New York City will offer the SAT to high school students for free

New York City will begin offering high school juniors the ability to take the SAT exam free of charge, starting in the spring of 2017.

City officials hope the "SAT School Day" program will make it easier for low-income students to apply for college. In addition to waiving the cost of the exam ($54), the program allows students to take the SAT during their regular school day. In 2015, only 56 percent of high school seniors in New York City took the SAT at least once.

New York City's program is hardly the first to encourage students to take college entrance exams. Similar initiatives in Kentucky, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Connecticut require students to take the SAT or ACT in order to graduate.