SATs ONLY FOR THE RICH?

The dreaded time of year approaches. There is so much drama and dread in the air that it's the stuff C-grade horror movies are made of. SAT's and the like are one of the most high stakes exams that any student has to go through. It's the proverbial life-and-death situation with grades and the future. Do great on them and everything is a cake walk from there. Do poorly on them, and it is a one-way ticket to Nowhere Land and a "lovely" living with extra cheese and ketchup.

It is the thought of the latter type of existence for their children that drives parents to jump through hoops and flames just to get their kid in the best test prep places, with all the right books, and the whole works. The only catch: if your parents are in just the right financial bracket. Apparently, success comes with quite a hefty price tag. SAT centers charge about $800 to $1,500 for a course and the books cost around $20 a piece. The test itself costs $45 dollars with a $20 registration fee, and that's if you're taking the basic subjects. The cost accumulates quickly especially if overachievers want to take the test multiple times and send those scores to a college of their choice. Everything boils down to the financial factor. Blame this one on the College Board.

The College Board is the company that prints your SATs, PSATS, and everything in between, is also the same company that makes your test preps that many students feverishly study in the weeks prior to the exams. It's no coincidence; this company has definitely monopolized the standardized testing market. It just goes to show that the capitalism pig has definitely permeated all aspects of society — even education. Honestly, the fact that they charge so much on a test seriously discourages the underprivileged from taking them because they can't afford them. How does the College Board expect a family of four that lives on less than $25,000 a year to have any money to spare on a test? The financial aid of $25 isn't much help either because it is probably going to be spent on the more substantial, like paying the bills.

This effect is further amplified because of the tough economic strain that has befallen on us, such as the rising costs of healthcare, food, and the housing bust. It's especially tough on kids whose families are facing foreclosures, and with nowhere to go and no other choice but to transfer schools and leaving their friends behind. Even if a school subsidizes the SATs, the chances of those same underprivileged kids scoring high enough to merit a scholarship to a college are slim because they can't afford the books or the tutoring, thus the cruel cycle of poverty perpetuates. Kids from underprivileged homes usually grow up to take on odd jobs with meager wages while living in the not-so-good side of cities and later starting families there.

Something must be done to break this cycle; one cannot expect that giving more spending money to the rich will have a trickledown effect and ultimately benefitting the poor because life just doesn't work that way. Unless you have spent your existence under a rock, there is plenty of proof that people are just greedy and selfish; Enron and Bernie Madoff are just the perfect cases for that. When given the chance, the rich just want to get richer, and will resort to anything just to get what they want even if that means ripping people off and squandering people's life savings.

So when the next time someone says that money can't buy happiness, be prepared to smack said person on the side of the head because that is totally false. A better socio-economic standing seriously impacts every aspect of your life. For one thing, money can help you better prepare for college exams, get you to a better college and a better education, and ultimately a better life and future.