Weekly Update: March 11

We hope everyone has been enjoying the beautiful weather!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES COULD LOSE AP STATUS WITH BANNED CONTENT

The College Board has announced that courses that are classified as Advanced Placement will need to teach the entire AP curriculum in order to retain AP designation. In the wake of discussion and litigation around banned topics, this provides a new consideration for schools - they risk losing AP status for classes if AP-specific materials are banned. This may have a particular impact on AP U.S. History classes, which have come under scrutiny before for course content.

IMPACT OF THE WAR IN UKRAINE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

The news has been saturated this week with stories from the invasion of Ukraine, and the ripple effects of the war have begun to be felt by U.S. colleges. Many colleges are pulling students out of study abroad programs in Russia, ending research partnerships, and cutting any financial ties with Russian institutions. At the same time, most colleges are making an effort to protect and support both Russian and Ukrainian students on campus. 

NEW MEXICO MAKES PUBLIC COLLEGE FREE

A new initiative in New Mexico will waive tuition for state and tribal colleges, including community colleges. This follows similar initiatives, at the community college level, from states like California and North Carolina. However, we don’t expect to see state systems with more demand for in-state education (like Virginia) make this change any time soon.

HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY ADDS NEW SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

With the help of private donors, High Point has raised around $500 million for new initiatives on campus. The university will open a law school, announcing the new dean in May, and also embark on major campus improvement projects including a new library, new student housing, and a brand new parking garage. Since 2005, the number of academic schools at High Point has jumped from three to 14!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

A UVA senior published an essay in the New York Times opinion section this week grappling with free speech and censorship on campus. The essay describes how even students that hold “mainstream” views are often self-censoring for fear of social recriminations on campus. It is a nuanced piece that is definitely worth a read, no matter which side of the debate around campus speech you support. 

There has certainly been a shift in recent years toward more entrepreneurial emphasis on college campuses, with new dedicated spaces and coursework meant to empower young entrepreneurs (that High Point fundraise we mentioned earlier? One of the new schools they add will be a School of Entrepreneurship). This opinion piece by the founder of Best Buy supports the movement toward emphasizing creativity, courage, and innovation as essential parts of a valuable college education. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We had such a fun lunch today with this adorable NYU freshman who is killing it at school and home for spring break! She and I had already worked together in person for about a year pre-Covid, but she reminded me today that she had never actually met Staci or Shannon in person before!!

I had completely forgotten that, particularly with Staci because they worked so closely together for so long. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I hope we get to do it again when she is back over the summer :)

And speaking of the summer… if you’re still looking for summer plans or just hoping for some resume and interview tips, check out this year’s FCPS Teen Job Fairs! The fairs will be held at West Springfield High School on March 12 and at Chantilly High School on March 19. 

Lastly, now that essay season is upon us- we are hiring again and LOVE referrals! If you know any talented teachers or writers who would be interested in helping to serve our students as essay coaches this summer, please let us know. 

Have a great weekend!

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Weekly Update: March 4

Happy March! We hope you’ve all been enjoying some warmer weather this week.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

JUDGE CALLS TJ ADMISSIONS CHANGES UNFAIR

Last Friday, a federal judge halted the changes to TJ’s admissions process, saying the new rules were unfair to Asian American students. The new rules dropped the percentage of Asian American students at TJ from 73% to 54%, a dramatic shift. This is the latest move in the ongoing debate about racial diversity at TJ. 

FCPS says that it is considering an appeal of the ruling, arguing that the new admissions process meets all legal requirements for admissions without discrimination

EFFECTS OF OMICRON CLASSROOM CLOSURES

As COVID-19 precautions continue to lessen, several outlets this week are exploring the impact of classroom closures on student learning. At many schools, if one student is exposed to COVID-19, the entire classroom remains at home. However, this stop-start schooling means that students around the country missed up to a week of school in January alone. This Atlantic article dives deeper into the ripple effects of keeping health students home from school. 

DC SCHOOLS DROP OUTDOOR MASK MANDATE

The indoor mask mandate for many spaces in DC was dropped on March 1, but not in schools. While students and staff are still required to wear masks in DC public schools, masks are now optional in outdoor spaces on school grounds.

TRANSPARENCY BILLS APPEAR AROUND THE COUNTRY

In many state legislatures, as well as in the House of Representatives, bills are appearing that would demand transparency for parents when it comes to lesson plans and curricula. Under these new laws, teachers would be required to post all of their instructional materials online for parents to review, including books, articles, handouts, and videos. While teachers say that most of this information is already available, either via parent-teacher conferences or portals like Canvas and Google Classroom, some parents argue that they should have more ability to easily review these materials. Here in Virginia, a bill was recently passed that will allow parents to review sexually explicit material before it is taught in the classroom.   

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We really liked this article in The Atlantic this week about the impact of mask mandates on students who require speech therapy. This is a population that has really struggled over the past two years, but this is an issue that we haven’t seen covered very much in the news. Remote therapy caused learning loss for many students who struggle with speech, and in-person therapy was also hindered by mask mandates. 

Debates are always ongoing about the role that grading plays in the classroom, but after the struggle of remote learning and a lot of grading policy changes, the idea that letter grades may not be the best way to assess students’ progress post-pandemic has returned to the spotlight. We think that there is a good chance we’ll see more school districts change and adjust grading policies in response to changes in curriculum and the return to in-person learning. 

We say often that students and families should take college “rankings” with a grain of salt, particularly when looking at undergraduate programs. The factors that go into these rankings may not be factors that actually appeal to students (we’ve never had a student say that one important factor for them when looking at a school is the number of books in the library!), and they don’t always reveal a lot about what the student’s college experience will be. However, there are some students and parents who want to focus on highly-ranked, highly-selective schools - and that is also an approach we understand! This article explores more of the debate about whether or not it is worthwhile to focus on highly-selective schools during the admissions process. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

First and foremost, our thoughts continue to be with people in Ukraine this week, and we feel so lucky to have learned about Ukrainian culture and heritage through our clients.

On an entirely different note, Fall 2022 has been on our minds a lot this week. We had a bunch of students who decided to send out some transfer apps at the last minute and we tried to accommodate them as best as possible. They were/are due on 3/1, 3/15, and 4/1, so it’s been a little crazy to try to get all of those out on time, but so far so good - hopefully they will have lots of choices for the upcoming fall semester!

And speaking of choices… it’s undergraduate course registration time again! I had my first Fall 2022 course registration planning session yesterday with a rising college senior. We focused on balancing out the rest of her upper-level major and minor requirements with some cool electives, and made some solid headway. It never ceases to amaze me how unnecessarily complicated course registration has become. I really think we could start a whole business helping with course registration alone.

Lastly, we were thrilled to find out on Monday that a few of our second-year students at UVa were admitted into the Commerce School, yay! They will start their 2-year program in the fall and graduate with the rest of their class during Spring 2023. Congratulations!!!

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Weekly Update: February 25

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS IN UNIFORM

In some striking images this week, the New York Times covered the use of the National Guard as substitute teachers in New Mexico schools, where the teaching staff has been severely impacted by COVID-19. 

While New Mexico is the only state to use the National Guard as substitutes, National Guard members have also driven school buses in Massachusetts, and police officers in Oklahoma have also served as substitute teachers. 

FLORIDA CONSIDERS FINANCIAL LITERACY REQUIREMENT

Virginia is one of a few states around the country that require students to learn personal finance in the classroom - including balancing a checkbook and completing a loan application. Florida may be the latest state to add a financial literacy requirement for high school graduation. We are big fans of practical coursework like this - and find that students are always more engaged when they know that they will use the material later in life.

VIRGINIA MASK MANDATES LIFT

Most Virginia counties have made mask mandates optional in schools, in response to Governor Youngkin’s recent executive order. In fact, Fairfax County is the last holdout - the only county that has not committed to switching to a mask-optional policy by March 1. 

Update! Earlier today, FCPS announced that masks will be optional starting Tuesday. You can read more about that here.

For an interesting exploration of how politics has played into parenting, both when it comes to mask mandates as well as curricula and vaccinations, check out this Atlantic article.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Yale professor Laurie Santos, instructor of the famous “Yale Happiness Class” and host of The Happiness Lab podcast, gave an interesting interview this week discussing her own feelings of burnout, as well as the anxiety that her students are experiencing. This is a useful interview for anyone trying to support college students - and anyone just looking to lead a happier life!

Based on a recently released Common ApplicationⓇ report, the number of applications has continued to increase this cycle, now up nearly 14% since before the pandemic. The report identifies nine key findings from applications up until the February 15 deadlines (p.s., these findings are all listed on the first page, so no need to read all 19 pages unless you’re admissions nerds like us :) 

Finally, we’re so excited to share this article, which includes some really important information about affording college. We often hear from students and parents that are cost-conscious that they prefer to look at public universities. But as the editor-in-chief of the Princeton Review says, “Never cross an expensive school off your list… by sticker price alone.” If you consider the possibilities of merit aid, whether schools consider financial need in admissions, and other factors, it is possible that a private education can end up being less expensive than a public one. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

February has FLOWN by and we are so excited to start reading student essays as they work through the STAGE Program with Staci. If you are a junior who has not yet booked your essay coaching meetings, make sure you get on the calendar to begin this process! 

Learning students’ personal stories is one of the best parts of this job - in fact, all week I have been thinking about an essay that one of our students wrote about his Ukrainian heritage (during a different application cycle). Such a devastating situation and we have been watching the news nonstop along with the rest of the world.

On a (much) lighter note, we have also been enjoying the end of the college basketball season! As some of you saw on instagram, my kids and I got to see Virginia beat Miami over the long weekend - so fun! Hopefully we will see another win against Florida State this weekend.

