It is senior year and college application deadlines are coming closer. Good GPA? Check. Volunteer work? Check. School involvement? Check. SAT Subject Tests? Uh-oh.

With so many things needed to get into a decent college these days, many students often forget about the SAT Subject Tests. Although these exams are often overlooked, they are still necessary to apply to some colleges.

Juniors and seniors may now be taking these exams, but as of February 2009, students who are sophomores or younger will no longer be required to take these exams to apply to a University of California (UC) school. That means that all students entering UC’s, which includes popular schools such as UCLA and UCI, in the fall of 2012 and beyond will no longer have to take the SAT Subject Tests.

This change in UC admission policy is creating quite a buzz. The faculty finds the change favorable for numerous reasons. Rob Stelmar, guidance counselor, said, “The new policy change entails less confusion, stress, and money for students and their families so it’s a great thing.”

The students, however, are not as definite in their response. While many upperclassmen find the policy change unfair and underclassmen find it a relief, some students have mixed feelings.

When Payal Shah, sophomore, was asked about the change, she calmly stated, “I think it’s good and bad. Good because I won’t have to waste time studying for and taking the test, but bad because the test would show me how well I understand a subject and I would really like to see that.”

Since the exam is only on a specific subject, it shows a student’s depth of understanding in the subject. These SAT Subject Tests, also known as the SAT II’s, can be taken in many specific subjects, ranging from French to World History to Physics. UC’s require two exams and many of upper tier private schools require three for admission. But the policy change only affects UC applications; so many students are likely to still take the exams so they can apply to schools like Harvard and Columbia.

Although some students may not care about the new policy because they want to go to private universities, many upperclassmen believe that this change is important. Students like Arleen Chadha, junior, think that the class of 2012 and beyond should go through the same difficulties as the class of 2011 and younger. When Chadha was asked why she was against this new rule, she responded, “I think it’s really unfair because students in my grade still have to take these two extra exams just to go to a UC.”

Many students share Chadha’s viewpoint on this issue, but the University of California board did not alter its admission policy without reason. The University of California Office of the President webpage explains that policy was changed to give high-achieving students a chance to apply but would otherwise be unable to due to a missing exam. For example, a student with high GPA and SAT test scores who really wanted to attend UC Berkeley would previously be disqualified because he did not take the required SAT Subject Tests. The UC board changed their policy to prevent cases like this.

With competition increasing every year, good universities are becoming more selective. However, the UC webpage also mentions that with the policy changes, “fewer students overall will receive an admission guarantee.” This means that though SAT Subject Tests will no longer be required, fewer people will be admitted into the universities. With admission rates dropping from 12.5 percent to 10 percent, should students have to take extra exams when it is already more difficult to get into college?

The answer is up to each student, but with most students already taking extra exams like AP Tests, STAR Testing, and the CAHSEE, maybe students should see the requirement change as an advantage because like Stelmar said, “Students take enough tests as it is.”