Essay Eliminated for June SAT and beyond

You may have seen the news about some changes coming to the SAT this year. You can read about directly from the College Board in their blog post here. But to summarize, after the June test date, they will be eliminating the optional SAT essay section. In practice, this means that when you register in March, May or June tests you will still have the option to sign your student up for the essay, but after June it will no longer be part of the test.

So this leaves the question, should your student sign up for the essay section this spring? Importantly, the vast majority of colleges already did not require the SAT essay, and with its elimination, I would predict even fewer (if any) would continue to require it. But each school could handle this differently, and if you know which colleges your student is likely to apply to, you can look into their specific testing requirements, or reach out to their admissions departments. For most students, the SAT essay will not be necessary and there will be no need to sign up for it as part of the SAT this spring. That being said, we always recommend reaching out to your student's school counselor to help make the best decision for your student. And we are here if you have questions as well!