Have a great weekend and stay warm!

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Weekly Update: February 11

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

DOLLYWOOD LATEST EMPLOYER TO PAY FOR COLLEGE

Dolly Parton’s theme park announced this week that it will pay for full college tuition for employees, as well as books and fees. The perk is available to seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees. We love seeing stories like this about how employers support their employees’ pursuit of higher education!

LONGEST SENTENCE YET PASSED DOWN ON VARSITY BLUES

Trials continue for parents involved in the Operation Varsity Blues scandal, and the longest sentence yet - one year and one day - was handed down this week. Gamal Abdelaziz was one of the first parents to face trial in the case (others, like Lori Laughlin, pleaded guilty and did not go to trial). Meanwhile, two-thirds of parents charged have received sentences of three months or less. Abdelaziz’s lawyers intend to appeal the decision.

DONOR AND LEGACY PREFERENCE IN JEOPARDY DUE TO H.R. 6559

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) introduced a bill last week to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965. He seeks to prevent colleges and universities from giving preferential treatment to donors and/or legacies - with the caveat that the ban on legacy preference could be waived if it is “in the best interest of students who have been historically underrepresented in higher education.” You may remember that when Colorado banned legacy preference last year, we mentioned it was a big deal because of the precedent it set. We’re particularly interested to follow this bill in light of the upcoming Supreme Court case on affirmative action.

SCHOOL MASK MANDATES STILL IN FLUX

The Virginia Supreme Court dismissed a parent lawsuit contesting Governor Glenn Youngkin’s mask-optional executive order this week. Currently in many counties in Northern Virginia - including Fairfax, Alexandria, and Arlington - mask mandates can remain in place while the order is on hold. On Thursday, Fairfax County announced that it would make masking optional once COVID transmission reached “moderate levels.” We expect to see more changes to mask orders in the coming weeks, in Virginia as well as around the country.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

As debates around the country continue over banned books and school curricula, there have been several interesting articles this week that shed some light on these issues. This article argues that the purpose of higher education is “critical inquiry,” while The Atlantic this week explored the nuances of discussing versus using offensive language in the classroom. (Side note: If you’re particularly interested, FCPS community members can actually review and weigh in on elementary language arts instructional materials here until the end of February).

We also enjoyed this personal essay about how the author nearly “ruined” her daughter’s talent show - with the message that in some cases, it is important to allow children to be bad at something in order for them to learn and grow.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

In case you missed it, we wrote a blog post earlier this week about UVA’s (very surprising!) EA decisions. If you, like us, are scratching your head at some of the decisions you’ve seen or heard about recently, this is worth a read!

Have you checked out our Summer 2022 Internships Database recently? If not, you might be missing out on some great opportunities! We update this page every week with local and virtual internships and college courses. Now is the time to get your plans set for this summer! If you are an employer with an internship or job opportunity for high school students, let us know - we would love to feature your posting on our page. 

Lastly, some of you hit 100 days of school this past week - whether you’re a senior getting ready to graduate, or a junior getting ready to be done with this difficult year, it’s all downhill from here! Well, except for the 10th graders… buckle up :)

Our first student from the HS Class of 2035 dressing up like a 100-year-old to celebrate 100 days of Junior Kindergarten this week! :)

Enjoy the weekend!

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Weekly Update: February 4

Happy February! We hope everyone is staying dry :)

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

UVA EARLY ACTION DECISIONS RELEASED TONIGHT

So many of our students are on the edge of their seats waiting for UVA early action decisions to come out tonight. Make sure to check those applicant portals this evening, and we’ll be here with information on statistics for this year as soon as those are released. Fingers crossed for all of our students waiting on UVA decisions!

GEORGETOWN LAW PLACES ILYA SHAPIRO ON LEAVE

Ilya Shapiro, who was expected to take over as the executive director at Georgetown Law’s Center for the Constitution this week, has instead been placed on administrative leave in response to his tweets about Biden’s commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court. Shapiro is on leave pending an investigation into whether the tweets violated Georgetown’s non-discrimination and anti-harrassment policies. 

TRINITY COLLEGE WORKSHOP WEDNESDAYS

Trinity’s College Decoded webinar series will walk students step by step through the college process, from the search to the essay to the campus visit. This is a great resource for juniors as they start on the active part of the college application process!

NATIONAL CATHOLIC COLLEGE ADMISSION ASSOCIATION SCHOLARSHIP

Are you a senior attending a Catholic college next year? Don’t forget about the opportunity to apply for a National CCAA scholarship! The application only takes a few minutes to complete, and winners are chosen by random drawing, so this is a scholarship application that takes relatively little work for a potential $1,000 award.

NATIONAL GIRL SCOUT ADVISORY BOARD

GSUSA is accepting applications for up to ten seats on the National Girl Scout Advisory Board. Girl Scout members of the advisory board work with teams in the National Office on projects aligned with the national strategy, including DEI/RJ, older girl engagement, research, marketing and more. The Girl Advisory Board makes recommendations, contributes to key initiatives and gains valuable experience and professional development. Girl Scouts who will be in grades 7 through 11 in Fall 2022 are eligible to apply. This is a great leadership opportunity for students to take advantage of this year! Applications are due by February 21.  

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Several interesting articles this week that focus on the cost of college - and how it can be a major deterrent to some students. This article from The Conversation explores why students drop out of community college, even when they are close to a degree. There are a variety of reasons, but the top three have to do with cost: tuition is too high, living expenses are too high, and running out of financial aid. 

And even small expenses can contribute to this strain. This Washington Post article opens with the story of a student who was forced to drop out of college because he couldn’t afford the $25 bus ticket to get to campus. Now, colleges and educational nonprofits are looking for ways to help students pay for transportation, lodging, textbooks, housing deposits, and other expenses that, while they may seem insignificant to typical middle-class students, can be prohibitive for some would-be college graduates. 

Cancel culture has been a salient conversation when it comes to college campuses for years now, but the conversation is all too often dominated by politicians, professors, administrators, and other adults. This Atlantic article explores self-censorship and the notion of cancel culture through the students’ point of view, and is an interesting look at how self-censorship is working on college campuses. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

If you read our earlier blog this week, you know that the Common App prompts for this cycle have been released! Our class of 2023 students can now begin their essay work, and will receive an email from us today with next steps. Now, we expect that most students will be able to wrap up those essays by spring break - and be ready to get started on their supplements!

As I mentioned on last week's blog, the Coalition Application announced an integration with Scoir and Slate. The Scoir counseling platform is used by students and counselors on the high school level, and Slate is a CRM used by colleges and universities to track applicant information (all that demonstrated interest data we talk about!). The webinar started with Gerry McCrory, the CEO of Scoir, who discussed the rationale for the integration. The whole thing sort of "clicked" for me when he explained that this will essentially be the TurboTax of the college admissions process. Love that analogy!

Here's how it will work: students and high school counselors will record student information in Scoir across the student's high school years, the way most already do anyway. When students begin their Coalition Application at the start of senior year, they will realize that they are 75% done already! They just have to answer the last few questions and then they can submit their applications. He explained that the goal is to make applying to college less transactional, and that they aren't building a new application, just a different way to apply.

In theory, I like the sound of this and I think that if it operates as planned, it does have the potential to simplify the process for some groups of students (primarily those applying to less-selective schools that have fewer school-specific questions and supplemental essays). However, given the experience I've had over the last five years or so with the Coalition Application, I do not have a high level of confidence in the organization's ability to carry this out as planned.

I also have another big concern - yes, this process makes it much EASIER for students. But sometimes the easier process is not what will get them the results they want. If there aren't any essays or short answers, and the application mostly contains information regarding demographics and academic data, how will colleges be able to differentiate applicants from one another? The process will become much less holistic... which will likely hurt the very students this partnership seeks to help. It's hard to say how this will turn out, but we will continue to keep everyone posted as we learn more information. 

Have a great weekend!

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Weekly Update: January 28

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

THE SAT GOES DIGITAL

Some of the biggest news this week has been around the SAT, which announced a major change this week - the SAT will go fully digital in 2024, and the length of the test will shorten to just two hours. 

If you are preparing to take the test now, this likely won’t have an effect on your planned test administrations, but ninth graders and younger students should be aware of the big changes to come!

This article is helpful as a clear breakdown of what we currently know and don’t know about this new SAT, and one of the SAT tutors that we work with also published a blog this week about how these changes could affect students’ preparation. They might even impact whether the students choose to take the ACT or SAT!

SCOIR ANNOUNCES COALITION INTEGRATION

While the Common App is fairly, well, common to our students, some of those who haven’t yet started the application process may have never heard of the Coalition for College Access. The Coalition Application operates much like the Common App (though we find it way more confusing!) in that it allows students to apply to multiple colleges through the same site. There are a few schools that will only accept the Coalition App, and others that take both, but in general the majority are Common App-exclusive and do not opt for a Coalition affiliation.

This week, the admissions software Scoir (which many high schools have begun to use as an alternative to Naviance) announced a partnership that will allow students to apply to Coalition schools directly through Scoir’s platform. The Scoir integration will take the place of the Coalition’s own application. 

This is a controversial move and we definitely have some concerns. Colleen will be attending a webinar next week to learn more about how this will impact students, and we will give you an update.

ON-CAMPUS VISITS ARE BACK

Many of our students are planning spring break trips to see schools, and we’re excited that some are open again for on-campus tours! If you’re trying to plan your college visits, check out this list from College Kickstart of schools offering on-campus tours. The list covers the top 50 national universities and the top 50 liberal arts colleges, so this is a great starting point for your spring break.

