College Admissions Updates - 3/27/20

Updates from Colleges

Admissions offices have begun answering questions and offering reassurance about the admissions process. Here are a few good examples:

• Tulane University
  
• Georgia Tech
  
• Harvard University
  

Standardized Testing

Several schools have announced this week that they will be test optional for the Class of 2021 (and in some cases beyond that). We expect that this trend may continue given all of the SAT and ACT cancellations and the uncertainty about June test dates. 

• Tufts University
• Boston University
• University of Oregon
• Scripps College

MIT has made the decision to no longer consider the SAT Subject Tests

AP and IB Exams

Beginning this week, the College Board is providing free, live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from across the country. You can find more information and a detailed schedule here. 
​
May 2020 IB exams have been canceled

In the News

• Canceled research, sports, recitals — college students are coping with more than closed campuses: Job fairs and internships have also been shut down, along with competitions and graduate school exams (Hechinger Report)
• How Is Covid-19 Changing Prospective Students’ Plans? Here’s an Early Look (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Colleges Fear Cuts If They Can't Fill the Next Freshman Class: Recruiting isn’t easy when campus tours are canceled. (Bloomberg)
• How to Help Your High School Senior Cope With Having Their Year Cut Short (LifeHacker)
• Redesigning College Admission: COVID-19, Access And Equity (Forbes)
• ​Quarantined Berklee College of Music students’ virtual performance of ‘What the World Needs Now’ (YouTube - volume on!!)

What to do NOW from Home

Here are some lists we found online with suggestions of ways to make good use of your time at home. When admissions officers review applications next year, do you think they will be more impressed by the student who spent his quarantine time watching Netflix, or the aspiring elementary school teacher who created a YouTube channel of himself teaching introductory cooking lessons to kids or the future engineer who took an online course about how bridges are built...and then built her own out of household materials?

Teen Volunteering Ideas while Sheltering in Place (created by a counselor in CA)
​
40 Resume-worthy Activities You Can Do From Your Living Room Sofa (created by the Mauler Institute)

Advice from Jeff Schiffman at Tulane (scroll to “I’m a junior in high school and all of my spring extracurricular activities have been canceled”) 
​
How to College (Social) Distance Learning Series for high school students (and any interested parents and educators). Presented on Instagram Live by Lara Schwartz and Andrea Malkin Brenner from American University, co-authors of How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You're There)  

•  Session 1: Using Your Distance Learning Experience as a Gut Check for the College Transition: How to Thrive in Unstructured Time 
• Session 2: The New College You: Preparing to Live in a College Community 
• Session 3: College is School: Academic Expectations 
• Session 4: Taking Care of You: Preparing to Look After Your Mental and Physical Health on Your Own 
• Session 5: Money Talk: Financial Literacy and Budgets 
• Session 6: Life Beyond the Classroom: Navigating Your New College Town and Planning Your Activities 
• Session 7: Your College Readiness To-do List: Getting From Today to Move-In Day 

 Before each hour-long talk, they will post a link to Google slides in their Instagram bio and on Facebook so attendees can view the slides during the live stream. Follow @HowToCollegeOfficial on Instagram and How to College on Facebook for more details.