Weekly Update: November 21

It’s Thanksgiving week - almost time for turkey, football, friends, and family! Yet for seniors, this time of year can be especially challenging. They are trying to keep their grades up while teachers try to squeeze in assessments between Thanksgiving and winter breaks, and they are also juggling hundreds of emails and requests to set up portals, add optional admissions videos, and apply to additional “special programs.” Not to mention the stress and anxiety that comes with waiting on decisions!

So every year as we head into this holiday, I am reminded of the need to help seniors prepare for the onslaught of unsolicited questions and advice that comes with well-meaning visiting relatives, annual family gatherings, and uncertain notification dates. You know how it goes: Auntie Anne asks if Susie has heard from X college or Uncle Oscar asks Jimmy why he doesn’t add Oscar’s alma mater to his list “just to see what happens.” The “helpful” inquiries just pile stress on the already stressed senior.

Our advice to parents: help your son or daughter prepare a couple of polite responses, acknowledge that the comments come from a place of love and affection, and still politely end the conversation.

For example: “Thank you for asking, Auntie Anne. I’m excited to hear back from schools, too, but right now I am focusing on my classes and finishing my regular decision applications.” Responses that redirect the conversation can help the senior focus on the near future and control what she can control.

Or: “Thank you for your thoughts, Uncle Oscar. I will certainly take a look at your alma mater’s website when I get back to my applications after the Thanksgiving break.” Jimmy doesn’t commit to anything more than a quick look at the school’s website, while making it clear that he is on vacation too.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS

PSAT SCORES (AND NATIONAL MERIT CUTOFF ESTIMATES) RELEASED

PSAT scores were released on November 6 or 16, depending on the date students took the test (if your student hasn’t received their score reports, have them go see their school counselor!). Check out Compass Prep’s analysis of this year's scores as well as their estimates for Commended Students and Semifinalists. It sounds like Commended Students can expect a 2 point cutoff increase, and while the Semifinalist increases vary by state, most will be in the 1-2 point range.

RISE IN NUMBERS OF EARLY APPLICATIONS

Now that the deadlines for most early applications have passed, the Common App has released preliminary data about early decision and early action numbers. According to them, early applications to member schools are up 41% over pre-pandemic numbers from 2019-2020. We will have to wait until the final application numbers are available before fully understanding the trends, but this increase may reflect a more permanent shift in students and colleges relying on early admission plans. We know from our work with students on the applications and essays that most students have quite a few early deadlines, some of which have moved to early October (and even early September for schools with rolling admissions or those that release admissions decisions in waves).

MICHIGAN SIGN-STEALING SCANDAL LEAVES HARBAUGH SUSPENDED

The Big Ten has made the decision to suspend coach Jim Harbaugh for three games as a result of the ongoing controversy relating to low-level employee Connor Stalions. Stalions is accused of attending opponents’ games in person, often disguised in the respective teams’ gear, to record their signs and signals as part of an extensive scheme to give Michigan an unfair advantage.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE

Students applying to the University of Arizona will want to pay close attention to the recent reports of financial mismanagement - after financial predictions turned out to be wildly inaccurate, the school now admits to having only 97 days of cash on hand. President Robert Robbins has warned that “draconian cuts” may impact academic and athletic programs, salaries, and jobs.

PC: JMU Marketing and Branding Department

BEST ARTICLES OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS

Georgia Tech’s Rick Clark offers advice to juniors about test-optional admissions in his recent post: Middle 50%, Test Optional (… and Country Music?) He explains that middle 50% test score ranges are not as straightforward as they used to be (neither is test-optional admissions in general!), so students need to carefully analyze the information provided. After all, what does that range even represent? Accepted students or matriculated students? He recommends students ask questions when they look at colleges and universities' middle 50% of test scores to understand whose scores are included in that figure. As you develop your standardized testing plan, make sure you understand if the schools on your list require test scores, are test-optional, are test-blind, or if they are test-optional but prefer test scores. Some schools also have different policies based on majors, so be thorough. We help all of our current clients make these decisions, so if you’re a non-client who could use some assistance, feel free to book an introductory meeting.

Are you confused about the controversy between JMU and the NCAA? This feel-good piece is definitely worth a read (Unfortunately, the NCAA denied the latest waiver request this past week, and then things took another turn over the weekend when JMU lost to Appalachian State despite breaking attendance records for ESPN’s College GameDay). Whether they get to play in a bowl or not, the cynic in me is a little bit concerned about the inevitable admissions impact after so much athletic success. And we don’t have much wiggle room - last year, applications were up over 68% from just two years prior. 68%! That’s huge.