SUPREME COURT HEARS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CASE

The anti-affirmative action cases against Harvard and UNC’s admissions processes have made their way to the Supreme Court. This is the first time the Supreme Court will make a ruling on affirmative action since upholding the practice in 2016. Most universities do consider race as a factor in the admissions process, so if this practice is overturned, it will likely have far-reaching consequences in the admissions world. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case during its next term, beginning in October. 

FCPS UPDATES

FCPS’s live virtual career fair will run from February 14-February 17. This provides a great opportunity for students to learn about different careers and get connected to local professionals for networking opportunities. Don’t miss it!

And for parents and educators of special needs students, the Annual FCPS Special Education Conference is coming on March 26 - registration will open in March.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

After TJ removed a testing component as part of its admissions process, the school was hit with a lawsuit (which is still pending). But other highly selective, public technical high schools may soon be facing the same situation. This article explores the testing requirements for entry to schools like TJ, New York’s Brooklyn Tech, and San Francisco’s Lowell High School. This is a long read, but worth it for anyone interested in the nuances of how testing affects (or doesn’t) the diversity of the student body at these selective public schools. 

The general counsels for UVA and George Mason have been fired by the new Virginia attorney general. So far, we don’t know whether general counsels for other Virginia public colleges have also been let go. A statement from the attorney general’s office says that they hope to appoint new counsel that will be more in line with the goals of the office rather than the philosophy of the universities. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

It is hard to believe how fast this year has gone, but as we keep emphasizing - it is already time for high school students to start thinking about their summer plans! The process continues to be uncertain this year, so we recommend that students have a summer option they’d like to pursue if the pandemic allows, and then a backup option that would make them equally happy if Omicron necessitates that they choose a virtual experience this summer.

Still not sure of your summer plans? Check out our Summer 2022 Virtual Opportunities Database for some ideas! We will continue to add new in-person and virtual opportunities in the DC area and around the country on a weekly basis, so bookmark this page to stay up-to-date on all of your summer options. 

Enjoy the weekend - stay safe in the snow!! And good luck to all our first-year girls at UVA finishing up formal recruitment this weekend!!

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Weekly Update: January 21

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN’S MASK ORDER

Governor Youngkin issued an executive order this week that gives parents the final say on whether or not their children wear masks in schools, even if the schools have a mandatory mask policy in effect. Many school districts, including FCPS and Arlington County, are still requiring masks for now, and several parents have filed lawsuits in response to the order. The biggest impact we will see in our area will likely be at Catholic schools, as the Diocese of Arlington has opted to follow Governor Youngkin’s lead. With a child in one of those schools, I’m a Iittle nervous to see how this plays out…

MARYLAND UNIVERSITIES REQUIRE KN95 MASKS

Meanwhile, several colleges and universities in Maryland are requiring everyone on campus to wear high-grade masks. Johns Hopkins is requiring N95 or KN95 masks or two surgical masks, while UMD and Towson will require KN95 masks in classroom settings. 

“CALIFORNIA FOR ALL COLLEGE CORPS” LAUNCHES PILOT PROGRAM

Governor Newsom recently announced a pilot program that will cover $10,000 of tuition costs at 45 California colleges and universities, including UC Berkeley and UCLA, for students who complete at least 450 hours of community service. Students can volunteer for one year to serve in high-need areas like climate action, K-12 education, and COVID-19 recovery. 

BOSTON COLLEGE MERGER WITH PINE MANOR

During the pandemic, many smaller colleges faced financial hardships that required school closures, including Pine Manor college in Massachusetts. Luckily, the school merged with Boston College and is now launching the new two-year Messina College, with the goal of recruiting, retaining, and graduating underrepresented and first generation students. The institute will have housing for students on its campus, and BC’s president said that he hopes students graduating from Messina will be able to transfer to Boston College. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We are picking up now with law school admissions for juniors in college this spring - this is really the time to start preparing to apply to law school! One myth that many students come to us with is the idea that law schools only care about GPA and LSAT score. While GPA and LSAT score are very important in this process - in fact, we’d argue that these numbers are more important overall in the law school process than for undergraduate applications - they aren’t the only factors. This article covers six important factors in law school admissions, including life experience, work and volunteer experience, and motivation. 

Of course, these factors definitely play a role in admissions. However, it is important to consider them in the context of your application. If you are applying to law school straight from undergrad, your GPA is going to be a very important factor. If you are applying to start a second career after 10 years in the working world, your work experience is going to carry more weight! 

Most of our students and families are familiar with Naviance - the software that helps two-thirds of American high school students with their college research. This article explores how Naviance collects data on applicants and allows colleges and universities to advertise directly to a certain pool of students, basing targeted ads on criteria like geographic location and race. This is definitely something that students and parents should be aware of - and be careful to think critically about the schools that Naviance suggests to them! 

This article takes a deep dive into the establishment of Florida International University, from its origin on an abandoned airfield to its recent receipt of a $40 million donation from MacKenzie Scott. The school now has the number 6 ranking for social mobility among all universities in the country, and jumped 22 spots in the U.S. News rankings in 2022 compared to 2021. If you are interested in the rise of a newer college to the public eye, it is definitely worth looking into FIU. Especially if you want to say goodbye to this awful weather!

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We’ve used the space in the last few weeks to spotlight extracurricular and summer opportunities that students can use to improve their communities and their college applications. This week, we’re sharing an opportunity to become a student board member of McLean Community Center. There are two board slots available for teens who are residents of the MCC’s tax district (Small District 1A-Dranesville) and will be 15-17 years of age on May 21, 2022. One slot is for a student living within the Langley HS boundary, and one slot is for a student living within the McLean HS boundary, although neither student needs to actually attend the schools. Candidate petitions are due by March 11. For more information, check out the Community Center’s website. 

We have these opportunities in mind because we are spending a lot of time this month with our current juniors, discussing high school course selection, testing plans, extracurricular activities, teacher recommendations, and more! This is a perfect time to get started on the undergraduate or law school admissions process - for more information, book a Meet & Greet to chat with us. 

Lastly, we are also working on trying to reduce student stress and anxiety as much as possible. Just when everything felt like it was going back to normal again, the omicron variant came in with a fury and did a number on adolescent mental health. if you are noticing your student’s anxiety becoming an issue at home, you should check out this week’s parent workshop by the highly-sought-after Dr. Dan Shapiro. There are so many families who could benefit from some help in this area, and we think Dr. Dan is great!

You can register here for Thursday’s program.

Have a great weekend, and stay warm!

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Weekly Update: January 14

Happy Friday! A note that our office will be closed on Monday for MLK, Jr. Day. Have a great long weekend!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

TOP COLLEGES SUED FOR ANTITRUST VIOLATIONS

Sixteen top universities, including Yale, Georgetown, Penn, MIT, Brown, and Northwestern, are being sued for antitrust violations in response to the way that they work together when determining financial aid awards for students. The lawsuit was filed in Illinois this past weekend, and claims that over 170,000 students were overcharged in a financial aid system that amounts to price-fixing by the colleges. 

Though the schools do coordinate their financial aid processes, this system has been exempt from antitrust laws because all of the schools named in the lawsuit are need-blind, so financial need is not considered a factor in their admissions processes. But the lawsuit casts doubt on whether these universities truly do not consider need as an admissions factor. 

This is why we never recommend “applying just to apply” if you already know you won’t qualify for need-based financial aid! For more about this, check out our blog post on the FAFSA.

GO DAWGS!

On Monday night, the University of Georgia beat Alabama in the national football championship. This is the first title for Georgia since 1980. UGA’s campus as well as the city of Atlanta and other areas around Georgia have been celebrating the historic win!

ENROLLMENT CONTINUES TO DROP

This feels like a groundhog-day story at this point, but college enrollment nationwide continued to drop this fall, despite vaccine availability. The decline equals over a million students in the workforce rather than in the classroom, which we can expect to have an impact on the US economy moving forward, especially if this trend continues beyond the pandemic years.

UVA PROVOST BECOMES PENN’S NEXT PRESIDENT

Liz Magill, the Provost at UVA, has been selected as the next president of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2019, Magill became the first female provost at UVA. Magill will begin her new role at Penn on July 1. Ian Baucom, the current Dean of Arts & Sciences, will become UVA’s new provost. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

This week’s biggest story is that of Mackenzie Fierceton, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. Fierceton was admitted to Penn as an undergraduate, first-generation student - she wrote her senior thesis based on her time in foster care. After Fierceton was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, however, her story began to fall apart. 

An anonymous informant emailed Penn’s administration to reveal that Mackenzie grew up in an affluent suburb, with her mother, who was a college graduate. The email, sent to both Penn and the Rhodes Trust, included images of Mackenzie from her high school yearbook - skydiving, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting. Both organizations began extensive investigations into her story. Ultimately, Fierceton withdrew from the Rhodes scholarship. Penn is also withholding her diploma until their investigation is complete. 

In December, Mackenzie Fierceton filed a lawsuit against Penn for their handling of her case, and particularly the “unjust” withholding of her degree. The case also raises issues of how victims of child abuse are treated, and whether her essays and descriptions of her childhood are reflective of what she experienced. 

At the center of the controversy was Fierceton’s undergraduate admissions essay, detailing the severe child abuse that landed her in the foster care system. These events have brought to the surface the pressure that some students feel to write about trauma as the topic for an engaging college essay. But as we tell our students every year, you don’t need to have experienced hardship to write an engaging essay - and pretending you did can clearly backfire! Our Wow Writing Workshop process helps students tell THEIR stories in a clear, interesting, and exciting way.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

In our midweek blog this week, we covered your questions about summer opportunities. And yes, you should begin thinking about summer opportunities now! A couple that stood out to us this week were Vanderbilt’s Programs for Talented Youth, which serve students in grades 1-12. Applications are open now for the university’s in-person residential Summer Academy for 7-12th graders, as well as the Virtual Research Experience. 

