June 1st: The End of My SAT Journey

Today marks the end of my SAT and PSAT journey, the day I have received my final SAT score. It was a 1560, 10 points lower that my best score. Some could say that the retake wasn't worth it: it would be my fourth SAT test and a 1570 was good enough. Yet, I still wanted to retake the SAT for one final time in hopes for the elusive 1600. I felt that I could; after all, I got a perfect PSAT score back in October. But it was not to be. I got a lower score than before, and my English score had stayed the same as well. No improvements were made, only setbacks. But I'm done with SAT, and here's why.

My SAT journey started in the summer, when most kids chill out and have fun. Instead of tanning on beaches and traveling on trips, I spent my time grinding to achieve a high SAT score. After hours and hours of testing over multiple months, I finally reached my goal of 1550 on a practice test. But that was only a practice test. And the practice test scores didn't really improve much from that point onward. The entire summer became an uphill battle to reach the 1550 mark that never seemed to become attainable. With the PSAT and December SAT looming closer and closer, I need to lock in to achieve my goal.

That October, I took my PSAT for the first time, and I got 1460. Not enough to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. Big bummer. My parents were hoping that at least one of us could at least qualify, but none of us did. But before the PSAT scores came out, our first SAT test came. I got a 1550, and I still remember the time I got my score. It was the day of the Christmas party (yes, our school still does Christmas parties even in high school), and while we were eating our Chipotle, our parents texted us our scores. Caden got a lower score, but he got an 800 in math. From that point onward, it became my goal to achieve that 800. Nothing else mattered, and in my second SAT, I got a ... 790 in math. 770 in English. Same score in English, no perfect score in math. That test was another bummer, another setback in the process. With each test, I had prayed hard to God, tried to get closer to Him, tried to cut all sin that might get in the way. But each time, God had not allowed for me to reach my 800. Why couldn't I reach my goal? To this day, I still don't know the exact reason. Perhaps I wasn't ready, or perhaps God just didn't feel like it. Who knows?

That October, we took our 11th grade PSAT. The really important one. The PSAT that could send us to the official National Merit Scholarship contest. For me, the PSAT was horrible. The new digital test had some AI system that only gave me hard problems towards the end. I had to genuinely guess for some questions (I almost NEVER guessed. Ever. So that says something about that test). Leaving the testing room, I felt that I wouldn't make the National Merit Scholarship cut line for the Semifinalist stage. Yet, in that moment, when I had no clue for multiple questions, when I couldn't solve those questions with my own strength, God was moving. When I was broken down to my lowest point, He took control and carried me through. And just a few months ago, I figured out I got a perfect score. A PERFECT SCORE! I couldn't believe it. There was no way on earth that I guessed all those questions right. But God had different plans. He pulled through when all I had to lean on was Him. In my times of difficulty, He was the one that carried me, not my own strength. Even today, I am still in awe of the power of God through this test. He really can shock you in miraculous ways.

Also, in that October, I took my third SAT test. Again, God pulled through, finally giving me an 800 in math. But still 770 in English. That stupid English section. 770 three times in a row? You got to be kidding me.

Anyways, couple of months went by, and I decided to take the SAT one more time. Mainly, I wanted to go for a 1600. But I also wanted to test with my brother so he wasn't alone in his own journey with SAT. And that leads us to today. I actually did worse, as I stated before. The 770 still followed me. The math test, which I was confident I would get an 800 on, dropped since my previous score. I think that I didn't take this test seriously enough, as I had other AP studying and college activities to do. But either way, I am glad to end my SAT journey today.

Looking back at my incredible time spent on SAT and PSAT, I can't help but notice God's hand throughout all of it. He was the one that made my family start training for the SAT a year prior than most other kids. He was the one that improved our scores, and God was the one who gave us our wonderful scores. Is my SAT score where I want it to be? Maybe not. But I'm glad to be done. God has other plans, and I'm going to trust Him as I trusted Him before throughout this whole process. Looking ahead, I got a whole lot of college prep to do to reach the college of my choice. But now, at least one step is done, and I trust that God will help me with the rest.