Speaking of football, this New York Times piece on young football players with C.T.E. was incredibly moving and tragic. It’s awful to think of these poor kids suffering this way, and the recommendation to delay tackle football until high school is compelling, given the latest research.

Lastly, don’t miss Vanity Fair’s excerpt from Among the Bros: A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall. Named by Amazon as a “Best Book of the Year 2023,” it covers a disturbingly extensive, multimillion-dollar underground fraternity drug ring at the College of Charleston and has been the talk of the higher education world for the past few weeks. It reads a little bit like Bama Rush meets the Murdaugh’s, and I’ve already downloaded the book to read over the holidays.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We’ve been busy finishing up those last-minute additions with seniors (so. many. videos. this. year!) and of course, getting ready for Thanksgiving! At Sally’s house, that looks a little different from mine, so she’s sharing a few thoughts below on the challenges of having a student home from college!

College students arrive home, often for the first time since starting the semester, and have different expectations than parents do. My priorities are about family time, hearing about her life at college, making sure she spends time with her siblings, and having fun/making memories together. On the other hand, her priorities may be relaxing, catching up on sleep, seeing her friends, more sleep, eating her favorite meals, and more sleep. She has been completely independent since Labor Day, making all the decisions about her time, her car, and her responsibilities. Suddenly, she is home and doesn’t necessarily have the same freedoms. Even to go shopping, she will have to work with our schedules to borrow a car because her own will still be at school. 

Of course we have different expectations: I am excited to have my kid home, and she is excited to be at home with her family. But even those expectations can be a mismatch. When she left for college, her younger sister had finished middle school, but now she is one-third of the way through 9th grade and has begun to exert her independence and navigate a social life of her own. College students can find it jarring that their family hasn’t frozen in time while they were away. In the same way, parents forget that their “kid” has been making adult decisions for months. The kid expects to be on vacation during break, while we parents are expecting them to jump back into family life including chores like loading the dishwasher, picking up siblings at practice, and coming home at a “reasonable time.” (This last one is definitely fraught with differing expectations!)

What have I learned from our son’s four years and our daughter’s previous two years returning for break? There is no one right way to navigate the shift, not even with the same kid in subsequent years. My advice is to acknowledge the differences beforehand (as in, during the car ride home from the airport) and to be patient with each other. As much as I want to spend time with her, I also have to remember to respect our daughter’s independence. Similarly, she has to remember to balance her need to take a real break before returning to school for final exams and to respect that she is part of a family with work, schedules, and time commitments. 

And when she thinks I am demanding too much or I think she is coming home too late, I hope we remember to give each other a little leeway as we sail these uncharted waters together.

Enjoy the Thanksgiving break!

Weekly Update: January 9

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

SIX-YEAR OLD STUDENT SHOOTS TEACHER

Shocking news was reported from Newport News, Virginia, on Friday afternoon. A six-year old student at Richneck Elementary School was taken into police custody after shooting his teacher. According to reports, the shooting was not accidental. Fortunately, the teacher was able to receive immediate care and is in stable condition.

VARSITY BLUES MASTERMIND IS SENTENCED

On Wednesday January 4, William Singer–the mastermind behind the Varsity Blues admissions scandal– was sentenced. After pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiracy to defraud the US and obstruction of justice, Singer was given 3.5 years in federal prison. Additionally, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit over $10 million. During the court proceeding, Singer issued an apology, admitting a loss of moral and “ethical values.” He is scheduled to report to prison on February 27.

VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL LAUNCHES CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATIONS AT TJ HIGH SCHOOL

Last week Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares launched two civil rights investigations at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, VA. These investigations are in response to recent claims that the school failed to recognize National Merit Award winners in the fall of 2022. Miyares’ team is also looking into recently revised admissions policies that many have deemed discriminatory. School officials referred to the National Merit notification as a one-time human error. However, emails have now surfaced showing similar patterns with award notifications from 2020, and two more schools (Langley and Westfield) have also indicated that they failed to notify students this year. More on our thoughts below…

NEW DETAILS EMERGE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO MURDER CASES

University of Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appeared in court last week and was then transferred from Pennsylvania to Idaho. As Kohberger awaits a January 12 hearing, new details about the case are emerging. Court documents reveal information about Kohberger’s actions the night of the murder, including key details about his car and phone usage. Based on the information, investigators suspect that Kohberger may have planned the attack. However, police have not been able to determine a motive yet. 

