Dubai: A Dubai school’s relocation plan has delayed a SAT test date by three weeks for candidates,.
GEMS Cambridge International School (CIS) in Garhoud, which serves as a SAT test centre, is relocating to a new site in Al Twar 1.
Candidates who had registered to take the SAT test at CIS originally on August 29 will now have to wait till September 19.
Scores of SAT (formerly called Scholastic Assessment Tests but now just SAT) are widely used for university admission in the US and other countries. They are administered by the College Board in America.
Admission concerns
A father of a candidate said his daughter fears the delay might cause her to miss her university application deadline.
“My daughter needs her SAT score for admission to a NIT (National Institutes of Technology) in India. We were originally supposed to get the results by September 21. If we wait till September 19 for the new test date, the results will take another 21 or 22 days,” said Mohammad Sadiq.
His daughter has applied to university through India’s DASA (Direct Admission of Students Abroad) scheme for Non-Resident Indians.
“As things stand right now, we don’t know if DASA will wait that long. This is our last chance to apply through DASA to NIT. We’re trying to get an earlier test date at any another centre but because of the COVID-19 situation, I don’t know if test centres can increase capacity,” Sadiq said.
Awaiting news
In an update, DASA says on its website that the “admission process will commence after the SAT subject tests to be held on August 29, 2020. The start date for the application process and the last date for submission of SAT subject scores will be announced with a detailed schedule later.”
In a statement, CIS CEO and principal Lachlan Mackinnon told Gulf News students who were registered for the August 29 test date “have the option of registering for September 19 instead or selecting another school on the College Board site”.
Mackinnon said: “GEMS Cambridge International School – Dubai is still a SAT Test Centre, and we will be running a SAT assessment at our new campus with better facilities on September 19 instead of the original date of August 29…”
Why was the date moved?
“This decision was made due to uncertainties around whether or not schools would reopen as well as the planned relocation of our school to our new site in Al Twar…”, he added.
“We have decided to temporarily transfer [CIS] to a larger campus in Al Twar from the beginning of the new academic year in September 2020. This decision has been taken in the best interests of our students and comes as part of our efforts to provide improved facilities and the high quality education that our parents have come to expect from us. We are working closely with students, staff and relevant stakeholders to ensure this transition is smooth and seamless for everyone involved.”