If you don’t have the money to spend this summer on an impressive-sounding college program, don’t worry! There are plenty of free or even paid opportunities to specialize and develop your niche as an applicant. We’re excited about the course options available through FCPS’s High School Academies, which give the opportunity to specialize in a variety of areas for all FCPS students!

That’s it for today - enjoy the long weekend!

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Weekly Update: January 7

We hope you all had a fun and restful break, and we’re excited to be back with our first weekly update of 2022!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

FCPS CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW

An FCPS snow day turned into a snow week as students in Fairfax County, Arlington County, and other local districts had an entire extra week of break due to the weather. We hope that our students enjoyed the extra week off and were able to catch up on some rest before heading back to the classroom next week!

CHICAGO SCHOOLS CLOSE  

In Chicago, it isn’t snow that is keeping the schools closed. Schools have now been closed for three days due to the standoff between the teachers’ union and city officials. Officials want the school year to proceed in person, while the teachers’ union is calling for more COVID-19 precautions and more widely available testing. As of this posting, there is no sign of a resolution to the difficulties, and we expect to see schools continue to be closed next week, leaving some families scrambling to find childcare. 

HBCU CAMPUSES TARGETED WITH BOMB THREATS

Howard and Spelman were two of the eight HBCUs that received bomb threats on Tuesday. The FBI and local police investigated the threats and found no bombs, but the targeted threats caused some anxiety for students and staff on campus. Howard students and staff reported that as one of two HBCUs in DC, they feel particularly vulnerable to these types of threats. 

NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday night’s championship game between the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia will be the first game in what George Will calls the “name-image-likeness era.” The players in this game will be the first to benefit from the NCAA’s new NIL regulations that allow student-athletes to profit off of the use of their name, image, or likeness - a reversal of the NCAA’s strong commitment to not paying amateur players.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Jeff Selingo’s latest newsletter offers some ideas on how to make a big campus feel small. What they all have in common is building community. Having a “cohort” on campus is important, whether something formal like a sports team or club or just a group of peers. But building relationships with faculty mentors is also essential, and forced “mentorship” does not have nearly the same positive effect as genuine relationship-building. This was especially interesting to read during the pandemic, as online learning has made these types of connections more difficult to create for college students. 

A couple articles from The Atlantic this week underline this sentiment: that perhaps school closures cause more harm than good, at both the college and K-12 levels. Between struggles with mental health and the learning loss that comes from remote learning, both articles outline the risks that continued school closures pose to students.  

This was an interesting article about the benefits and drawbacks of taking dual enrollment classes during high school. If you are considering a dual enrollment class, we’d encourage you to think about it in the context of what is available at your high school. If you have maxed out your high school’s offerings, particularly in core subjects like math and foreign language, dual enrollment courses could be great options. However, as the article says, they aren’t necessarily a foolproof way to obtain college credits. Just note that most of this information applies to dual enrollment college courses that are taught at community colleges, rather than “college-level” coursework in high school such as AP and IB. 

Wondering what’s going on in your high school teacher’s brain during a typical school day? A high school English teacher sums it up for the Washington Post.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

As we check in with our 10th and 11th grade students in the next few weeks, a big part of our conversations is selecting summer plans. It seems early, but many summer program applications are open right now! If you are looking for enrichment opportunities this summer or even this spring, take a look at our summer opportunities database, updated today. One new opportunity we’re sharing is paid work as a referee for the Great Falls Reston Soccer Club - a way to earn some extra money and round out an activities list for an athlete who is an aspiring education, kinesiology, or sports psychology major! 

We have had a lot to catch up on after the break, and decisions keep coming in for our Class of 2022 students. We are so proud!! We are also working on initial research and application materials with the Class of 2023. To learn more about how we can help your student navigate this coming admissions cycle, book a Meet & Greet.

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Weekly Update: December 3

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

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

NC STATE ENGINEERING INCREASES ENROLLMENT

Good news for engineering applicants! NC State is planning to add 2,000 more undergraduate students to its engineering program over the next five years. The College of Engineering at NC State offers sixteen majors, including computer science. Thanks to a state initiative called “Engineering North Carolina’s future,” the school will receive $20 million to hire new faculty and $30 million to upgrade facilities. 

UGA RELEASES EARLY APPLICATION DATA

Congrats to our students who received early acceptances from UGA last week! It was a competitive cycle, with applications up 3% over last year despite the fact that the Georgia system was one of only a handful in the country that required test scores this cycle. 8,900 students were accepted, 9,300 were deferred, and 2,000 were denied. If you received a defer decision from UGA, let us know ASAP so we can help you strategize for next steps. The admissions office notes that “We want to be able to have a more in-depth review of you, including short essays, activities, recommendations, etc.” - so send those requested materials!

CORNELL PRECOLLEGE WINTER COURSES

If you are looking to add to your activities list and take an enrichment course but don’t have the time to spend on it during the summer, Cornell’s Precollege Program has you covered! This is a really great program that we recommend to our clients, and applications are open now for winter courses that run January 3-21. Students can apply here by December 6 (or book an appointment to work on this or any other enrichment opportunity applications!). If you’re not already a current client, use this link instead.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We all know that students have been through a lot this year. And while most students are now back in school, they may still struggle to adjust to in-person learning after so much time away. This article provides some helpful guidance for parents who want to help their students make the adjustment back to in-person school. In addition to learning loss, students are struggling to develop age-appropriate social skills after being out of school for so long (just think - the last time seventh grade students had a completely normal school year was fourth grade!). 

But the article encourages parents to focus on support, rather than solutions. I know this is tough - after all, as parents, we want to be able to solve problems for our kids! But it is even more important for them to know that we are in their corner and supporting them during a difficult time. 

If you are one of the students who has already received an ED acceptance and knows where you are headed next year, you might be excited to share your plans with family over the holidays! But for most students, hearing “What are your plans for next year?” at every holiday gathering can cause a lot of stress. If that’s you, check out this article for tips on how to deal with this stress-inducing question. 

We’ve written before on the blog about some of the graduate degrees that don’t offer a return on investment - remember those masters students in film at Columbia? Even so, it is still generally accepted that professional degrees, like JDs and MDs, will offer students the opportunity to earn significantly higher salaries.

Surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal found that this is not always the case anymore - even professional degrees in essential fields like dentistry and veterinary medicine are leaving students with high debt that is not relieved by high salaries. The debt is bad news, particularly for medical fields like chiropractic medicine and optometry where practitioners are carrying a lot of debt. 

Everyone in higher ed right now is wondering about the impact of the omicron variant on campuses this spring. While things will certainly change, this Slate piece on the ways that various top schools handled Covid this fall is worth a read. Keep in mind, though - this is written by a student at Yale, and that perspective shines through. I got a laugh at the idea that by limiting the size of on-campus parties, Wash U “forced drunk college students” to go to bars with unvaccinated people from Missouri and therefore “exposed [the students] to higher chances of getting COVID.” I guess that’s one way to think about it… 🤷‍♀️

Finally, an interesting article in New York Magazine this week explored the possibility of “socializing” college sports. We’re not sure we agree with the idea, but it is interesting to explore, particularly the author’s assertion that colleges put caps on coaching salaries, arguing:

“A system like that would mean college football and basketball would no longer be able to compete for coaching talent with the pros. It would instead have to draw from coaches who just want to mentor college students. Would that be worse?”

This is worth considering particularly in light of the news about Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly, who reportedly received compensation packages in the range of $100 million to coach football at USC and LSU, respectively. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

November 30 was the deadline for the UC and CSU system applications - and yes, the application sites crashed. Luckily for applicants, the systems extended the deadline until midnight yesterday - but they had been glitching for quite a while in advance, so even with the deadline, students lost valuable time to work on their applications.

This goes to show that YES, crashes happen! In fact, this kind of issue happens on application websites all the time - just one reason why we encourage all of our students to submit their applications as early as possible (at least two weeks before the deadline!). In case you are wondering, none of our students were impacted - because they all submitted their apps early!

Not surprisingly, Common App is experiencing a similar issue this week - the image below was posted online just before the 12/1 midnight deadline.

Hard to believe it is already December, but we’ve been working this week on holiday cards for all of our amazing clients - we are so grateful for you!!

Plus, some surprises in the works for our very hard-working colleagues in local school counseling offices ;) We love partnering with you to help students achieve their dreams!

Enjoy the weekend!

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Weekly Update: November 19

We can’t believe we’re already more than halfway through November - hope everyone stayed warm this week!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

GEORGETOWN LAW RECEIVES APPLICATION INCREASE

As we’ve mentioned before, we expected the COVID-19 pandemic to lead to more students attending graduate school. And right in our backyard is a great metric - Georgetown Law receives more applications than any other law school in the country. And for Fall 2021, applications went WAY up - 41%! As a result, the admit rate dropped from 21% to just 12% last cycle. This is reflective of an increase in law school applications overall, which were up 26% around the country. 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHANGES GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Soon, students in Montgomery County Public Schools will have to take 0.5 fewer elective and PE credits - bringing the total number of required credits down to 22.5, just half a credit above the state required 22 credits to graduate. PE teachers are opposing the change, arguing that with the mental health implications of COVID-19, physical activity is more important for students than ever. 

CDC INVESTIGATES FLU SPREAD AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

In just over a month, over 500 cases of the flu have been diagnosed at the University of Michigan - an extreme level of spread. Due to the unusual size of the outbreak, the CDC has stepped in to provide support and evaluate vaccine uptake. The university is urging as many students as possible to get their flu vaccines, especially before traveling home for Thanksgiving break and potentially increasing the spread. 

