The impact the coronavirus has had on schools has been huge, closing down for the rest of the year, and changing the way many things relating to the rest of the school year are being done. One of those being the ACT that was supposed to be occurring this month.

“ACT has rescheduled its April 4 national test date to June 13 across the U.S. in response to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19),” the ACT organization explained. The date change was put in place in order to keep students safe, practice safe distancing, and try to stop the spread of the virus overall.

For students who have been studying, taking practice tests, and classes, all the work they have done to prepare for the ACT they will be doing that all over again in the coming months. On the other hand, students now have more time to study, and be as successful as possible for the test.

The test date is not the only thing changed due to the coronavirus, but colleges are making a big change for the current juniors, the class of 2021, and their application process. “At least 17 colleges have dropped the SAT or ACT in recent weeks for one or two admissions cycles, specifically citing the impact of COVID-19,” Scott Jaschik writer for Inside Higher Education stated.

One of those 17 colleges being the University of California. “The University recognizes the challenges that students are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in response, UC is suspending the standardized test requirement for students applying for fall 2021 freshman admission,” University of California admissions office stated. In these uncertain times, it helps students not fear the possibility of the strange testing schedule c impacting their application and acceptance.

Other schools have done the same as the University of California. “Starting with the university’s next admissions cycle, the 2021 freshman class, students will have a choice about whether or not to submit SAT or ACT scores” the University of Organ announced. This choice will relieve stress for many students. This change in application could have a positive impact on the class of 2021 and their possibility of college acceptance. By making it optional to add the test scores to the applications, those who do decide to add it could get a leg up on those who don’t. Improving their application and making it look better.

With an already stressful time and students having so much on their plates to worry about, the small change might just be able to take a little bit of stress off that students could use right now.