After the June SAT testing date, College Board will no longer offer the essay part of the test to students, along with SAT Subject Tests. Individual colleges can decide what to do with their admissions, such as dropping any writing portion or using their own system. 

“As students and colleges adapt to new realities and changes to the college admissions process, College Board is making sure our programs adapt with them. We’re making some changes to reduce demands on students,” said College Board on their official blog about the changes.

As stated, the dropping of the essay requirement was done in an attempt to lower students’ stress, as well as streamline the testing process as they say AP tests serve the same purpose as the Subject tests. International students who use the essay will still be permitted to take it, but unless your high school requires the essay portion for graduation, no U.S. student will be able to take the essay after this school year.

“While the desire to help students is sincere, experts point out that the College Board may have made this decision for more practical reasons as well…in 2020, only 57% of SAT test-takers also took the essay portion of the exam,” said PrepScholar, an SAT and testing resource website. 

Students who no longer want to take the exam can cancel on the official College Board website with no fee if they choose, so long as they cancel before the registration deadline. Those who were registered for Subject tests have already had their registrations canceled and refunded. Each individual college will have to choose how it wants students to demonstrate their writing abilities, whether through English grades or individual submitted essays. Make sure to check with any colleges you are applying to.