HOWARD PROTESTS COME TO AN END

We’ve been covering the ongoing student protests at Howard University, and now, a month after the student occupation of the Blackburn Center began, the students have reached an agreement with the school administration. The changes promised by the administration include a revision of the school’s sexual assault policy, a review of campus policing, and a food bank for students on campus. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Colleges around the country have been dealing with worsening mental health of students, an issue that the pandemic has brought to the forefront. A Fairfax County student, now a junior at UNC, was an integral part of developing the student response to the two suicides at UNC earlier this year. Ethan Phillips was helping to implement “postvention” strategies, to help avoid “suicide contagion” in the wake of campus suicides. This article covers some of the essential steps of postvention, and how students and schools can support their communities after tragedies. 

We mentioned the creation of the University of Austin last week - a new school spearheaded by conservative founders who hope to change the way that colleges admit students and champion free speech on campus. The Washington Post published an op-ed this week that dives into how the school will function. Notable changes include the idea of an entrance exam graded by professors in lieu of a traditional admissions process, which the university’s founders say will increase the role of merit in college admissions. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Now that many of the early deadlines have passed, we are keeping our fingers crossed and our eyes on the list of decision release dates for our class of 2022 students. This time last year, UGA and Tulane decisions were rolling out! While we’re not sure we’ll see such early releases this year, students should expect to start receiving these notifications in early to mid-December - so keep an eye on your email! 

In the meantime, we’ve enjoyed working with our class of 2023 students to start their college lists and plan their research for the holiday breaks (we’ve had some eager class of 2024 students planning visits as well!). This is a great time to spend looking at colleges, so take advantage of it! If you or your student are feeling overwhelmed by putting together a list and completing research, book a Meet & Greet to hear more about how we can help set you up for success over the holiday break. 

Our office will be closed next Thursday - wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! 

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Weekly Update: November 12

Good luck to everyone submitting in advance of the November 15 early deadline on Monday!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

EARLY APPLICATION NOTIFICATION DATES

College Kickstart has released their list of notification dates for early decision and early action applications. If you submitted an early application, you may want to bookmark this page - they keep it updated regularly with statements from the schools, as well as information on last year’s release dates. Keeping our fingers crossed for those of you expecting mid-December decisions!

UNIVERSITY OF AUSTIN ESTABLISHED

No, not UT Austin - a group of scholars and activists have set the plans for a new college, the University of Austin, which they say will be dedicated to free speech. A soft opening is planned for the new institution next summer with a non-credit discussion course on censorship at institutions of higher education. And this is no online-only university - the plans allow for in-person classes and a campus in Austin. Still, the university aims to reduce tuition costs below the national average. 

But the University of Austin isn’t the only new college opening even as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on older institutions. Some of these new colleges, like the Roux Institute in Portland, Maine, focus on in-demand disciplines like computer science and technology. Others are aiming to serve underrepresented populations in traditional colleges, or to keep costs down by avoiding the traditional structures of higher education. 

JILL BIDEN KICKS OFF VACCINE CAMPAIGN IN MCLEAN

The first lady and the surgeon general visited Franklin Sherman Elementary School to offer a message to students and parents at the school’s vaccine clinic. So far, over one million children have received the COVID-19 vaccine! 

LOUDOUN COUNTY HIRES FIRM TO INVESTIGATE SEXUAL ASSAULT

Two weeks ago, we wrote about the student walkouts at Loudoun County schools in protest against the school’s handling of sexual assault cases. Now, the school system has hired a firm to provide an independent review of their response to the situation. We will see whether the review leads to any changes in how these events are handled in the future.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We’ve covered the change in TJ’s admissions policy on the blog before, and this article from NoVA magazine dives deep into the two sides of the argument when it comes to admission. The Coalition for TJ argues that the new admission policy discriminates against Asian American students, and also that it could lower academic standards and lead to deserving students being denied admission. On the other side, the TJ Alumni Action Group believes that broadening the admissions pool will combat inequity and a lack of diversity at the school. And while this issue is salient to those of us in Northern Virginia, it may also set an example for other elite schools around the country. 

Even as new colleges are being created, many liberal arts colleges continue to suffer in the wake of COVID-19 changes. This article explores whether the liberal arts model can survive - especially in a world that rewards research and innovation over teaching, discussion, breadth of knowledge, and other key attributes of the liberal arts. But all hope is not lost - the article lists several ways that liberal arts colleges could innovate in order to stay relevant post-pandemic and beyond. 

Finally, as schools continue to be the focus of political battles, school board members have been facing threats. The threats come as a result of everything from objections about the way children are taught about race in the classroom to COVID-19 restrictions like mask-wearing. While clashes between parents and school board members are not new, the escalation of threats of violence demonstrates just how contentious school-related issues have become.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We are so excited that Staci has started full time with our team this week! Our students already know and love Staci from all of their essay work, and we are thrilled that she will be able to continue working with our students and helping them to achieve those “17-year-old perfect” essays! Keep an eye out for more from Staci on the blog next week :) 

Right now, our juniors are really focused on the college search process, and we are so excited to get their feedback! It really is like a puzzle, finding a great list for each individual student, and so much fun to hear about the schools that our students feel would be a perfect fit. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the choices or unsure how to research schools, book a Meet & Greet to learn more about how we can help!

Enjoy the weekend!

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Academic Planning for Middle School Students Part II: Public or Private High School?

A few weeks ago, we published a post about academic planning for middle school students, where we delved into course selection for your middle schooler, and how the courses they take in middle school may affect what is available to them at their high school. 

This week, we are going to focus on public vs. private high schools. Many eighth graders may be in the process of completing those private high school applications, and plenty of parents are wondering - is it worth the time and money?

The answer is… yes and no. Now, we know that may not be exactly what you want to hear, but the truth is that this is a very personal decision, and your ultimate choice will depend on what works for your individual student and family. However, we hope that these considerations can shed some light on the factors at play!

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Will a public or a private high school help my student more during the college process?

The fact is, top private schools tend to send a larger percentage of their students to highly selective colleges than public schools. But it is important to remember that private school applicants are a self-selecting pool - often more affluent or more ambitious (or both!) than the pool of students at public schools. So whether this is the case because private schools prepare students better for college, or simply because the students who attend private schools are also more likely to attend a certain sub-set of colleges, we can’t say for sure. 

However, private schools do typically offer smaller class sizes and extracurricular activities that enable students to get to know their teachers and school counselors better. This often results in more personalized attention than one would have at a public school where teachers and counselors have many more students to support. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, though, so make sure you do your research when it comes to school selection!

So, you’re saying my child will have less support at a public school?

Maybe. Private schools often have smaller class sizes, as we mentioned, and some have certain religious and social supports in place that are certainly not available at a typical public school. These are all great reasons to look to a private school education for your child. 

However, if your child has a diagnosed learning difference that requires more extensive support, your best option may actually be a public school. Accessibility is more carefully monitored and provided at public schools, which usually have more structures in place to support students with learning differences. 

Where will my child have better teachers?

Again, it depends. As we said above, students at private schools often have the opportunity to bond more with their teachers, and teachers have smaller classes to manage and can give more individual attention to each student. However, public school teachers are required to have a teaching credential, while private school teachers are not. Are there good and bad teachers at all high schools? Definitely. But at a public school, you know that every teacher has a teaching credential. 

My student is an academic high-flier. Won’t she do better at a private school?

We’ll say it again - maybe. Some students who are academically successful LOVE to be in an environment with other smart kids. Seeing other people around them working hard pushes them to perform to their max academic potential - they thrive on that friendly competition. 

Other students like to be the smartest kid in the room, and would much rather be the big fish in the small pond of their public high school than be surrounded by other (maybe more!) successful students at a selective private school. Only you and your student know their personality best and have a sense of which which environment is going to help them succeed.

Another factor to consider is that private schools are sometimes limited in the high-level classes they can offer. Public high schools often have a larger variety of courses, and almost always offer more specialized options for students who want to pursue engineering, entrepreneurship, or another particular academic pathway in high school. And certain school systems go way beyond that - did you know that FCPS offers options ranging from veterinary science to fashion marketing (held at a mall - how cool is that!). This chance to specialize can definitely be helpful in the college application process!

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The bottom line is: do your research. The above are just some of the things you’ll want to consider, but the available curriculum and level of support for students varies from school to school. Look up the course progression and opportunities available at your local public high school, so you can directly compare with any private schools you are considering. 

You may also want to consider an important factor we haven’t mentioned here: social influence. This is heavily specific to each individual school community and less about whether the school happens to be private or public. For example, public schools aren’t the only ones with drug problems - certain private schools struggle with substance abuse much more than their public school counterparts!

So as you weigh all of the options, don’t forget to carefully examine the culture of every school on your list to try to get a better sense of what your student’s peer group will look like. This is often the single most important factor that will influence your student’s choices relating to risky and undesirable adolescent behavior.

If you want more help in the high school search, book an 8th grade strategy session with us and we’d love to talk more about you and your family’s goals. And if you are interested in a presentation about academic planning for middle schoolers for your club or group, email Shannon to get on our calendar!

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Weekly Update: November 5

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

ELECTION DAY IMPACTS

The results of this week's elections will definitely have an impact on the local educational landscape. First, the 2021 School Bond Referendum was passed, providing Fairfax County Public Schools with an additional 360 million dollars to fund a number of projects. One of the most controversial of these projects is the acquisition of land for the new "Western High School" that may impact the boundary lines for Langley HS. The good news for the Langley-zoned families reading this blog is that your children will likely not be impacted, even if the Langley boundaries change - we're looking at a solid decade before the high school would open.

