Stressful Agonizing Torture

by A. M., Quincy, MA



As I sit at my desk, I flash my eyes at the clock: 8: 15. Only three more hours until I get to leave this freezing, cluttered room. I put my head down to rest my eyes, thinking that I would rather be babysitting my little sisters, doing calculus homework, or even getting my wisdom teeth pulled than in this prison taking the SATs.

The proctor begins by saying, "Welcome to the SAT center. Please fill in your name and the corresponding circles." She continues, "Double check to make sure your name is spelled correctly." At this moment, I want to yell out that we have done this a million times; we know how to spell our names ... but instead I gaze out the window and wish I could be out of this place.

I am one of those people whose goal on the SATs is 1000. My father says, "That's great; only 600 more points and Harvard, Yale, and Princeton will take a look at you." I know that the SATs are not the only thing colleges look at. Colleges say it is one of the last criteriona they consider.

Yet as I sit here and bubble in those never-ending circles, I think to myself, if I spend $28 to take a three-hour SAT just to have the admission offices glance at the scores and then throw them out the window. What's the point? To me the SATs are just a waste of everyone's time. They should not stand for Scholastic Aptitude Test any longer. Rather it should stand for Stressful Agonizing Torture.