Saskia Van Horn took the SAT a fourth time in June, hoping to get a better score that would earn her additional financial aid as she heads to Queens College in New York in August. The SAT is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States.

But her score went down, not up. Van Horn checked online and found other students had the same complaint. Now, thousands of those students across the U.S. say they want the June SAT graded again after some test takers say they got more answers correct, but received a lower score than on earlier tests.

They created the hashtag #rescoreJuneSAT and shared it on Twitter and Reddit. An online petition to have the test rescored has attracted more than 22,000 signatures, some from around the world.

Some test takers checked their answers against a key that cost an additional $13.50, and determined that the College Board, which administers the test and derives income through test fees, changed the grading for June's test from previous SAT tests. Van Horn and other students say the method of grading in June renders those scores inaccurate.

The College Board said the test takers are half right.

They did curve the test in a method called "equating." However, the test results from June are accurate, the College Board said.

Because tests vary in difficulty, the board "equates" or "curves" the test to standardize results across years.

"For example, a single incorrect answer on one administration could equal two or three incorrect answers on a more difficult version," it said.

Equating is used with every SAT test, wrote Jaslee Carayol, associate director of media relations at College Board, in an email.

"While we plan for consistency across administrations, on occasion there are some tests that can be easier or more difficult than usual," Carayol wrote. "Equating is used for every SAT administration and is standard practice for assessments like the SAT."

Equating "makes sure that a score for a test taken on one date is equivalent to a score from another date," according to the statement. "The equating process ensures fairness for all students."

"We want to assure you that your scores are accurate."

The College Board also curves Advanced Placement tests, which help students gain college-level credit by taking the test instead of taking the course.

Van Horn connected with other test takers on social media who are frustrated with June's results, too. She met with Rochelle Zaks and Joel Veras on July 16 to protest outside the College Board in New York City.

Van Horn, Zaks and Veras held signs saying, "Give Us Our Right Score!" "Why Are You Sabotaging American Students" and "Rescore June SAT," outside the board headquarters near the World Trade Center in downtown New York.

On her third crack at the SAT, Zaks scored 1390 out of 1600, and was OK with that score, she said. Then, while going over the test with her mother, she noticed that something seemed off.

Zaks, from Pennsylvania, said her goal going into the test was to get no more than nine or 10 math questions wrong out of 58, which, according to her calculations, would have gotten her a 700. A math tutor helped her make those calculations.

When she pored over her score, she saw that she had only five wrong, but received a 690.

"I was a little shocked and I was really confused," Zaks said.

Others were baffled, as well.

Shiva Pentakota, a high school senior from Atlanta, said that the test he took was harder, not easier. He said he used the College Board $13.50 tool to calculate that conclusion. The College Board sells the tool — the Student Answer Service (SAS) — to test takers to check their scores. Students receive the correct answers to each question from the exam they took, and the SAS lists which questions were easy, medium or difficult, as categorized by the College Board.

"College Board is claiming that this whole test was easier, so me and my peers, we all fact-checked our own math and purchased the March SAT and the June SAT [SAS] and we counted the number of difficult, easy and medium questions," Pentakota said.

Pentakota and his friends rechecked their math and purchased the SAS answers to the June SAT as well as the Question and Answer Service, a similar tool for the March SAT. They counted more difficult questions in the reading section of the June SAT than the March SAT.

He said he believes that the equating system is flawed.

"The real issue is whatever they use to equate, the process didn't work this time," Pentakota said. "This was an exception to a normal test."

A similar uproar occurred in 2015 with another June SAT test over a printing error. College Board ended up not scoring two sections of the exam, but still provided students with "valid and reliable scores," according to the website.

"The scored sections had the same distribution of content and skills as the full-length test and therefore is reflective of the overall SAT content specifications," the update said.

In that instance, the College Board said that the equating process was not affected.

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health reaches out to international students by detailing the international student experience at the school.

Learn more about housing, life in Boston and more here.

China issued its first national action plan to build a "strong education nation" by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a "strong country."

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote "healthy growth and all-round development of students," making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

"Popularizing" mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.

The Open Notebook, a site focusing on educating journalists who cover science, has complied a list of U.S. graduate program financial aid information for international students.

Read it here.