On the other hand, we'll likely see the impacts of the gubernatorial election very soon, as Youngkin's commitment to education reform played a major role in his win. NBC4 put together an easy reference list of the changes we can expect to see.

NEW COLLEGE COMPARISON TOOL

The Gates Foundation released a new tool, called the Equitable Value Explorer, which will allow users to compare colleges on factors such as the percentage of students who receive Pell Grants, cumulative net price, completion rate, and even percentage of STEM majors. While the tool still has some gaps, the foundation hopes that it will enable students to make better choices about where to attend colleges - and help college leaders and administrators strive for more equity at their institutions. 

JMU LEAVES THE COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

JMU is moving up to the Sun Belt, leaving the CAA conference. JMU is one of the league’s founding members, and is the latest school to leave for a higher-level conference. Unfortunately, the CAA has ruled that JMU’s athletes will not be able to compete in conference championships this year as a result of the change. This article explores the impact that decision will have on student-athletes who have been working hard to compete. 

UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN, WAGES UP FOR NEW GRADS

The Fed released new data today on the labor market for recent college graduates. The unemployment rate for new grads fell to 5.4% in September and wages are up too. This is great news in our office, because it means less competition with grad school applications!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We wrote in a recent blog about registering for college courses (and how college experience coaching can help!), but what about law school? This article contains some advice from law school professors at the University of Virginia on which courses students should take - a great read for any future lawyers out there!

Not a ton of great articles this week (maybe everyone was focused on Election Day!)… stay tuned for more next Friday!

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

November 1 deadlines may have passed, but things are still busy over here! We are focusing on wrapping up applications for our late-start seniors, as well as law school and MBA applications. We’re also getting started on military academy applications (remember to start these early!) and brainstorming college lists with our class of 2023 juniors.

Finally, we are continuing to finalize course selection and scholarship applications with our college experience coaching students. UVa freshmen enrolled in spring courses today and it was like the Hunger Games of course registration... even the fourth and fifth backup choices were full for some students! If ever log into SIS again, it will be too soon! But everyone has a solid spring semester planned now - phew! One of these days we will take a vacation ;)

Have a great weekend!

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Weekly Update: October 29

Happy Halloween!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

LORI LOUGHLIN PAYS TUITION FOR TWO COLLEGE STUDENTS

After being released from prison for her role in the Varsity Blues scandal, Lori Loughlin paid more than $500,000 in tuition for two college students. There haven’t been any details released about the students yet, but the amount is roughly the same as Loughlin and her husband paid to have their daughters admitted to USC as recruits for the crew team. 

HOWARD’S PRESIDENT RESPONDS TO STUDENT PROTESTS

As the student sit-in at Howard University’s student center entered its third week this week, the president of the university released a letter calling for an end to the “occupation” of the Blackburn center. The president called the sit-in a health and safety risk that impeded essential student services on campus. Students insist that they will continue to occupy the center until their demands are met for improved housing on campus.

SCHOOL CURRICULA AT THE CENTER OF VA GOVERNOR’S RACE

As election day for the Virginia governor’s race draws closer, the issue of public school curricula has become central to the campaign. After Youngkin’s campaign released an ad this week featuring a mother who fought for parents’ rights to veto certain books after her son read Toni Morrison’s Beloved in his AP English class, parents’ rights and curriculum decisions have become notable issues for both candidates. 

STUDENTS HOLD WALKOUTS AT LOUDOUN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

On Tuesday, students at several Loudoun County schools held ten-minute walkouts on Tuesday to protest the schools’ handling of sexual assault cases. The walkouts were a response to two incidents allegedly perpetrated by the same student at two different high schools, one in May and one in October. Parents and students are demanding more transparency from the school district when it comes to sexual assault cases.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

A controversial piece in The Atlantic explored Amherst’s decision to end legacy admissions, and the “fairness” of college admissions. The author doesn’t believe that ending legacy admissions will suddenly make the process fair for under-served populations, but it’s a great start, he feels. “Amherst took one step closer to it this week. And for that, I’m happy to light a sparkler.”

One note about this article and legacy admissions in general: I personally believe that the general public has a TON of misconceptions about the impact of being a legacy candidate. Whether you’re for it or against it, it’s important to recognize that the student must already be qualified for legacy status to make a difference. This is just fact.

So nobody’s getting into a school because of legacy status if they aren’t qualified, I promise. To the dismay of their parents, they are rejected just like everybody else that’s not qualified! Development legacy cases are different, but those kids are being admitted because of the development part, not the legacy part. Where legacy can make a big difference, though, is when it comes to narrowing down a pool of highly qualified applicants. Especially when it comes to those who choose to apply to the school through a binding Early Decision plan.

Speaking of qualified applicants… according to a Washington Post poll, about half of high school students said the pandemic had a negative impact on their academics. That is by far the largest group, with a third of students saying that there was no impact, and ⅙ who felt that the pandemic actually improved their academics. Some of the positive impacts that students saw were a closer relationship with their parents, as well as less stress and a less intense workload than during in-person classes. 

Undergraduate college enrollment is still down due to COVID-19, particularly when it comes to low income students or non-traditional students with children and families. Unfortunately, it seems like last year’s huge decline in enrollment wasn’t just a blip - and we may soon be faced with a large population of students who did not complete their college degrees. Especially now that the labor market is strong and wages are going up, it is likely that low income students may choose to enter the workforce rather than go to college. 

In the past two years of the pandemic, college enrollment has fallen a total of 6.5% - the largest two-year decrease in fifty years. But the decline is not spread equally - selective schools are bouncing back, while community colleges are continuing to see declining enrollment.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

It’s that time of year again - lots of speaking engagements! Shannon had the opportunity yesterday to speak at a College Selection webinar through the office of the DC Student Loan Ombudsman. The Ombudsman’s role is to help make higher education available and affordable for all DC residents, and Shannon was really excited to participate and talk to students about what they should consider when selecting a college, essay preparation, and application timelines. And timehop reminded me that I spoke at a junior parent night at Marshall HS two years ago today!

The shift to online events has presented a challenge for a lot of organizations during COVID-19, but it’s been almost 20 months and we’re virtual presentation pros at this point! From moms’ groups, to school-sponsored presentations, to community and religious organizations, to sports teams - we’ve done it all! If you have a group whose members could benefit from our (free!) guidance, please reach out and we’ll do our best to fit you into our calendar for the upcoming year. 

I also wanted to mention that the office of the Student Loan Ombudsman is an excellent resource for DC families with questions about paying for college. College Access Fairfax provides resources for Nova families as well - if you need help with the FAFSA, CSS profile, or other financial aid issues, I really recommend attending one of their free virtual seminars. These events are open to anyone and can be really helpful in figuring out financial aid questions. 

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our seniors who have submitted their early applications! We are so proud of all of you. Enjoy the Halloween weekend!

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Academic Planning for Middle School Students

We’ve been hearing the question a lot lately: “How soon is too soon for my child to begin thinking about the college process? He’s only a seventh grader, does he really have to worry about this right now?”

The answer: yes and no. Your seventh grader certainly does not need to start drafting a Common Application essay or begin taking AP exams quite yet! But with just a bit of thought toward the end of middle school, you can help set your student up for success later on - during the active phase of the college process.

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Believe it or not, middle school coursework often sets the stage for high school. Take a look at the basic progression:

As noted, this student would not be able to take high school Calculus if she were to continue on this path - which may be a dealbreaker for a student applying to an engineering or other STEM program. And that student might not even realize that her seventh grade math course is closing such a big door!

Compare that progression to this very advanced progression that would allow a student to take higher-level high school math courses:

This progression can differ from school to school, so talk to your student’s counselor about their individual school’s progression and whether middle school credits count toward the high school transcript.

If at all possible, we recommend that all middle school students plan to take Algebra I and at least one year of a foreign language. If your student does well in Spanish I and Algebra I in middle school, he will be able to continue with a more challenging high school progression.

But if your student doesn’t do well, there is no harm done - he will just retake Algebra I in high school and the previous grade will likely not appear on the transcript! So working to get that head start in middle school course planning can really only benefit most students, with the caveat that this can depend on the school system.

In the end, colleges are far more concerned that students are challenging themselves during high school - so if taking Algebra I in the eighth grade is going to mean an extremely stressful year for you and your student, it is better to wait!

Remember: colleges won’t know which types of opportunities students had in middle school, but they will want to see students who choose the most challenging classes in their progression once high school begins (and of course, students who excel in those courses!). 

The bottom line is that your student should take the most rigorous curriculum available to them in high school.

Their placement at the start is relevant, but it doesn’t matter nearly as much as it matters to take advantage of everything their high school offers!

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Still have questions about middle school course planning? Book a strategy session with us and we can help set your student up for success, in high school and beyond!

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Weekly Update: May 21

I think that today is the first graduation for a few of our seniors and we have a whole bunch following next week and the week after! Such a perfect day for a graduation and I hope that the sunshine holds for everyone else :)

June 1, 2003 - A very IMPERFECT day for a graduation but a happy one nonetheless :)

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

WAITLIST MOVEMENT THIS CYCLE

If you have been placed on a waitlist this cycle, make sure to bookmark College Kickstart’s Class of 2025 Waitlist Statistics. They keep the page updated with 2020 statistics at a long list of schools, as well as the notification dates by which students should expect to hear about waitlist movement. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for all of you!  

FCPS OFFERS COVID-19 VACCINES

If you are a student over 12 who has not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, take note of the upcoming vaccinations at four different high school locations. FCPS is also offering transportation from the students’ base schools to the vaccination sites. 

