By Crystal Betz
Daily Bruin Contributor
For 7,800 high school students who took the SAT I and II on Oct.
13, their tests remain stuck in post offices in Trenton and
Princeton, N.J., and as a result, they may have to apply to
colleges before receiving their scores.
And though students applying to the University of California
must still turn in applications by Friday’s deadline, the
score delay should not affect applicants, UC spokesman Brad Hayward
said.
“We will do what we can to accommodate the needs of
students affected by this,” Hayward said. “The UC
system will accept December SAT scores from those students affected
by the delay.”
Normally, answer sheets from the exam are sent to the
Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J., for scoring. The
tests are sent via an overnight express service such as Federal
Express, UPS or DHL. But 1 percent of the tests ““ the ones
stuck in the post office ““ were mailed first class.
The post offices in Trenton and Princeton have been closed since
Oct. 18 and 27, respectively, due to anthrax contamination.
The Trenton post office, which handles incoming mail for the
College Board ““ the New York-based organization that owns the
college entrance exams ““ remains closed. The Princeton postal
processing facility reopened earlier last week.
“We are getting indications from the post office that mail
from these offices will begin to be processed in the next two
weeks,” said College Board spokesman John Hamill.
“This is not a guarantee, since we can’t control the
post office,” he added.
The College Board, which usually offers the test seven times
throughout the year, is contacting students, test centers and
schools to alert them of the problem and to offer alternatives for
the students.
Affected students can either register for the next regularly
scheduled SAT exam on Dec. 1 at no additional charge, take a
scheduled makeup test after Dec. 1 at the original testing center
or at another convenient location, or request a refund for the $25
testing fee.
If the delayed answer sheets from Oct. 13 eventually make it to
ETS and a student has already retested, the ETS will score both
exams, and a student may choose which score to send to
colleges.
More than 2 million high school students take the SAT each year,
half of which are seniors applying to colleges.
Both test centers at Franklin and Westchester High Schools in
Los Angeles are affected by the SAT score delay. Other centers in
Southern California affected include Garces Memorial High School in
Bakersfield, Granite Hills High in El Cajon and Indio High in
Indio.
“The delayed scores are not going to be a problem for
students,” said Louise McClaine, head guidance counselor for
Granite Hills High.
“I have spoken with the chancellors from the UC and CSU
systems. They totally understand and have been very
cooperative,” she said.
A makeup date for Franklin High has been scheduled for Dec. 8,
but no makeup date has been set for Westchester.
Makeup dates for Garces Memorial, Granite Hills and Indio High
Schools have been scheduled for Dec. 15.