PROGRESSIVE SCHOOL GETS A CONSERVATIVE OVERHAUL 

New College of Florida made headlines on Friday when Governor Ron DeSantis appointed six new members to its Board of Trustees. Many feel that DeSantis is seeking to “overhaul” the college, which has a reputation for being one of the most progressive schools in the state, with conservative leadership. This move comes after DeSantis recently asked all state colleges and universities to document the resources they use related to diversity, inclusion, and critical race theory initiatives. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Racial justice has been at the forefront of university initiatives over the past three years. In response to the killings of George Floyd, several colleges established new programs, buildings and research opportunities to promote racial justice. Penn State is one of those schools–or so it planned to be. However, plans for the formation of a Center for Racial Justice were halted after a change in school leadership. New president Neeli Bendapudi expressed concerns over budget and instead wants to direct funds to already-existing campus programs and initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion. Many are upset by the decision and feel that the “broken promise” undermines the transformative work so many within the Penn State community are trying to accomplish. 

Employers may no longer care where you went to college, according to analyst firm Gartner. The firm recently released a report predicting that the most successful companies in 2023 will be those that look at “nontraditional” employee candidates. As part of a growing trend, many organizations are dropping education requirements to attract new talent in a “tight labor market.”  Companies are encouraged to focus instead on soft skills and training opportunities for new employees. 

What’s in store for higher education in 2023? Last week, Higher Ed Dive released their list of trends to look out for this year, noting that for the first time in three years, we don’t have to examine everything through a pandemic lens. Very exciting! Instead, experts predict greater focus on financial aid and student loans, as well as efforts to address enrollment declines. Many are also watching the U.S. News & World Report rankings, which have long been a well-respected source of data for undergraduates and graduate students. This fall, Yale and Harvard law schools made headlines when they announced they would no longer cooperate with the rankings. Will other law schools follow in their footsteps? And what could this mean for undergraduate rankings moving forward? Time will tell! 

Ding, dong: the traditional participation grade is dead! For decades, college students have been awarded participation points for being physically present in the classroom and speaking up. However, the pandemic changed the very nature of participation. In online formats, teachers were forced to figure out a new way to define engagement. Many noticed that students who didn’t participate in a traditional classroom setting were thriving in Zoom thanks to chat boxes and breakout rooms. And for other undergrads, they successfully mastered the course content asynchronously. So what does that mean for the value of traditional participation? If and how should it be weighted? Well, educators aren’t quite sure yet. For now, many professors are experimenting with incentives and alternative ways for students to show their engagement with and understanding of course content. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Last week I had the chance to speak with Aimee Cho of NBC4 about the National Merit controversy at TJ. I am at the 1:44-ish mark, but watch the whole video - it’s interesting! Especially the part from the TJ parent.

Having worked alongside TJ students for years, and having worked in multiple high school counseling offices, I truly do not think this was intentional in any way. That doesn’t make it okay - at all. But when I hear people saying that the administration purposely hid the awards to result in “equal outcomes for every student,” or even worse, to promote anti-Asian discrimination, I’m just floored.

Having been on the other side of this, I know how much paperwork these counselors and administrators get flooded with and how many similar delays happen at high schools all the time, everywhere. I also know how hard the TJ staff works to maximize opportunities for their students. They really do a lot behind the scenes, so much more than parents probably realize. Remember, the staff at the school are not responsible for the admissions changes at TJ or the greater equity issues happening in Fairfax County Public Schools right now. No matter where you fall on those issues, the hardworking staff isn’t responsible. They are just trying to do their jobs, and too few people are responsible for too many tasks. In those situations, things fall through the cracks. Again: not okay. At all. They need to do better. But I just don’t believe this was intentional.

(Side note: I think it’s incredibly important that we don’t throw baseless accusations of discrimination around. These kinds of allegations are very serious. When people start saying that everything is discriminatory, that dilutes the very real issues of discrimination that do exist. And there’s SO much anti-Asian bias in the college admissions process - I have written about it so many times.)

In my opinion, mistakes like this will continue to happen until we can ensure that the counselor: student ratios are lower in public schools. The counselors could have then taken this on (as many private school counselors do) to notify the students and take it off the principal’s plate.

And as I said on the segment - no TJ student will have their chances of college admissions success in jeopardy because their commended student status was not shared in a timely manner. This is the runner-up to a larger award - it pales in comparison to the typical awards that TJ students have. These are the best and brightest students out there.

I am actually much more concerned about the Langley and Westfield students who were also impacted, which we just learned about in the last day or two. If a student with generally average academic qualifications had failed to report this, that could have been more of a difference-maker.

Weekly Update: December 10

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

PSAT AND NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP CUTOFFS

After many Class of 2022 students were unable to take the PSAT during COVID-19, we expected to see numbers go up for the Class of 2023 - after all, nearly 50% more students took the test! The prediction for the cutoff for commended students is 208. Here in Virginia, we expect to see National Merit Semifinalists in the 220-223 range, in keeping with the past three years of cutoffs. For a more detailed state-by-state breakdown, this article has some helpful charts and graphs. 

