With Junior Camp coming up this week, most juniors are looking forward to taking a break from classes and spending time bonding as a class.

However, this year’s camp also coincides with the final old SAT test date before the new SAT will be used. While the school administration is making accommodations for juniors taking the SATs, some of them will have to leave camp early to take the test.

Campus Minister Rob Lockridge explained the the conflicting dates weren’t foreseeable since the SAT test dates aren’t released until after the campsite is booked. “The camp is occupied almost every weekend by people who reserve a year and a half out, so once [the camp date] is there, it’s there,” he explained.

Since January 23 is the last time students can take the old SAT, juniors who haven’t taken it yet want to try it before it’s no longer available.  “I need take the old one, so I can take the new one too. [That way], I can have both,” said junior Erin Kaneshiro, whose parents will be picking her up from the campsite on Friday.  Junior Jennifer Le, who will also be leaving early, added, “I wanted to take the old one because I was prepped for the old one.”

This year marks the first year since 2005 that there have been major changes to the SAT. Some of the changes include changing the scoring scale from 2400 to 1600, and no points will be deducted for wrong answers. The essay portion will become optional and take 50 minutes instead of 25 minutes.

For students need to leave early and can’t get a ride back with their parents, there is another option.  “What we’ve done is we have a bus that is going to be coming back from the camp,” said Lockridge. “It’s going to be picking people up at 9pm [on Friday.]”

There will also be student athletes on this bus as they have morning commitments on Saturday.

For Kaneshiro, the decision to leave camp in the early evening came with mixed feelings. “It’s kind of a hassle. I don’t really like having my parents drive all the way to Wai’anae to pick me up.”  Kaneshiro did not want to wait for the 9pm bus as she thinks it’s too late in the day.