Another Friday, another weekly update!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

TEST OPTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS CONTINUE FOR THE CLASS OF 2022

We know that a lot of current juniors have been anxiously waiting to see if their dream school will require test scores next cycle. The test-optional announcements keep rolling in, with Penn State and Amherst recently announcing that they will continue test-optional admissions through at least 2023. These schools join others, including Baylor, in committing early to remaining test-optional. BU and Cornell are among the schools that are still undecided, while other super-selective schools like Stanford have announced that they hope to resume considering test scores if possible. We’ll keep you updated!

Looking for a school that won’t accept test scores at all? Check out “test blind” schools like Caltech, Dickinson, Reed, the University of San Diego and the University of California system (Berkeley, UCLA, etc). But remember: a lack of test scores does not mean “easy admissions process.” It simply means that the other factors count more.

FREE FCPS WEBINARS

The FCPS Parent Resource Center is offering four webinars for parents in February about supporting students emotionally during this difficult time. Webinar topics include Teen Depression and Social-Emotional Learning. It’s free to register for these events, which will also be available for replay later on Youtube. In light of the mental health challenges that the pandemic has exacerbated among students, this is a timely and helpful series for any parent!

HOWARD UNIVERSITY BAND ACCOMPANIES HARRIS AT INAUGURATION

Students in the Howard University band had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this week to escort Vice President Kamala Harris, a Howard alumna, in Wednesday’s inaugural parade. Despite social distancing challenges and the fact that only some members of the band were able to perform, the band’s director commented on the personal importance of Harris’s election for Howard students. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

I’m so glad someone finally wrote this article for NPR - yes, you CAN ask for more money from your college! This is true of undergraduates and especially graduate students. In this tumultuous year, if the FAFSA doesn’t accurately capture your financial situation, reach out to your school to see if you can receive additional help. Your first financial aid offer is not final!

Before we started this application cycle, many in the higher education industry thought that enrollment at community colleges would rise, as students chose to spend less on Zoom classes and wait out the pandemic before returning to four-year colleges. But the truth has been very different. Community colleges are seeing a steep decline in enrollment, and students at two-year colleges who have taken a break from education during the pandemic are less likely to return to full-time schooling. Meanwhile, the price tags at highly selective colleges are not dropping - on the contrary, Stanford, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and Harvard have all raised tuition despite continued online learning. While community college isn’t for everyone, it’s always worth checking out Northern Virginia Community College’s guaranteed transfer agreements. When you think about what it takes to be admitted to UVA as a freshman and just how competitive that process has become, the possibility of a guaranteed spot for spending two years at NOVA can look pretty appealing.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

It is always exciting and nerve-wracking for us as we wait for our students to receive decisions, but we had a longer wait this cycle as many EA/ED decisions were released late - and we are still waiting on many of them, from UVA to Michigan to Wisconsin. The trend is likely to continue for RD decisions - all of the Ivy League schools have announced that their decisions will be delayed, and they will give students until May 3 to deposit. This gives less time to students who may have to make other decisions by May 1, which will only add more pressure during a year when it is difficult to visit campuses to make decisions. Trying to get to know a college virtually? Check out our post for tips!

As we covered already this week, the SAT has canceled the essay section as well as the subject tests. We expect that the ACT Writing section will soon follow suit, and honestly do not foresee a big change for our students with this change, as most schools do not consider the essay. 

The bigger change, as we mentioned several days ago, is for the subject tests. We pinpointed certain groups of students who will be more likely to be impacted, and there’s no question that STEM-oriented students in each of those groups will feel the greatest impact. Did you know that one particular subject test comprised over 70% of the subject tests administered this cycle? The Math II test was particularly common for students hoping to demonstrate higher-level math abilities for an edge at highly selective schools (though historically they have not been a strong predictor of student success, as those students were all scoring so high that there really was not much variation in test scores!).

The College Board is likely to push AP exams now as an admissions tool, and it is possible that highly selective schools will place more emphasis on AP scores in the absence of Subject Tests. We anticipate seeing schools respond to pressure from the College Board by making AP exams more accessible for all students, including freshmen and sophomores. Already, the deadline to sign up for AP exams has been extended to March 12, but don’t run out and sign up just yet! As we mentioned in the last post, AP exams are meant to be taken after an official College Board-approved AP course. If you are a client, talk with us before changing your exam strategy.   

—

And lastly - this really has been a very busy week! - I was able to attend the Independent Educational Consultants Association’s Professional Member Retreat. This is geared specifically for more experienced educational consultants like me, as opposed to their normal conferences (which are great too) that are open to anyone. I got so much out of it, and Shannon and I have already met about ways we can incorporate new ideas into our practice!

I was invited to co-present a session on Client Experience that took place yesterday, and enjoyed facilitating ideas with my colleagues around the world. It was great to share best practices about the ways to “make happy clients” and I was honored to be asked! I do think our clients are pretty happy! ;)

Keep an eye out for upcoming posts on what you need to know about testing (yes, even more!) and a bit on the differences between the function of an independent school college counselor and an independent college counselor.

Have a great weekend!