NATIONAL RECOGNITION PROGRAMS APPLICATION REOPENS AFTER ELIGIBILITY ERRORS

Speaking of Class of 2022 students who took the PSAT, it turns out that a number of students were not notified about their eligibility for National Recognition programs. In recognition of this error, College Board has reopened the application until December 15. If you believe that there is any chance that you are eligible, PLEASE go ahead and apply!

• Class of 2023 students with GPAs of 3.5+ and either attending school in a rural area/small town OR identifying as African American or Black, Hispanic American or Latinx, or Indigenous are eligible to apply today if either one of the two bulleted statements apply:

  • Scored in the top 10% of their state in the winter or spring of sophomore year (students scoring in this range on this past fall’s PSAT will be able to apply later)

  • Earned a score of 3+ on two or more AP exams during 9th and/or 10th grade

• Class of 2024 students with GPAs of 3.5+ and either attending school in a rural area/small town OR identifying as African American or Black, Hispanic American or Latinx, or Indigenous are eligible to apply today if they earned a score of 3+ on two or more AP exams during 9th grade (students scoring in the top 10% of their state on this past fall’s PSAT will be able to apply later).

Again, if there is any chance you believe you might be eligible, go ahead and apply. Other counselors have estimated that the “top 10%” number on the PSAT would be around 1200+ depending on the state.

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS CONTINUE TO SOAR ABOVE PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS

We expected college application rates to stay high this year, compared to before the pandemic, and so far that is playing out. Already, applications are up 22% from pre-pandemic levels. As we saw last year, most of the increase is from affluent students applying to a longer list of schools (perhaps as a result of the increased unpredictability in admissions decisions), rather than more students applying. And we expect to see an additional spike as we get closer to those early January deadlines!

VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT’S TRAGIC DEATH

A Fairfax County student at Virginia State University has died after a shooting at a university apartment building last weekend. Daniel Wharton, of Alexandria, was nineteen. As of this writing, a suspect has not yet been identified. 

TRANSFORMATIVE, RECORD-SETTING GIFT TO HOLLINS UNIVERSITY

An anonymous donor just set a record by donating $75 million to the Hollins University endowment. This is very significant - not only is it the largest-ever donation in history to a women’s college, it equates to more than a third of their existing endowment. I visited Hollins back in April 2019 on the way back from Virginia Tech, and I will admit that it did not strike me as a place that many of our students would be interested in - simply because of the size (800 students), rural location, and the fact that it’s a women’s college.

But for a girl seeking a very small, tight-knit community, it could be a great option! They have always offered generous merit aid, and I bet that it will get even better now. Anyone interested should check out the accelerated three-year undergraduate program, as well as the impressive partnerships with institutions ranging from Carnegie Mellon to UVA’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Future students interested in the UVA Batten partnership should also make sure to read up on Hollins’ own Batten Leadership Institute, which offers an undergraduate certificate in leadership studies.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

While many students in our area are continuing to pursue their college goals during the pandemic, a large number of students across the country are putting off college - overall, college enrollment has dropped 8%, with community college bearing the brunt of the decrease. Many in the education space are afraid that with students putting college off for a few years, they are much less likely to return to pursue higher education.

But this New York Times article provides some hope - it’s never too late to go to college! Devon Simmons, who served 15 years in prison for crimes he committed as a teenager, later graduated from Columbia and is now working on a program to help “jailhouse lawyers” become paralegals and create a path to law school after incarceration. 

Shon Hopwood’s book, Law Man, is a great read for those interested in these types of stories. Shannon worked with Shon on events at Georgetown and highly recommends this as a great book for students interested in criminal justice to read over the break (and include in college applications)! 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Now is the time when decisions are rolling in! If you are a current client, make sure to keep us updated over the weekend and next week as more and more of those early decisions roll out. And if you are anxiously checking your email, we recommend checking out College Kickstart’s list of application notification dates, which is updated regularly with new information. 

I mentioned in the mid-week post that I had the chance to go see Wash U last weekend. I will admit that I was actually in St. Louis to see the James Taylor concert but it was so much fun stopping by campus while I was there. I met up with a current freshman and really enjoyed hearing about the similarities and differences between our experiences.

It’s crazy how much has changed since my last visit just four years ago - which is a good lesson about the importance of revisiting schools that your student may have seen a few years back with an older sibling. At the rate that new buildings are popping up and new initiatives are rolling out, so many of these schools are completely different places in the span of a few years. And right after I left, they announced the construction of yet another new building, which will create a whole new quad.

