I know that this Thanksgiving wasn’t quite typical, but we hope that our students were able to enjoy the time with their families and take some much-deserved rest!

As for us in the office- not to sound sappy, but we’re incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to work with all of you. I’ve been asking everyone in my life to tell me their six words of gratitude and mine, as they relate to my professional life, are “Love coming to work each day.” And I think all of us really feel that way! So truly - thank you for entrusting us with such an important time in your lives. It is such a privilege to be able to partner with such wonderful families, not only through the college process but also through the laughter and tears of adolescence itself. We don’t take it for granted for a minute!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

FEWER STUDENTS, MORE COLLEGES

As our students know, applying for college this cycle is even more stressful than in previous years, and since many early application deadlines have passed, we are learning more and more about what the application pool will really look like. Fewer students are applying to colleges, particularly low-income and first generation students, but the ones who are applying are applying to more colleges, on average - and test-optional schools are seeing the majority of this increase.

STUDENTS DEBATE TRAVELING FOR THE HOLIDAY

Many schools have already ended in-person classes, intending for students to finish out the year at home after returning for Thanksgiving break. But with the CDC guidance advising Americans to stay put for the holiday, students were left to decide whether they should risk traveling home, or remain on campus even after the semester had ended. Some chose to take precautions and fly home, while others remained on campus to celebrate with friends. We are still waiting to see whether Thanksgiving travel has put more students and families at risk.

SCHOOLS REVIEW PANDEMIC SAFETY PROTOCOLS

As coronavirus cases rise around the country, schools are left to consider how best to safely reopen in the spring. Some are introducing new testing and screening protocols, and as we’ve covered before, many are cancelling spring break to keep students on campus. We expect more schools to announce changes to their spring reopening plans as we move into December.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

College students, just like the country as a whole, have been hit hard by economic uncertainty during the pandemic. This article from the New York Times illuminates how students have created mutual aid networks to help each other cope with financial insecurity. How cool! These aid networks collect small donations, which at some schools have totaled tens of thousands of dollars, and then redistribute the funds to peers who need help covering housing, food, or medical costs. These networks are entirely student-run, often operating independently from formal administration initiatives, and they illuminate the generosity of students and donors in helping their peers during a difficult time. 

We have never been the biggest fans of using numbered rankings to make decisions about undergraduate programs - there is so, so much more that goes into finding the right fit for each student, and not every student and family values the same metrics when it comes to a school. That’s why we liked this list, which includes the top-ranked schools in fifty different categories based on student reviews, so prospective applicants can seek out the characteristics or specializations most important to them. It was interesting to see how many schools were given multiple “best” designations, some of which were unrelated. For example, MIT really cleaned up - they had five out of the fifty! “Best private college,” “Best academics,” and some of the others weren’t surprising, but did you know that Newsweek considers them the “Best college for veterans”? Also, I am in full agreement on their pick for the “Best college in the midwest,” just saying ;)

While UNC notably sent students home after just a week of in-person instruction this fall, Duke served as an excellent example of an institution that reopened safely and basically did everything right. It did so by using pooled testing and contact tracing to identify infected students and stop major outbreaks from happening on campus or in the surrounding areas. I had never heard of pooled testing before, so this was fascinating to me. The CDC recently published an in-depth report on Duke’s efforts, and we hope that other schools will learn from their example when they bring students back in the spring. 

Jeff Selingo’s newsletter from this past week covered some interesting trends emerging in the current application cycle. In the midst of the pandemic, students are rethinking the desire to attend college far from home and instead applying to more institutions within driving distance. If this trend continues into next year, we may see some acceptance rates increase, especially at schools in the Northeast and Midwest that will see fewer applicants from around the country. 

Jeff also weighed in on the testing question, and says that the most selective private institutions have received test scores from over 70% of applicants this cycle, making them most likely to reinstate a testing requirement after the pandemic is over. But for most schools, test-optional admissions has been a great way to increase the diversity of the applicant pool; unless they receive an overwhelming number of applications, he believes they are more likely than not to remain test-optional.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We’ve been busy with deadlines coming up for UC schools next Monday, as well as a few last scholarship and EA applications on December 1! We were able to enjoy a break yesterday and are helping with some last minute questions today, particularly with the UC application.

While this year is atypical in terms of holiday gatherings, I always like to give a friendly reminder to the well-meaning adults out there that under no circumstances should you ever ask seniors about the college admissions process at this time of year! I know, believe me, it is so tempting. But if students end up with good news to share and want to share it down the line, they will. Or you’ll learn from someone else through the grapevine. But please don’t initiate that conversation! :)

We hear about this so much on the back end - all of the well-meaning inquiries (most of which are grounded in genuine interest and care) end up causing so much anxiety for these kids. Dealing with a college rejection is bad enough, as for some it’s truly their first major life disappointment. But what makes everything so much worse is a rejected student’s (often misplaced) assumption that they will ultimately have to update all the random adults who have asked them over the previous several months about their college plans. This situation ends up creating additional feelings of shame and embarrassment that are completely avoidable if the conversations had never taken place.

So, try as hard as you can not to mention anything related to college admissions to any high school senior in your life, unless you are their parent - no matter how excited you are for them or how much of a shoo-in you think they are for a given school. And even if you are their parent, try to hold back! The less emphasis you place on admission to a specific school, the less of a crisis it will be if the student is not admitted.

Enjoy what is hopefully a long weekend for everyone - happy Black Friday shopping!