Last June, the College Board announced that it will allow students to choose which SAT II scores are reported to colleges. With this decision, which will go into effect next March, students will be able send scores they are proud of while preventing colleges from seeing lower scores.

Since 2002, the College Board has been reluctant to allow students to choose which scores are shown because this gives an advantage to more wealthy students. A wealthy student will be able to take a test as many times as he or she wishes and then simply send the highest score to colleges.

Since the Subject Tests can cost as much as $40, and many students are already required to take three, there are some families for whom numerous retakes are not an option.

Mary Linders, a senior at AHS, notes, "It's not entirely fair because while some students may do well on their first try, other students could take the test many times before getting a similar score, and colleges will not know the difference."

In an effort to assuage concerns about possible advantages for wealthy students, the College Board has also introduced a fee waiver. Financially disadvantaged students can receive a fee-waiver card from their guidance counselor if they meet certain requirements, including being a US citizen or a foreign national testing in the United States.

Linda Buckley, a guidance counselor at AHS, believes the new policy is "a great idea," pointing out that it allows students to take several tests and discover their strengths. She also notes that with the waiver program, it is unlikely that less affluent students will be at a disadvantage.

The College Board Web site says, "The new score-reporting feature will launch in spring 2009, and will be first available to students in the class of 2010 participating in the March 2009 test administration."

By that time, most college-bound AHS students in the class of 2009 will already know which school they will be attending for the fall.

For underclassmen and juniors, the students who will be affected by the decision, opinions were split.

Andy Winslow, a freshman at AHS, praised the decision: "I feel that it is good because there is less pressure, and well it's just better for the student, because if they fail, they can try again."

However, Jay Nass, also a freshman, pointed out that in the admissions process it is, "important to look at all of the grades -- to see the student's weak points and not just their strong points."

Colleges have changed their policies as well, and most will look now at a student's highest score from each SAT I test. This means a student who has taken the SAT and performed well on the math and English sections but poorly on the critical reading section can retake the test and focus solely on the critical reading section without having to fear that a drop in math or English scores will be penalized by colleges.

Some colleges, such as Bowdoin, no longer require students to submit the SAT at all. Yet for all the changes, it often seems that the application and admissions process becomes more competitive and stressful every year.

The reporter is a senior at Arlington High School enrolled in the honors journalism class.