The SAT has officially gone digital worldwide, and international students are saying the move just made the test way more manageable. After launching the digital version globally in March, the College Board reported that over 100,000 students from 179 countries have already taken the new format.

More than 80 percent of those test-takers said their experience with the digital SAT was better than the paper version. The updated test is shorter, taking just over two hours, and includes tools like a built-in calculator and a digital timer, making the whole thing faster and more focused.

Students also reported feeling less stressed, which is one of the biggest wins of the new format. No more worrying about pencils, paper sheets, or running out of space. Everything’s online, simple, and more flexible.

For international students especially, this shift levels the playing field. The SAT is still one of the few ways students can show what they know using the same standards, regardless of what school system they come from. According to the College Board, SAT scores are actually one of the strongest indicators of success in a student’s first year at a U.S. college, more reliable than GPA alone in many cases.

This comes at a time when more international students are applying to study in the U.S. In fact, demand is rising fast in countries like India, Nigeria, and Egypt. Recent numbers show that over 1.9 million students from the class of 2024 took the SAT at least once, which means that the test is still relevant.

The digital SAT isn’t just more modern. It’s also more secure, faster to complete, and easier to access. For many students applying to U.S. universities from abroad, it just made the whole process a lot more real and a lot less scary.