Things that have not changed: Ted Drewes!!!

Have a great weekend!

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Weekly Update: September 18

Now that our students have headed back to school, they are juggling classes and extracurriculars along with finishing up their applications. We’re so proud of their work ethic!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

MATH TUTORING FROM VIRGINIA TECH

I’ve been excited to pass on the information for so many interesting FREE programs lately! This one from Virginia Tech has Department of Mathematics students offering free virtual math tutoring to students in grades K-12. I really encourage kids to take advantage of this service during Fall 2020 and hopefully beyond!

COLLEGE BOARD LAUNCHES AFRICAN DIASPORA CURRICULUM

Between rescheduled SATs and online AP exams this spring, most people I know aren’t interested in hearing more from the College Board. But they remain an influential organization, and they’ve created an ambitious new AP curriculum on the African diaspora. This was developed alongside Columbia’s Teachers College and the non-profit African Diaspora Consortium. 

This program has been tested in select public schools for the past three years, and now it will be available to students across the country. This curriculum is not an AP subject course - instead, it is linked to the Capstone program, which gives teachers more flexibility to cater the course to their student population.

DIVISION I SPORTS UPDATE

The big news in college sports is that the Big Ten conference will start its season on October 24, citing advances in rapid testing that make it possible for student-athletes to play football this fall after all. Big Ten originally announced in August that it was suspending football in the fall and considering a spring season. 

Meanwhile, the NCAA Division I Council released several updates this week. The NCAA college basketball season start date has been pushed to November 25, with the DI Council saying that many schools will have sent general students home by this point, leaving six weeks or so for basketball to begin on mostly-empty campuses. The Division I Council also extended the recruiting “dead period” through the start of the new year. This means that coaches will not be able to recruit prospective student-athletes in person, though they can still do so virtually.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

This is not an article, but SUCH a cool webinar series out of Franklin & Marshall College! F&M is teaming up with admissions professionals from other schools to put out really helpful webinars about the admissions process. I can’t emphasize enough what a great resource these will be. If you only have time for one, I particularly recommend the “Selective College Admission: Case Studies” presentation to 9th-11th grade students and families. And remember: you do not have to have any interest in F&M to benefit from this. Case studies run by individual admissions offices are often-times only open to alumni or special friends of the institution - but this is a valuable opportunity for any family to gain insight into the inner workings of a selective admissions office. You can sign up here for a morning or evening session.

Back in the good old days of last February, when we were still doing crazy things like shaking hands with each other, sending kids to public school, and walking around without masks over our faces, I tried to analyze the impact of the return to Early Decision on the overall application landscape at UVA. I was genuinely curious about how it would all pan out in the spring and planned to post a follow up after regular decision results came through. I never did, partially because I did not have access to all of the data I wanted, but mostly because I believed that COVID’s impact on waitlist movement would probably cancel out the increase in selectivity I’d originally envisioned. However! I was wrong.

College Kickstart put out a blog post with all of the notable changes in admissions rates from this year, and even with an incredibly active waitlist, UVA’s admissions rate declined. Same thing happened with Boston College, for the same reason. BC filled 37% of its class with Early Decision applicants, so the admit rate fell by 15%. UVA was not far behind: with the added Early Decision option accounting for 19% of the class, the admit rate fell by 13%. Since both schools are keeping that Early Decision option, we assume that the rates will stay similar this cycle. A good reminder that if you are confident a school is your number one choice (and you know how you will pay for college), Early Decision might be the way to go.

Traditional college sports may be risky during COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean that intramural competitions aren’t taking place. The National Association of Collegiate Esports has seen a major increase in schools looking to esports programs to replace a fraction of the lost school spirit and lost revenue that accompanied the suspension of traditional sports. Almost 200 colleges in the United States already offer scholarships for esports players. I can’t say that I think streaming and esports will ever replace college football or basketball for fans, but it is definitely an interesting trend to watch.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We are busy with so many virtual tours and information sessions. It has been exciting to see what schools have been able to put together online to replace in-person campus visits. For a list of upcoming virtual fairs, tours, and information sessions for students and parents, see our latest post. Some of these virtual events begin as early as this weekend - let us know what you think of them!

Speaking of virtual events, this past weekend I gave a long-planned virtual presentation to a community organization to which many of my families have belonged over the years - it was a lot of fun and there were 93 different sets of families in attendance! We were able to survey the moms to tailor the presentation to address their most common topics of interest and fears, and the format worked very well. We also collected a ton of questions in advance so that I could answer them for the benefit of the group at the end of the session.

