As the year begins to come to an end, most students seem to be a bit at ease for this summer. However, for juniors, the end of the year causes added stress as they prepare for the critical test, the SAT.

Most students take their SAT tests in the spring, but others opt to take it earlier. The SAT will be administrated on May 1 and June 5. In the meanwhile, students have been preparing for the test that has a very heavy impact on their future college plans.

Some students are taking SAT prep classes while others are studying on their own by buying the prep books. “We sit and listen to the instructor yell and talk about math loudly,” said junior Caroline Hill about her prep classes.

There are many different classroom prep classes offered, but the most popular classes are through Kaplan and Princeton Review. The prices for these classes are hefty, starting from $500. The advanced and private tutoring cost much more. The high prices make some students choose to study on their own rather than sign up for a class.

“I don’t want to pay over $600 for someone to read me a book which I could just do by myself,” said junior Neha Sohail.

Others think the education and skills gained are far more important than the cost. “Classes are beneficial because it motivates me more rather than if I were to study on my own,” said junior Emily Farsani.

Some students find the SAT test to be their last hope to getting into college. “So I could get a good score on my SAT’s because my grades aren’t good,” said Caroline Hill about taking SAT prep classes.

Junior Tatiana Daza is first taking the test to determine if classes would be necessary or not.  Daza said, “I’m first going to take my SAT in May then see how I score to determine if taking classes is worth my time.”

It is also rare for AHS juniors not to take any course of action in terms of preparing for such a test. “I’ve never studied for anything and I’ve winged my way through high school so I’m not studying for the SAT and I’m hoping to have the same luck,” says junior Gabby Hankinson. She later adds, “Studying makes me anxious and nervous and it’s just a bunch of added stress.”

Regardless of whether students do prepare for this or not, the SAT has been universally known to be stressful to rising seniors in terms of college applications and future jobs.