DIFFICULTY WITH COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY VACCINE PLANS

On the college end, there’s not much consistency between the vaccine mandates from school to school - and with all of the various exemptions, rules, and laws involved, it’s no surprise that people are confused. If you are heading off to college this fall, make absolutely sure that you know what’s required of you from a vaccination standpoint so that there are no unhappy surprises during freshman orientation!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Even with many students getting vaccinated over the summer, colleges and universities are still looking for ways to manage the virus on campus. At Colorado Mesa University, a comprehensive app tracking program developed in conjunction with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has helped the school to track and control COVID-19 outbreaks. Hopefully the sophisticated system in place at Colorado Mesa will become accessible to more schools, who can help to manage the coronavirus on campus when students return in the fall. 

The debate about how colleges should allocate their resources has been particularly salient in light of COVID-19, when even highly selective colleges have been struggling with budget deficits. This article argues that colleges should focus more on retention of current students than on recruitment. There is an inherent tension in higher education between the institutions’ need to make money and the desire to serve low-income and underserved student populations who can’t afford to pay full tuition. The article argues that serving the students who are already on campus, rather than working to recruit more full-pay students, would actually help to increase the institution’s bottom line by attracting more gifts from donors in support of their mission. By delivering a high-quality education to current students, schools won’t need to pay large amounts of money for the purposes of recruitment. Seems like a win-win for everyone!

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

The hot weather lately definitely reminds us that summer is coming! We are still adding to our Summer Opportunities Database every week. Most recently, we featured Fairfax County’s Teen Police Academy and Future Women Leaders in Law Enforcement, both week-long camps for teenagers interested in careers in policing, law enforcement, public policy, or criminal justice. Read more about these and other camps in the Other Educational Opportunities section of the database!

We’ve been hearing from a lot of students and families this cycle that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of gaps in their education - particularly when it comes to writing. In response, we added small group writing instruction, 1:1 writing tutoring, and academic coaching to our offerings this past school year - all of which were very successful!

Please take the time to fill out this survey to let us know whether you might be interested in this offering. Whether you want to be prepared for a first-year writing seminar in college, gear up for AP Language or Literature classes next year, or get a head start on college essays, Staci and our other coaches will help you get there!

We are also working hard in our office on a little gift for our seniors - we don’t want to ruin the surprise, but we did post a sneak peek on Instagram:

And then lastly I was asked by a professional organization to create tutorials for my fellow educational consultants on time tracking and project management - two areas in which our practice excels! I finished those this week, and they were a lot of fun to make! We are really proud of all of the systems and processes we use to make our client experience as seamless as possible :)

Have a great weekend, stay cool and AVOID THE CICADAS!! :)

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Weekly Update: May 14

Good luck to all the juniors and seniors taking AP exams this month! We’re keeping our fingers crossed for you.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL MERIT COMMENDED STUDENT CUTOFF RELEASED

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the new Commended Student cutoff this year - 207. The score is two marks points than last year, making it the lowest cutoff in a decade. An estimated one quarter or more of students were not able to take the PSAT last year, which may have contributed to the drop. 

We will have to wait on the Semifinalist cutoffs, which are determined by the individual state scores rather than national scores, so we may see a big variety of cutoffs depending on how available the test was to students in each state. Compass Prep predicts a cutoff in the 218 - 223 range in Virginia - we will likely see the actual numbers leaked once schools are notified in late August. 

SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS ARE COMING

Our first juniors have finished up their Common App essays and are starting to work on supplemental essays. Our unique process helps students prepare information that they can use across multiple essays, saving them a lot of time and energy once the specific prompts are released! 

Some schools have already released their prompts for 2021-2022, announcing that their prompts will remain the same. The UC system and the University of Miami, in particular, have both already announced that their prompts will not change from the 2020-2021 choices. Don’t be tempted to make sweeping generalizations about other schools based on this news, though! We always remind our students that they should ALWAYS wait to begin a specific essay until the school confirms its use, whether it’s a change or a continuation.

CHEATING SCANDAL AT DARTMOUTH MEDICAL SCHOOL

We know already that cheating has increased at all educational levels due to the online environment this school year. But it is particularly frightening when those cheating charges come from adult students who will soon have a lot of important responsibility - like medical students at Dartmouth! The accusations leveled against 17 students have prompted protests from students and faculty on campus who feel that those students were unfairly treated, especially given the unique challenges that they faced while testing remotely. The controversy centers on the fact that the school used the online Canvas system to retroactively track student’s computer activity during the tests, what some see as an unacceptable level of surveillance. 

Many different high schools and colleges also use Canvas or similar systems that enable this type of tracking, so this story should also serve as a warning to all students to avoid even the appearance of misconduct while testing or completing assignments online.

FCPS GRADING OPTIONS UPDATE

FCPS has extended the deadline for high school and middle school students to request to have a class switched to pass/fail rather than a letter grade. Seniors will need to designate a class as pass/fail by May 17, while all other students will have until June 1 to make this decision. If you are a current client wondering how to report your grades, let us know and we are happy to help!

GEORGIA PUBLICS REQUIRE TEST SCORES

Public universities in Florida received a lot of pushback this past cycle for being the only state university system besides Wyoming to require test scores from students. However, now that young people are able to receive vaccines and things are slowly returning to normal, more state schools may follow suit. The University System of Georgia announced this week that test scores will be required for applicants in the class of 2022. They also announced that USG campuses will return to normal in-person operations this fall, though have not yet required students to be vaccinated to return to campus (Emory, as a private institution in Georgia, does have a vaccine requirement - and will also remain test-optional in the fall).  

So if you have your heart set on UGA or Georgia Tech next year, make sure that you are taking the time to study for those tests!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Our corner of the internet has been buzzing this week about this New York Times opinion piece about the college essay. The author makes a really strong and difficult point about how many students feel that they have to “sell” their trauma, trying to outdo each other with stories of hardship that are going to pull on the heartstrings of admissions officers.

I was so struck by what the author reports her teacher asking her when she questioned this idea:

“Who are you?”

YES! The very first thing we do with any student working on their college essay is ask them to speak with family and friends and write down adjectives that those people would use to describe them. Students often think they have to have the best story, but that isn’t the case at all - it is MUCH more important to demonstrate a specific personal characteristic, and the story is just the vehicle for that! Colleges want to know who you are, where you’re going, and how you’ll contribute to their community. 

You might have a difficult story that can do all of that, and that’s great! But just writing about personal tragedy for tragedy’s sake, in a way that doesn’t demonstrate personality or growth, is not the key to a strong college essay.

I thought this was so interesting when one of my sorority sisters posted it on her social media this week! She is a professor at USF and is researching the impact of COVID-19 on undergraduate STEM education. This video on her early findings is available for online viewing until May 18.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams are teaming up to offer group info sessions and events for prospective students - a great opportunity for any juniors interested in small, liberal arts colleges. As you work on your college search, we really recommend seeking out sessions like these that go beyond the traditional info session. Reed, for example, is offering a variety of sessions including a Case Study of a College Application session. These case studies can be super helpful for some inside info on how the admissions office is evaluating applications. 

In more exciting news, we are so excited to welcome (back) Tyler! As we mentioned last week, Tyler was a client of ours who just finished up his freshman year at the University of Richmond! He is back in our office as our summer intern, learning more about entrepreneurship and what it’s like to run a small business. We often work with past clients on graduate school applications and we love seeing them in a different context, but this is the first time we’ve had one working alongside us!

Tyler will be taking over the midweek blog next week to share more about himself and his experience with DC College Counseling, so keep an eye out for that. He is excited to talk with both prospective and current clients about the DCCC process and the college transition, so don’t hesitate reach out to him with any questions or words of welcome!

Lastly, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to attend a Zoom on Thursday morning with admissions officers from Brandeis, University of Rochester, Case Western and our own neighbor across the Potomac, George Washington. Shannon and I have both been attending a ton of these sessions lately, but I really enjoyed this one in particular. Here are some takeaways I thought were interesting:

• One of the schools mentioned that they look at actual interactions within prospective student online chats in order to determine demonstrated interest. So if you think that just signing into the chat is enough, think again! Make sure to come up with some well thought-out questions that show that you have done your research.

• On that note, another school’s representative noted, “Before you demonstrate interest, you have to develop interest.” So obvious, but at the same time so wise! His point was that showing up on campus once to check off a box isn’t enough. Take your time, read your emails, do your research, maybe start a dialogue, and THEN start to demonstrate interest if you authentically have it - whether that involves showing up on campus or not.

• Several of the schools reported some interesting observations on waitlist activity that may lead to more waitlist movement later in the summer than ever before. These fascinated me.

  • The numbers are not in alignment between the number of accepted students nationwide and the number of deposits that schools have received from the students. So there is a theory that many students have actually double OR TRIPLE (omg!) deposited this year… (like we have said, this an absolutely terrible idea). And if that’s what’s going on, we’re going to see a ton of activity right around the time when tuition payments are due. At some schools, that’s just two weeks before the start of the semester.

  • Many enrollment management offices are concerned about the travel bans in place with foreign countries and the impact that this could have on international student visas. These students were accepted and have enrolled, but if their visas don’t come through, there are going to be a lot of spots opening up at the end of the summer as a result. When Shannon and I were talking about this yesterday, she made a particularly insightful comment about how waitlisted students who didn’t apply for financial aid are the ones who will really see a huge benefit from this. This is because international students are nearly always full-pay and most schools won’t replace a full-pay student with one that has financial need, so I think she’s absolutely correct. And this, my friends, is why you don’t apply for financial aid just to apply!

Enjoy the weekend!