Shannon was just asked to hold a similar presentation for a different group in D.C., and she’s been busy working on preparations this week. We do these often for various high schools and local parent organizations, especially in the fall, and are always happy to expand our reach. If you have a group that would like one of us to come speak at an event, please reach out and we’ll do our best to fit you into our calendar!

In other exciting news - we finished up with our last service academy nomination packet for the first Virginia deadline next week. Had some COVID-related snafus so I drove the materials to FedEx myself to make sure they got where they needed to be.

Casual Friday :)

It occurred to me that it’s been a LONG time since I’ve personally mailed a student’s application materials anywhere. Between having admin staff here on site during normal times plus the fact that most everything is sent electronically now, I honestly can’t even remember. Years and years. 7-8 at least. But hey, we are a full service operation and I am not above running around if needed!

Happy New Year to our friends who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah this weekend- and Happy Friday to everyone else (although I think most of us could use a fresh new year right about now, am I right?!)!

Weekly Update: September 11

Thinking about 9/11 today along with everyone else, I’m sure. The events of September 11 have been on my mind a lot these past six months, as I mentioned last spring, because I felt like it really defined my high school years. I have thought a lot about the parallels between what that represented for my high school class and what COVID will ultimately represent for the Class of 2021.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

TEST-OPTIONAL, BUT ESSAY REQUIRED!

If you read any section of the blog today, I hope it is this one! Some schools have added additional requirements to their applications for students who apply test-optional - and these requirements are going under the radar, because they are often NOT included or mentioned on the application itself. Students will only be instructed to submit additional information upon gaining access to their post-application-submission status portals.

The University of South Carolina has added a requirement for “one required supplemental material” from their applicants. Students who do not send in test scores will need to submit graded writing assignments. And this might be a difficult one for students to catch, because they will be asked to complete Supplemental Materials Forms AFTER submitting their applications, but the forms are still due by the original application deadline! 

Applicants to the University of Delaware under their Test-Optional Admissions Program will not only need to complete additional supplemental essays, but also submit “any additional evidence of academic skills.” If you are a current client, we can help you select the most relevant material to submit for this (vague!) stipulation. 

We will absolutely alert every one of our current clients if we learn about a change that impacts one of their applications, but it is always best for students to take a proactive approach as well. Read and re-read the school’s test-optional policy and to get your application in early, so you have time to monitor your status portal and send in any additional required materials after submitting. Anything else needed should be reflected on your status portal! 

And I have to say - I’m not thrilled about what schools are doing here. Has this year not been hard enough for students? Is it really a great idea to simultaneously add more requirements while failing to publicize them? Incredible.

FLORIDA STATE SYSTEM STILL REQUIRES TESTING

State universities in Florida are still refusing to drop the requirement for ACT or SAT scores as part of their application. This makes Florida the only public university system other than Wyoming with a test score requirement. Applicants, admissions officers, and college counselors are continuing to pressure the state to waive it. If they do hold on to the requirement, there will be many applicants who can’t qualify for admission because they are unable to test.

Fun Fact: The state of Florida has an incredibly generous merit scholarship program for in-state residents. Students with weighted GPAs of 3.5+ and scores of 29/1330 have their tuition 100% covered at public universities (University of Florida, Florida State, etc). Crazy, right? So, the state’s failure to drop the testing requirement is going to have an enormous impact on families that expected their children to go to college tuition-free!

A GREAT (FREE!) RESOURCE FROM DAVIDSON

Davidson College is offering a free admission intensive that runs until early November (though you can also register for individual sessions). These look like great sessions whether you are applying to Davidson or not. And if you are, this is also a great way of demonstrating interest in Davidson! As we know from the WSJ article in last week’s blog, that’s an essential part of the process!

COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS (SORT OF) BACK

Despite threats from the coronavirus, college football is still happening at some Division I schools, prompting apprehension from health experts. But for those schools that have chosen not to play this year, there are also concerns: the suspension of the season has been devastating for towns where college football is an essential part of the community.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

There is so much in the news recently about whether or not a traditional four-year college experience is “worth it.” As I’ve mentioned before, I am still all for this route. So I was excited to read this opinion piece from the New York Times that does a great job of articulating why the traditional college experience still can’t be beat by online courses or certificate programs. Like Mr. Iyer, I am constantly amazed by the experience, maturity, and open-mindedness of our students, and I can’t wait to see them go on to be brilliant college students. Being part of a campus community is essential to showing our kids different perspectives and allowing them to think critically and form their own ideas. The college experience is honestly about so much more than just finding a job after graduation! 

