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Comment by ApolloFortyNine | Hacker News Reader

Many schools offer the SAT, but I'd agree it likely just should be all.

>Test also cost money and you could find yourself in the middle class trap where you are too rich to get a waiver but too broke to afford the test.

This test in particular is only $60 even if not subsidized, so it's hard to believe anyone who doesn't qualify can't scrounge up enough for at least the one attempt. However this is a real issue with financial aid as a whole, just 10-20k more a year can have a negative impact on what scholarships/financial aid you can receive, and that can easily end up at over six figures of 'lost' aid.

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$60 + lost income for a student who works outside school hours and also has to take the test outside school hours + transportation which could be over an hour in rural areas and you can see how this could quickly add up, especially for a teenager who may be smart but may not see the proper cost/benefit of skipping the SAT

You are looking for corner cases within corner cases at this point. I know it's uncool to assign the responsibility of children to their parents these days... but if you subscribe to the idea that every system in place has to cater to every possible living situation, you'll just end up with one that doesn't work well for anyone, as evidenced by this post.

and if they know how it is, they probably are able to make it happen by planning for it over the course of a year.

honestly, im not sure i would ever wish to hire someone who couldnt make this happen

All this seems like a small investment compared to properly preparing for the test. An average student would probably want to study at least 10 hours if they care about their test score.

> especially for a teenager who may be smart but may not see the proper cost/benefit of skipping the SAT

The SAT is for students who want to attend college. If $60 and a two hour round trip is going to tilt the scale on whether you spend 4 years in college, then from the college's point of view, you may not be the type of applicant they are looking for.

"I mean, it's one banana Michael. What could it cost? 10 dollars?"

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