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Weekly Update: May 7

Congratulations to all of the seniors who sent in their deposits last weekend - we are so proud of you!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

REMOTE WORK CONTINUES AT MANY COLLEGES

With all the focus on whether or not students and faculty can safely interact in-person on campus, many people have overlooked the other major population on college campuses - staff! At some universities, staff are overwhelmingly in favor of continuing to work remotely. At Duke, for example, three-quarters of staff want to work remotely three to five days per week. Colleges and universities, which often pay less in salary than private companies, are considering remote work as a potential benefit to attract top employees. Georgetown, for example, is planning to indicate in job descriptions going forward which positions can be done remotely. It will be interesting to see how colleges, especially those with a high value on a residential campus community, respond to the increasing push for remote work. 

CORNELL ROCK CLIMBING CLASS CAUSES CONTROVERSY

Cornell’s spring BIPOC Rock Climbing course has caused some outrage from those who see this type of course offerings as in violation of Title IV, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in education programs. Cornell says that all students on campus have access to rich opportunities, and that this course is intended for students who are traditionally underrepresented in the sport of rock climbing. 

CHOOSING A COLLEGE

Decision Day has passed, but for juniors who are still working on putting together a college list, we recommend giving this Forbes article a read - a professor and parent of a college senior provides some interesting considerations as you think about which college would be the best fit for you! We want to emphasize:

“There are amazing universities across the spectrum. Pick one that fits individual needs not ‘name’ or ‘reputation’ metrics alone.”

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Several great articles this week that focus on equity in the college admissions process. This one from the Atlantic is a must-read! It delves deeper into the issues referenced in the above quote, discussing the chicken-or-the-egg relationship between college admissions, elitism and social status.

“Today, schooling is how elites secure income and pass their privilege down to their children. The U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges Rankings are our Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage. And it is a truth universally acknowledged,” it reads, in a satirical take on the first line of Pride and Prejudice, “that elite parents, in possession of excellent jobs, want to get their kids into college.”

Can’t argue with that, and some of the statistics mentioned in the piece were staggering, including a study quoted by Ron Lieber which found that “nearly 50 percent of America’s corporate leaders, 60 percent of its financial leaders, and 50 percent of its highest government officials attended only 12 universities.” In this type of landscape, it’s not surprising that many students and families feel so much pressure to keep rankings at the forefront of their college search.

Varsity Blues demonstrated the dangers that arise when students and families become hyper-focused on admission to a big-name school, but schools also have issues with this system, going as far as to hire expensive “rankings consultants” to help them increase their ranking (or even, as with the Temple University business school dean we discussed two weeks ago, falsifying the numbers to beat the ranking system!). 

And we recognize that the role of private college consulting companies is often considered alongside these considerations, as discussed in this Yale Daily News article. Here at DC College Counseling, we pride ourselves in working hard to discover students’ true passions and best-fit schools, rather than focusing on the rankings alone, but we recognize that not all students and families are able to afford our services (though, keep an eye out for an exciting announcement about that coming your way soon!).

However, we believe that students and families deserve robust support during this challenging time, and that school counselors do not always have enough resources to be able to provide that support to each student. We are proud to be part of the educational support network that our clients have built! We are educators first, and that is the attitude that we want to bring to all of our students and families. This is a nuanced article with a lot of information about the work that independent counselors do, for those looking for more information about these considerations.

Speaking of equity and rankings, I am always excited to read work from Angel Perez, CEO of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling. In his most recent article, he explores the issues driving people away from the admissions profession. This is a tension that so many admissions officers experience (including Shannon and I!) - entering the profession with the goal of helping young people get a great education. Angel offers several different ideas for colleges to step away from a focus on the bottom line, like diversifying revenue streams, so admissions and enrollment professionals don’t feel that pressure to meet the budget, and creating a more flexible culture in higher education as a whole. 

Jeff Selingo, in a LinkedIn article this week, also offered some ideas for how higher education can view emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for a reset. Some changes include:

• Students watching pre-recorded lectures at home, but using class time for discussions and group work. 

• Changes in grading, particularly grades based on participation, given the challenges that students and teachers faced with this issue during online learning. 

• More flexibility for students with class assignments, including major exams and papers, after a year that has required professors to become a lot more comfortable with flexibility! 

• An emphasis on human connection and campus community - something college students have really missed this past year. 

Jeff’s article also gives some more interesting insight into test optional admissions this cycle. We’ve written before about how it does seem that testing had some effect on admissions this year, and this is particularly true in STEM subjects - students applying for STEM majors were much more advantaged by submitting test scores than those who applied for majors in the humanities or social sciences. At schools like Emory, Colgate, Georgia Tech, and Vanderbilt, students who submitted test scores were more likely to be admitted than those who did not - so if you have the opportunity to take a test this cycle, take advantage of it! You can always decide whether or not to submit the scores later. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We are so impressed with the determination and perseverance of our juniors, who continue to finish up their beautiful Common ApplicationⓇ essays as they juggle school work and preparing for AP exams, which started this week at many schools! 

We’ve also had several strategy sessions with younger students who are planning ahead, and as we tell them, this is the perfect time to start thinking about your four-year plan for high school and how the next four years can help you develop your passions.

Lastly, we’ve been busy getting ready for the newest member of our team.. our summer intern and former student, Tyler! A future entrepreneur himself, Tyler will be spending the summer with us learning about what it’s like to run a small business. You’ll hear from him periodically with his perspective on a variety of different topics: the college search and admissions process, the transition from high school to college, attending college during Covid, and more!

Finally, Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

If you’re tired of reminding everyone about everything and carrying the burden of the mental load - the “mostly invisible combination of anxiety and planning that is part of parenting,” (a) I can relate and (b) our team can help! Book a Meet & Greet and get the college admissions-related reminders, worrying and stress off your plate!

Now can someone please invent a way to outsource reminders about keeping kids’ hands off the walls?! My four-year-old son and I will be your first clients :) Have a great weekend!

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Weekly Update: April 30

Decision Day is almost here - good luck to all of the seniors who are making their decisions this weekend! Make sure to celebrate once that deposit is in :)

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

MORE COLLEGES REQUIRE VACCINATIONS IN THE FALL

Over 100 colleges and universities will require COVID-19 vaccinations for students this fall, with Emory, Wesleyan, Stanford, and others announcing that they will require vaccines. Colleges are still dealing with outbreaks of coronavirus, even as students are eligible to get vaccinated this spring. While many of the schools requiring vaccines are private, some public schools are requiring them as well - including the University of Maryland system. Other schools, like Baylor, are not requiring vaccinations, but are allowing vaccinated students to skip mandatory COVID-19 testing, creating an incentive for students to get vaccinated. The University of Wyoming is taking incentives a step further - vaccinated students will be entered into weekly prize drawings, and staff will receive an extra day off! 

PRIVATE SCHOLARSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE

I think it is hard for many students and families to realize how many scholarships are out there! Even for students who did not receive merit aid from their college of choice, there are still private options to apply for this spring and summer. Check out any local community groups you belong to, as well as any groups for your particular academic interest - there is a lot of money that you could find! Shannon even applied for a scholarship for tall students when she was going to college. As the article states:

“Do you love asparagus? There’s a scholarship for that. Are you left-handed? There’s a scholarship for that.” 

So do your research!

BIDEN PROPOSES FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION FOR ALL

One of the components of President Biden’s $1.8 trillion (ouch) American Families Plan involves free community college for all Americans - regardless of income. While I am NOT a fan of increased government spending in general, I really do like this idea. I’ve written about this before, but I have always found it sort of puzzling that more families in our area do not consider community college to be a viable plan for their students. I get that most of us are hoping for a traditional college experience for our children, but you truly cannot beat NOVA’s guaranteed admissions agreements. Yes - guaranteed! You will automatically get a spot at the University of Virginia and other great schools if you spend your first two years at NOVA, take certain classes and achieve a 3.4 GPA or higher. That’s pretty incredible when you consider what it takes to get into UVa these days. And I haven’t even gotten into the cost savings! For a student who doesn’t mind sticking around for two more years, this could really be a path worth considering. Remember, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We’ve heard a lot about artificial intelligence in the last several years - how it might affect jobs and even everyday tasks. But higher education is not immune from AI, and many schools are increasingly relying on the technology to do everything from emailing students to grading assignments. Algorithms have even worked their way into admissions, raising questions about bias if we have programs, rather than humans, evaluating students. NYU, for example, uses a program to determine students’ interest in the school based on how they interact with the school’s website and respond to its messages. Georgia Tech pioneered a chat bot, not only to answer questions from admitted students, but to serve as a TA, answering questions about course material. We will have to wait and see if these technologies become more prevalent in making big decisions!

From a do-it-yourself graduation at the University of Tampa to arrivals in shifts at Vanderbilt and Northwestern, colleges and universities throughout the country are taking all kinds of approaches to graduation ceremonies this year. This New York Times piece details the various options, along with the frustration that the students and parents feel about the situation.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We are so excited for all of our seniors who have sent in deposits, and have been busy talking through a few last-minute decisions over the past few days! Congratulations to everyone for such phenomenal success in such a difficult year. We are so proud of you!

We also passed a fun milestone - our first junior is 100% done with her main college essay, and we have about ten more right behind her in the final editing stage! Our students go through a very extensive soup-to-nuts process to make sure that their work is “17-year-old-perfect” and represents their best selves. It’s so nice for them to have this huge accomplishment out of the way and finished early.

For juniors looking for a weekend activity, we recommend attending NACAC’s Virtual College Fair, including live and recorded sessions from over 600 colleges - a great way to get an overview of many different institutions. 

Enjoy the sun this weekend and be careful out there in the wind today! I just heard from friends that a tornado hit Great Falls?! Yikes! No clue if that’s true but I sure hope everyone is safe!

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