[NinaReese]

Hey everybody,

I took the SAT on December 6, and my test day experience was really awful. I woke up and my throat felt a little bit sore, but I didn't think much about it because I was so anxious about taking the test. But, during the test, I started to feel really sick! I started to cough and sneeze, and I didn't even have any tissues or anything. I ended up with just the worst cold ever, and I didn't get better for two weeks!

I know I'll get my score tomorrow online, but I have been thinking about canceling my score ever since test day. I just couldn't concentrate, especially with the comparative reading passages, and I sneezed and coughed all over my test. So I have two questions:
1. Will tomorrow be too late to cancel my score?
2. Is being sick a good excuse for canceling my score?
3. Should I just not worry about it and know that I'll do better on the January 24 test?

Yours,
Nina

[Christine]

Hi Nina,

I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but it [I]is[I] too late for you to cancel your scores. It's awful that you had to take the SATs when you were sick, but when your scores are reported to your colleges, they will have no way of knowing. There is nowhere to write next to your score "taken while sick."

Just for everyone's information:
Being sick is a totally justified reason for canceling your SAT scores, but just because you didn't feel your best, that doesn't mean you necessarily scored poorly!

But here's the information that everyone REALLY needs to know about score cancelation:

1. If you don't feel well on test day, it's better to notify your testing location and not take the test at all -- wait for the next administration.

2. If you take the SAT and don't think it went well, you can cancel your score right away, before you leave the testing location. Go to your test supervisor and ask for a Request to Cancel Test Scores Form, fill it out, and give it back to him/her. This is usually not the best thing to do unless you're very sure that you want to cancel. Usually it's better to wait until you've had a chance to speak with your guidance counselor at school

3. If you leave the testing center, you have until the Wednesday after the test to decide to cancel your score. That means that if you took the December 6 SAT, your last possible day to cancel your score was December 10. You can cancel your scores by fax or by overnight mail. Here is the cancelation information from the College Board:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/...es/cancel.html

Deciding whether or not to cancel a score is a very difficult choice, and not always the right choice.

Good luck in January, Nina!

[dale.louise]

Hi,
I have no idea about this.