Sick for the SAT

Huge problem: my daughter is scheduled to take the SAT in the. Or I got, and has been throwing up all day…what do we do? Is there a way to transfer her registration to August?

I think you can transfer with a fee, but the problem is that there is limited number of test centers and many are full.

She loses the money, I think. There will be no score. You can look on college boards website to see what happens if a stduent is unable to test.

When this happened with my daughter, we were not allowed to switch dates. However, I was able to cancel the essay portion for a refund which at least made it less stressful.

There are 3 days available to take the test. If her school was on board, she could have taken it on Sunday or Monday.

@bjkmom
What did you end up doing?

I tried switching to the August date. It would have been $30-- no big deal. But the site was FAR. I’m on Long Island…I would have had to go over the bridge, then through the Bronx to Westchester. By 7:30 am

I figured we would take our chances. She woke up feeling much better and took the exam in her own school.

@bjkmom

Oh good! I wish you good luck!

The issue isn’t the cost and nuisance of making alternative plans. Becoming so anxious that your daughter was sick all night is nuts. She will probably earn comparable scores to what she earned on other standardized tests. It is also likely that her scores will pretty much match her grades. Settle her down with hot tea and Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. Then talk to her about her extreme reaction.

The SAT is pretty much a rite of passage. Now next to not filling in the scantron, the surest way to earn a really bad score is having an emotional crisis. Your daughter needs to learn how to manage her emotions when confronted by something unpleasant or really scary. I would limit her study or practice because of diminishing returns. Taking a walk, reading a book or doing something fun and relaxing is a better use of time. She needs to go to bed at her regular time and do something like tea or toast for breakfast. Also wear something comfortable and take favorite snacks. Some suggest saltines.

So, what is the absolute worst that could happen? The SAT never determines who you are or your personal worth. It’s only a stupid test with some immediate and not life long consequences. Encourage her to do her best, but not freak out about specific questions. Just keeping moving apace answering the questions she knows.

Best of luck to her. The SAT is no worse than going to the dentist or flying in a plane.

I

It wasn’t nerves, she was sick. It was the tail end of a stomach bug.

While she wanted to do well, she’s far more concerned with next week’s Regents exams than the SAT, since she’ll only be taking them once.