andi0527

My dd took the SAT today and she didn't have a photo. She said she had no problem getting in. She said no one had photos.

Wordworker

Do you hear "class action suit" here? If your son can't take subject tests in November now (assuming they allow him in then), what are the damages? Given the hostility toward ETS by everyone who ever bombed one of their tests, a jury might have fun with the punitive damages. Are you near a law school?

scubasue

http://sat.collegeboard.org/SAT/publ...r-students.pdf

If you look hard enough, there are places on the CB website that indicate the REAL date at which photographs are required in order to test is March 2013. They even sent out a tweet about it recently.

So this kid got turned away for not having a photograph that he doesn't even have to have.

EliKresses

Weird -- the photo's not even required yet.

kittycatwindow

Really. You have until Wednesday (October 15) to file a report for any problems with the SAT/the test center/your proctor/etc. Don't let the opportunity slip away! This can and will seriously hold back his college applications unless you do something about it ASAP.

https://sat.collegeboard.org/contact
If you scroll down, it has a table with "Method of Contact | Fax | E-mail | Overnight Mail |"
The second item in the chart says, "Test Center Complaints". Obviously, you have one. Report it! I would suggest doing so through e-mail, because mail may take too long.

I'm getting really angry thinking about this. I'm really sorry you have to go through this. I could've very easily been in the same situation as your son, because I didn't have a picture. My mom would have reported it within the hour. Don't let them ruin your son's application momentum. Report it now!

Lelyke

That's not fair at all. The passport is good enough. Report or sue! Although I prefer sue!

Pennylane2011

I am sorry to see that this happened. Please post how this turns out. It is sad to see honest students penalized by restrictions designed to reduce cheating. It seems everyone pays for this.

SonicCare

I had some friends who didn't have a photo but got in. The picture box said "picture required after Jan. 2013 SAT" or something similar

ssenroF

It was my understanding that I.D. wasnot even required.

blueiguana

When you register now for the SAT you must upload a photo. They may be phasing this in. Some students may have registered for today's test prior to the requirement. The important thing is to let students know the actual date is March 2013 in case they are given a hard time about their picture. They should demand to take the test and file a complaint afterwards.

It's absolutely inexcusable that photos are obviously being flagged as unacceptable by CollegeBoard prior to the test and yet they can't contact the student to download another. Yes, instructions are very clear but the goal is to let the students take the tests after being properly identified NOT turn them away because of something that CollegeBoard has the ability to notify you of before you arrive.

scubasue

blueiguana, although the registration info on CB says you must upload a photo you do NOT have to upload a photo. When I called CB about the problems I was having getting their website to approve a photo, they told me to "just click continue at the bottom of the page and finish the registration", which is possible, since the photo isn't required. Because the CB reps couldn't get it to work either, I had to speak to 5 or 6 different reps, all of whom knew that the photos weren't required until March 2013. Most of them were nice, and tried to help me. But, a couple of them thought I was a complete idiot for not knowing that the pictures were actually optional at this point.

perazziman

Let me also say that even the instructions need to be clearer in the future. The photo we uploaded was not the back of his head or just his nose and eyes and forehead, without the lips and chin or some fuzzy dim picture with a hat on in which he was obscure. It is a crisp clear photo that I would give anyone who did not know my son, to identify him. If CB wanted to get so technical, they should have specified both ear lobes or both eyes or both cheek bones have to be visible etc. Then post examples of photos that were acceptable and unacceptable. One of the acceptable photos they have, the girl (on the right) shows just one ear. So, is that a full face? When the State department wanted us to include an ear in the passport photo, they specified how much of the other side of the face had to be visible with examples of acceptable and unacceptable photographs. All CB had were two unacceptable photos one with a poor exposure and the other with two people with partial faces in the photo. To go from such relaxed instructions on photos to not allowing a child into the test on a photo which they had in their databank for a month, but allowing those with no photos, is unreal to me. The consequence for my son is that he will not be able to ED/ EA to his first choice schools.

perazziman

An alternative is to simply say, if a photo will not be acceptable to the State Department for a Passport it will not be acceptable to College Board.

Lelyke

Perazziman don't despair, your son can still write his subject test in November and he could chose to write the November ACT as well. So he'll still make it in time for what he wants to do with the exception of early decision.

Hunt

I would send them a message demanding a special testing date.