Helping Students Beyond Fee Waivers

School counselors, educators, and representatives of community-based organizations (CBOs) and agencies help make sure low-income students can take the SAT for free. However, students may need more than a fee waiver to make it to test day.

Use these tips to ensure your students don't miss test day or other important college planning steps.

Help Students Register

• Make a list of nearby test centers to help students choose a test center when they register.
• Help students make a plan for how they will get to that test center.
• Help each student create their free, personal College Board account to get their scores, send scores to colleges, and more.
• Sit with your students individually or in groups to help them register online.

Limit Test Day Obstacles

• Print copies of student admission tickets. Store them in a safe place until right before test day.
• Keep track of students' test dates on a calendar.
• Confirm that students know where their test center is, how long it will take them to get there, and that they have transportation arrangements.
• Remind students to bring their admission ticket and an ID that meets College Board requirements.
• Remind students to review what they should bring on test day.

Build Test Day Confidence

• Show students where to find free, world-class practice from Khan Academy^® and other free practice resources.
• Hand out a goodie bag with pencils and snacks for test day as well as print out a list of what they should bring on test day.
• Check in with students via texts, email, phone calls, or video chat.

Follow Up After Test Day

• Check in with students to confirm their attendance and find out about their test day experience.
• If students missed test day, encourage them to go online to register again for the next test date.
• Celebrate students' accomplishment with a congratulatory note or a group gathering.
• Use the score release date as a college planning milestone. Check scores together.
• Talk with students about next steps and goals such as areas they can focus on in their SAT practice if they plan to take the test again.
• Encourage students to go online after the test to send their free score reports to colleges and universities they’re applying to.
  • Students using SAT fee waivers can send as many free score reports as they want at any time even after they've seen their scores.
• Urge students to research financial aid options.
  • Students who use SAT fee waivers can use CSS Profile to apply for financial aid from participating colleges for free.