The College Board announced that as a result of the ongoing pandemic, it will withdraw the optional essay portion of the SAT college entrance exam, and will no longer be administering SAT Subject Tests.

“As students and colleges adapt to new realities and changes to the college admissions process, College Board is making sure our programs adapt with them. We’re making some changes to reduce demands on students,” the organization said in a statement.

This news has certainly had an effect on students. While some feel disburdened, others are left perplexed as to what this will mean for their futures.

Junior Tanni Nandi planned on taking the SAT and subject tests in a couple of months.

“This announcement made by the College Board to drop the optional essay and subject tests gave me mixed emotions,” she said. “While it may seem relieving, at the same time it also seems a bit abrupt, as I have always been told in junior year that I would need to take the SAT subject tests, as that is a big part of college admissions. All of a sudden, it seems as though something important is missing.”

Covid-19 has caused countless aspects of adjusted life to become the “new normal”. As a result, many have begun to wonder how long these alterations, in terms of testing, will remain in effect.

“Since it is a big change, I think it may stay like this for a while,” Nandi said. “But once things get better, I think there may be a chance for the tests to revert to how they have always been.”

The organization continued on to state that the expansion of Advanced Placement courses has made subject tests less useful to college admissions officers.

“With the main reason for this change being the pressures of the pandemic and testing centers closing, I think the College Board made a safe decision overall,” Nandi said.