Affect on international student application for choosing test optional policy.

Applying to College
1

I could not take SAT due to two factors :

  1. Due to covid19
  2. My A level papers are going on.

And also now there are no tests available for me to take this year as all the deadlines have past.
As an international student ,who has graduated high school, what kind of affect will it have on my application, and should i mention the reason of why i was not able to take sat in additional information section of common app.
Also i need financial aid too so what affect will this have.
Secondly, will international students who have taken sat have more chance getting in than those who have not taken sat, even tough colleges have chosen test optional policy for all applicants.
Your help to my questions will be much appreciated.
Thanks.

2

Doing A levels will help offset not doing SAT as it is a form of standardized testing as well. Your bigger issue is likely to be the difficulty in getting aid as an international. Have you applied/are you planning to apply to colleges where your grades put you in the top quartile? These are the colleges more likely to give you funding. Make sure you understand the admissions and funding process for international students at the colleges you apply at - almost all of them are need aware for admissions for internationals, and varying amounts of aid are on offer.