can put a large amount of stress on their child through the SAT in hopes of pushing them to a good college and successful future. Aljimary, like many other students, believe that the stress can be overwhelming, especially when surrounded by so many teachers and parents encouraging the significance of the test and the importance of the results in the future. To deal with the stress, both Aljamry and Medina agreed that they prepare themselves through study materials.
Specifically, senior Tarek Abrahim explained he studies for the SAT, “by doing practice tests and revising what [he gets] wrong, three times a week during senior year.”
As the exam date approaches, students use practice tests for the SAT as common material. By having some sort of understanding of what the structure and questions are like for the actual test, students appreciate practice tests that model the real SAT.
Through pressures from the environment students surround themselves with, either at home or school, the SAT is an important time for determining the college admissions process. The future is fast approaching for students. Students must work hard and prepare themselves through study techniques for the SATs. Often seen before throughout generations, the stress, work load and tensions increase for so many students around SAT time.
