December already! We are excited to have heard some good news from our early applicants already and are busy wrapping things up with the last of our late-late-start seniors. 

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

EARLY ACTION/EARLY DECISION RELEASE DATES

All early applicants may want to bookmark this page - this running list of decision release dates for EA and ED is updated nearly every day. It’s going to be a busy week ahead! And remember to keep an eye on your application portal for each given school regularly regardless of the listed release date. This is the only way to ensure that you don’t miss any important updates. 

PARENT PLUS LOAN DATA RELEASED

We wrote two weeks ago about how parents should be wary of Parent Plus loans, which can often be included in what seem like “full ride” financial aid packages. For the first time on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education provided data on these exact loans. This new data gives a more thorough picture of how students are paying for college, and reveals that parents of students at art schools, HBCUs, and small private colleges are most likely to take out these high-interest loans to help support their students. 

UVM ELIMINATES 23 PROGRAMS

Also on Wednesday, the University of Vermont announced proposed cuts to 23 programs in the College of Arts and Sciences. The university cites declining enrollment as the reason for budget shortfalls. Among the cuts will be the elimination of the geology, religion, and classics departments. Thousands of students and faculty have petitioned to protest the cuts. This story reveals a broader worry for other universities, making it clear that economic budget cuts aren’t just impacting small schools - we may start to see the effects everywhere. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

There have been debates for years about the inability of NCAA Division I athletes to profit off of their skill - today, strict NCAA rules prohibit basketball and football stars from making money, even as their likenesses are used in advertising and video games. But one group of athletes is able to take advantage of lucrative sponsorship opportunities: cheerleaders. NCAA rules about amateurism do not apply to cheerleaders, as this New York Times article reveals, and top cheerleaders can make as much as $5,000 a post doing sponsored social media advertising in uniform. It will be interesting to see whether other athletes will be able to follow in these cheerleaders’ footsteps when the new NCAA rules are adopted in January.

We know that a lot of our students have been stressed about SAT and ACT testing being cancelled - and with good reason! But this article put our stress in perspective when we learned about the nine hour college entrance examination that South Korean high schoolers must complete. Students begin preparing for this exam as early as kindergarten, and though it was postponed due to COVID, precautions ensured that even students who tested positive for coronavirus would be able to take the test in specially-prepared negative-pressure hospital chambers, accompanied by exam administrators in protective suits. YIKES. And South Korean students don’t need to worry about running late - all banks, businesses, and government offices delayed opening to lessen traffic, and police on motorcycles were deployed to escort late students to the testing sites! 

Countries like South Korea are known for prioritizing education, and many of these students would likely have attended college in the U.S. But international student enrollment during the pandemic is plummeting, dropping 43% this fall. Racial bias in the U.S. and stricter immigration policies have also contributed to the drop. The decline in international enrollment means a budget deficit at many schools, where international students often pay full tuition or more, and it also means a less diverse learning environment for domestic students at U.S. colleges. 

The Washington Post’s picks for holiday reading are always exciting for me, and this year’s list includes an admissions-related novel! Admission, by Julie Buxbaum, is a fictional take on the Varsity Blues scandal. Have you read any of the books on this list? Leave us a comment with any of your recommendations! 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Shannon has been attending a lot of school sessions for updates on their early admissions pools and information for our upcoming school profiles, which will be available to all of our clients and members of our vault! If you follow us on instagram, you saw that we loved the “breakfast” treats package that Newman University sent in advance of their session yesterday!

Also, speaking of treats, did you know that today is National Cookie Day? Basically right up there with Christmas in my book in terms of important holidays.

I have heard of a whole bunch of outbreaks at various schools over the last several days - including my son’s preschool, which caused me to panic a little bit! In case this helps anyone else who is worried about having been exposed, AllCare Family Medicine will give rapid and PCR tests at the same time. It was surprisingly hard to find a place to do both! I had to drive to their Alexandria location after meeting with a doctor from the Tysons location, but it was definitely worth it for peace of mind that my household is Covid-free.

Stay safe, everyone, and have a nice weekend!