Even as we continue to be busy with seniors submitting their applications (so much fun!), we are also starting to work with a lot of juniors on big-picture strategy for the next two years.

The cyclical nature of admissions means there are always new students starting with us, and we love getting to know them! If you are a Class of 2022, Class of 2023 or Class of 2024 student interested in working with us, you can book a Meet & Greet to talk more about your goals.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS VIRTUAL COLLEGE WEEK

Fairfax County Public Schools are pivoting to a virtual approach instead of their traditional College Fair and College Night. They will have live virtual sessions from Monday, October 19 - Friday, October 23. There will be two sessions each evening, and students should take a look at the schedule to see which sessions they may be interested in attending, because many of the sessions are for populations with particular interests, including Attending College in Europe, Applying to a Military Academy, and Dual Enrollment. 

NOTRE DAME’S PRESIDENT RETURNS TO CAMPUS WITH COVID-19

As you may have seen on the news this week, Notre Dame’s president Rev. John I. Jenkins was infected with the coronavirus at the White House reception for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a former Notre Dame Law professor. Students have petitioned for his resignation for violating his own mask mandate at the event, and his infection has sparked faculty debate on campus as well. Father Jenkins is perhaps the most high-profile case of a school president being infected with COVID-19, but I anticipate that as the school year goes on, we will continue to hear debate about the responsibility of administrators and schools officials to set an example for the rules enforced on their campuses. 

CANCELLATION OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PROGRAMMING

The White House’s recent executive order against “divisive concepts” in federally-funded programs has some schools scrambling to cancel diversity, equity, and inclusion programming or risk losing federal funding. The University of Iowa has paused DEI programming entirely for two weeks, and some military academies are cancelling or postponing a planned showing of the film Malcolm X. Other schools, like the University of Michigan, are reaffirming their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion work. 

DEADLINE SHIFTS KEEP COMING

Colleges have been changing deadlines and requirements nonstop. We've posted about this before, but it continues to happen left and right. Some of the recent deadline shifts have included Penn State, Michigan, and Duke. This past week, Tufts and Villanova joined the group. I anticipate we will see more of this over the next week. We will be keeping a close eye on deadlines for our students, and we recommend that everyone watch closely for continued changes during this tumultuous year. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

TJ has been in the news again recently for its latest attempt at diversifying the student body. At this nationally-renowned public high school, only 1.7% of the student body is low-income, and only 5% is made up of students of color. TJ has previously tried other strategies to increase the diversity of the student body, including revisions to admissions essays and tests and the hiring of a full-time outreach specialist, but the school was largely unsuccessful. Now, it plans to raise the GPA necessary for admission to a 3.5, and then admit students based on a random lottery system.

I found this Washington Post article in support of the lottery plan to be really interesting, particularly because of the implications for college admissions. It is actually more difficult to be admitted to a highly selective college from a magnet school like TJ than it is from other Nova high schools. This is one reason, as the article says, why many smart students from Northern Virginia may not be interested in attending TJ - and why, for the lottery, students who sign up are clearly motivated to take on a challenging STEM education in high school. 

Jeff Selingo, who wrote my top college admissions article of the year, has written another Washington Post article about “feeder” schools for top colleges. The term always makes me think of an old-fashioned idea of New England prep schools, but even in 2020, 18% of the nation’s high schools are responsible for a full 79% of admitted students! This happens in part because admissions readers who are familiar with the rigor of certain high schools can be confident that students from those schools are prepared to succeed in college coursework. 

Because COVID-19 means that some students won’t have test scores or spring semester grades to measure academic ability, admissions officers may lean harder than ever on high schools that are familiar to them. In our area, this applies particularly to our nationally-recognized Fairfax County and Montgomery County schools. The reputation of our local schools could be a plus in the admissions process more than ever this cycle! 

This New York Times article really speaks to the feelings of loneliness that we’ve been hearing about from our Class of 2020 students. Even for the students who are happy to be on campus for (at least partial) in-person instruction, coronavirus precautions have completely transformed their college experience. Students are telling us that it is hard to get a break from school work, with all the social activities that they would normally use to unwind being cancelled or put on hold. This serves as a good reminder to our students (and to all of us!) that while focusing on work is important, we need to be conscious of making time for ourselves right now too.

I love the idea from two students in this article to shut down computers by 10:00 or 11:00 pm and focus on some face-to-face time with the people around you! 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

I snuck out of the office on Friday to head to Annapolis! I’ve mentioned a few times that we are working on a lot of service academy nomination applications this year and I am thrilled to say that every last one of those nomination applications is DONE! Now we are working on the actual academy applications, but those are a breeze compared to the nomination apps. The process was always complex pre-COVID, but this year has just been a complete nightmare from a logistical standpoint.

If you aren’t familiar, students seeking appointments to service academies need to not only be admitted to the academy itself but also receive a nomination. These nominations are incredibly, incredibly competitive. For example, Tim Kaine receives 500-600 per year and picks 10! The goal is to pursue as many nominations as possible to increase the chances of getting one - but every nomination application is different. The one commonality is that each senator and/or representative typically wants the student to mail every single component together in a packet, which makes it a little tougher from a logistical standpoint in terms of tracking everything and collecting the materials from the various recommenders - of which there are MANY!

In COVID times, all of the different senators and representatives have made different modifications to their process. Some want scores, some don’t. Some want certain evidence of attempted testing registration, some don’t. Some want everything in the packets, some don’t. I won’t even get into the situation that occurred when one of the offices was closed during the week of the deadline and hundreds of nomination packets were stuck in FedEx tracking limbo. It’s no one’s fault, and we are masters of organization with this stuff, but it’s a LOT. Shannon has been a total rockstar in managing all of it!

Anyway, with all of this going on over the past couple of weeks, I couldn’t help looking at all the midshipmen I saw in Annapolis and wondering to myself about where their nominations came from and what their secret sauce was! There is no question that a USNA appointment would be such an amazing opportunity for the right student. However, it’s really important to know what you’re getting into. If you’re in the Class of 2022 and think you may be interested, we highly recommend applying to Summer Seminar! Not only will this give you a taste of USNA life, but attending will also improve your chances of nomination and admission. Applications are due January 4, but you really need to get them in by mid-December at the latest.

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Changing gears entirely - I have been a big fan of Dr. Dan Shapiro for many years and recently saw that he put some of his courses online for parents to follow at their own pace. I am personally really excited to take this course, as soon as I have a free minute, and I thought I would share it here as well because I know that it would be useful to a number of our parents.

As an aside, I would also highly recommend his most recent book, Parent Child Excursions: ADHD, Anxiety, and Autism, which is enormously helpful for anyone whose child struggles with any of the three or a combination.

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One last thought from the past week - as our rising seniors have been learning the results of their recent SAT and ACT exams, we've continued to field questions left and right about applying test-optional. I have started suggesting that students email the admissions reps directly to ask their advice - nothing beats going right to the source, after all!

I have to say, the results of these emails have exceeded my expectations. While most of them quote a party line about not being able to advise students one way or the other, nearly all of them still add some commentary that makes it pretty darn clear what they think the student should do. So if you have questions - don’t hesitate to reach out!

Enjoy the weekend!