CNN has compiled a really interesting list of health experts’ opinions on whether or not it is safe for college students to return to campus. There is a lot of information here, but it is definitely worth taking a look at opinions from the president of the American Medical Association, as well as college stakeholders like the co-chairs of the American College Health Association’s COVID-19 task force. They cover everything from talking to your student about health and safety on campus to what they think college will look like in a post-COVID world.  

This is not exactly an article, but Georgia Tech has put out a very helpful podcast called College Admissions Brief that covers various parts of the college admissions process. The episodes are less than ten minutes long and give actionable advice for students and parents. I’ve been getting so many questions this cycle about testing - their latest episode on standardized tests and test-optional admissions is definitely worth a listen!   

In my post last week about Dr. Fauci’s advice that students who test positive for the coronavirus stay on campus, I commented that most parents I knew would want to have their sick students home. I’m even more convinced of that after reading this article! Schools have been so focused on keeping sick students from infecting others that they have not thought about the care and support that these students will need when they are ill, isolated, and far from home. We are all rooting for colleges to be able to keep students safe, so it is heartbreaking to read about issues like these. 

We’ve talked a lot about the coronavirus response on campus, but a lot of students are still learning from home - including most of our Class of 2021 students! The Washington Post has provided a list of helpful tips for Zoom classes. The tips are geared toward college students, but many of them will also be useful for high schoolers completing their first semester on Zoom. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

HUGE congratulations to all of our National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists and Commended Students this year! I don’t think we’ve ever had so many of our students on the list before - and this is just the FCPS list! We are so proud of all of you!

Our office calendar is packed with counselor-only webinars and virtual tours of various schools these next few weeks - Shannon is taking most of them on and she is excited to share her tips and impressions with all of you. Keep an eye out for a future post here with a list of virtual info sessions for students to attend as well! 

Her favorite virtual tour of the past week was provided by the United States Air Force Academy - which is timely because we have both been working like crazy all week on service academy nomination applications! Oh my gosh - these are an incredible amount of work. The process is so different from the traditional college application process, but for the right student, a service academy might be a great fit!

If you are applying this year, make sure that you are working to send nomination applications to both of your state’s senators and your representative, as well as the vice president - applying through every possible avenue is the best way to maximize your chances of being nominated. In Virginia, this is especially important, since we have so many students interested in service academies in our state. Mark Warner’s deadline is coming up in about a week and a half!

No matter where you are applying this year, we are in the home stretch of this process! If you are feeling overwhelmed by all of the upcoming deadlines, it’s not too late to set up a Meet & Greet - students who start this week should still be able to have their applications submitted by November 1. 

Good luck to everyone starting school, whether in-person or virtual, this week!

Weekly Update: August 28

Wrapping up the month of August!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL MERIT SCORE UPDATES

We’ve seen dramatic shifts and adaptation with more or less everything this year in the college admissions landscape, and the National Merit cutoffs are no exception! They decreased across the board, although we can’t blame this change on COVID. It’s because of the major scoring issue I posted about on social media this past winter.

Here’s an updated list of the official scores for our area

VIRGINIA: 221 Cutoffs with 369 Semifinalists & 1612 Commended

MARYLAND: 221 Cutoffs with 296 Semifinalists & 1057 Commended

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: 222 Cutoffs with 28 Semifinalists & 184 Commended

Virginia is consistent with past years in that it is one of the most competitive states. It’s been predicted that at least 40 states will have lower cutoffs this year, with the Commended Student score cutoff falling from 212 to 209.

We have quite a few Commended Students this year and a few Semifinalists too. Congratulations, guys!

ON MY READING LIST

Written by Penn’s former Dean of Admissions, Eric Furda, and college admissions expert, Jacques Steinberg, The College Conversation: A Practical Companion for Parents to Guide Their Children Along the Path to Higher Education, is set to be released on September 22nd. I seriously cannot wait to grab my copy - I think so highly of both of them. I’ve written before about how much I really love Eric Furda, and I’m also a huge fan of Jacques Steinberg, author of The Gatekeepers (2002). Although it’s a little outdated now, I still consider it a must-read for any family wanting to dig deeper into the college admissions process. Steinberg once ran a very popular New York Times college admissions blog called The Choice, and while it was discontinued in 2013, I encourage families to use it as a resource to this day.

THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA FINALLY WENT TEST-OPTIONAL

This was a really long time coming! Announced just this past Tuesday, dozens of Georgia colleges and universities (including University of Georgia and Georgia Tech) decided to forgo their SAT/ACT test requirements for prospective applicants due to COVID scheduling concerns. Of course this obviously means that GPA, teacher recommendations and essays now mean that much more. Oh! And some schools may even reconsider kids they originally denied!

