Hundreds of teens throughout America are struggling to take standardized tests to get into college. So is taking the ACT or SAT worth it for college admissions?

With tests getting twenty-four hours in advance students are feeling the stress and pressure to apply for college. As they are trying to figure out what to do when tests get canceled, especially the day of, students in Michigan are wondering if it is necessary to apply with scores. Students want to apply with scores but others say it isn’t needed.

“Not all schools have published that they’re not requiring the standardized test,” Counselor Troy Glasser said. “I think we provide a fabulous education. We’ve got a strong, you know, profile that we send out with a student’s applications.”

Grosse Pointe South senior Katie Bennert was planning on taking the SAT Sept. 26 at Grosse Pointe North Highschool and it got canceled twenty-four hours before. “I’d spent so long studying and practicing for it” Bennert said. With the COVID situation, what happened in those 24 hours where they couldn’t provide the test for students?

“I know a lot of colleges are saying that they don’t really require standardized testing right now,” Bennert said. “If you have a solid score to give with your application, it could increase your chances of getting into a particular school, which could really help.”

Grosse Pointe South senior Daphne Irby was also planning on taking the SAT on Sept. 26, but at Martin Luther King Jr. High School, which also got canceled the day before. “It made it more stressful because I just found out at the last minute how I was going to take the SAT” Irby said. “By the time I looked at the other test areas, they were all full in Michigan, so I had to sign up for one in Ohio.”

“Personally I would be comfortable applying without scores, Irby said. “I have already taken another test, in Ohio, and I noticed other people from Michigan that had the same problem I had”

According to Glasser, taking standardized tests aren’t necessary to apply for college unless a student struggled throughout high school.

“It all depends on a student’s scenario, right,” Glasser said. “If there was a senior that did not do well academically and didn’t reach their full potential for whatever reason then I would have that student try and pay attention and see if they can take it.”