SAT Fee Waivers, School-Day Testing and Test Center Expansion Aid Aspiring Students

Sept. 2011

Programs and Services

Taking a college entrance exam is a critical step on the road to higher education, but many traditionally underserved students face additional financial, familial and geographic barriers that can prevent them from testing. Through the SAT Fee-Waiver Service, SAT® School Day initiatives and test center expansion, the College Board is extending its reach to help more of these college-aspiring students take the SAT than ever before.

Since 1970, the College Board’s SAT Fee-Waiver Service has provided assistance to low-income students for whom exam fees would present an unnecessary obstacle in the college-going process. Thanks to the efforts of high school counselors throughout the country, this service is reaching more students than ever before. In just four years, the number of high school students benefiting from SAT fee waivers jumped nearly 77 percent, from 198,729 students in the graduating class of 2007 to 351,068 students in the high school graduating class of 2011.

During the 2010-11 academic year, the College Board provided more than $35 million in free SAT services to fee-waiver recipients in grades 9–12.

The College Board also is partnering with states and districts to administer the SAT during the school day, making it possible to reach even more underserved students. During the 2010-11 school year, the SAT was administered during the school day in Houston; Irving, Texas; Palm Beach County, Fla.; Providence, R.I.; and throughout the state of Delaware. Offering the SAT on a school day helps more students, particularly those who would be the first in their families to attend college, get on the road to higher education by removing potential barriers to weekend testing and improving their overall readiness for college and careers.

Additionally, the College Board is establishing new test centers across the country to reach more students in both high-density urban areas and rural communities. During the 2010-11 academic year, the College Board opened 900 new test centers, bringing the total number of SAT test centers to more than 7,000.

More information on how to help students take advantage of these offerings is available on www.collegeboard.org:

For Fee Waivers: http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/sat/counselors-guide-to-sat-program-fee-waivers.pdf

For School-Day Testing: http://professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/recruitment/sat-test/school-day

To Become an SAT Test Center: http://www.collegeboard.org/sattestcenter