WELLESLEY IS OFFERING A REALLY COOL (FREE) OPPORTUNITY FOR GIRLS

AMPLIFY: Wellesley’s Leadership Series is now open for registration! Specifically for high school juniors, seniors and transfer students, this series is geared towards helping students find their voice and develop pivotal leadership skills as they approach their college years. Just a quick look at the session descriptions and I’m wishing it was open to parents and counselors, too! Register now for access to AMPLIFY, running from Sunday, October 4th through Sunday, the 11th.

ESSAYS KEEP CHANGING IN THE COMMON APP

Gosh, this is driving me nuts. Last night I was helping a student finalize her applications and we found out that Fordham dropped their second essay - which they released on the Common Application just weeks ago. Ugh! Columbia also changed the word count on two of their essays in the last week or so, requiring a ton of our students to make changes to finalized pieces. I find this so frustrating and I wish that the schools would have the courtesy of sending out some kind of email communication when they make these changes.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

For all the articles out there that seem to highlight everything going wrong right now, I found this NYT article to be super refreshing. It explains how parents and educators (any adults, really) can booster a teenager’s emotional well-being during these times of uncertainty. They even specifically mention “reliable routines,” something I believe we do well with our work and meetings here at DC College Counseling. Families can expect our team to provide structure and routine. We also provide a comfortable environment (albeit virtual for the time being!) where students can truly be their authentic selves. In combination, this really allows students to get those creative juices flowing and work up to their full potential!

This next one isn’t college related per se but with the craziness of 2020 and my years of experience working with families, I felt the need to include this one from The Washington Post. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about having a positive mindset and resilience, but kids also need a safe place to share their emotions while feeling heard and supported. The college application process this year is understandably provoking a whole new level of stress and anxiety for most, and I try to find a happy balance of positivity and keeping it real.

With affirmative action again on the ballot in the state of California this fall, residents will have a chance to repeal Proposition 209. This article looks specifically at the disadvantage of the legislation, and is definitely worth a read if you are interested in issues relating to affirmative action and the admissions process.

Thanks to my reader who sent me this article about Google’s new career certificate programs - these sound pretty compelling. That said, while I do love innovation, I’m obviously still pro- “graduate from a 4-year college.” I would love to see some kind of blend of the two.. maybe in the future? I think that colleges and universities could do so much more to prepare students to be marketable in the workforce.

I touched on this last week too, but it seems to be circling our news cycles and I’m not sure when it’ll stop! CNN had a few college professors and administrators weigh in on the psychology behind why college students are struggling to follow all the new COVID guidelines back on campus.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We’ve been incredibly busy with essays, essays, and more essays. So many essays! The hardest part for me (I say this every year but it’s true) is not being able to share them. Some of them are just so unbelievably amazing and it makes me sad that they won’t have a larger audience.

Also, it’s a big back to school week around here! Some of our students already started school this week, more start next week, and the rest start the week after that!

Typically our school year schedule offers less appointments during the business day and more during late afternoons and early evenings, but this year is a little unusual with all the virtual learning. We actually had a lot of requests to continue offering availability for meetings during the school day and ended up with sort of a hybrid schedule. Both new clients and existing clients are able to book meetings through the end of October.

Also, we opened up the late start waitlist now that so many of our seniors are done with their applications or are on the verge of being done. If you have a senior and still need help - you’re in luck! You can book a Meet & Greet here to get started right away, and anyone who begins in the next few weeks should be able to finish applications by November 1 unless it’s a particularly unique situation.

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And speaking of back to school - I decided to share some advice on disciplinary violations in the college admissions process on our facebook page this week! For whatever reason, we have been dealing with a ton of these over the past year. As you kick off the school year, don’t forget my #1 tip!

A whole bunch of you have asked me what I ended up doing about leaving FCPS and starting my daughter at a new school. I said I’d post an update on the blog, so here you go!

Even though I lack confidence in FCPS as a district, we loved our experience at her school and have nothing but great things to say about all of the teachers, staff, and administration there. It was a much harder decision to leave than I thought it would be. She was also accepted to Level IV AAP, and it was so, so incredibly hard to give that up. It pains me to even type that out! Yet after second-guessing myself all summer long, we finally went through with leaving.

I would rather not post her new school’s name here (because it will come up as a search term) but you can see it in the sign she is holding. I have nothing but incredibly positive things to say so far. They are doing such an impressive job with everything COVID related - I truly cannot imagine how much time and effort is being put forth but we are so appreciative. This morning on the way to school she said “I don’t just like it, I love it!” WHEW!

Have a great weekend and GOOD LUCK to all you SAT-takers! Everyone in our office is rooting for you, big time! Make sure to get some sleep tonight!