Colleges go test-optional for Class of 2021

While our normal lives are temporarily on hold due to the coronavirus, the college application process continues with more and more colleges joining the group of schools that no longer require an SAT or ACT score from candidates. In other words, they are test-optional.

Heads up though because some of these colleges are going test-optional only temporarily, some permanently, and others for a trial period of several years. Whatever the length of time, please note that admission to any test-optional school is not necessarily easier because they don’t require test scores.

More information is here.

What is the perfect amount of colleges to apply to?

‘How many colleges should I apply to?”

It’s the question asked every year by high school seniors beginning the college application process. Today’s competitive college application environment and low acceptance rates have resulted in students fearful of not being accepted anywhere applying to ever larger numbers of schools in a misguided illusion that this approach will produce more letters of admission. Actually, the end result is just more stress and not necessarily better quality choices.

Planning ahead is the first most important step to creating a strong application. Students who take the time to create a well-balanced college list of schools that fit their academic and personal profile have a big advantage over others that have taken short cuts to arrive at their list. Each school should be carefully vetted and considered for its academics, size, campus culture and tuition, among other things.

The introduction of the Common App has further streamlined the application process by making it very easy to apply to multiple colleges, but even they have set the limit at 20 colleges. And let’s not forget the additional time that is needed to write the personal statement and supplemental essays often required by the more selective schools. Considering an Honors Program?? That’ll be another few essays to write.

Once ready, students must pay to submit their applications with fees ranging from $0 for less selective colleges and up to $75 per for the more selective colleges and the Ivy Leagues. The Common Black College Application still charges only $35 to apply to 36 HBCU schools. Once completed these admission fees, along with cost of taking the SAT/ACT several times and sending the score reports, add up very quickly.

So our answer to this annual question is to apply to no more than twelve (12) reach, target & safety schools. Applicants should always make sure that the list is well balanced, not top or bottom heavy, and that they would be happy and able to afford attending ANY school on their list, regardless of its selectivity. A perfect SAT/ACT score or high GPA are not enough. Strong applicants have a solid, well-rounded profile made up of a rigorous transcript, high GPA/class rank, solid scores & quality extra curriculars. No school with an admission rate in the single digits should be considered a safety, by any student. A well thought out application process will result in a student having good options to pick from when deciding which college to attend.

College Application Timeline - August 2019

Amazingly enough, the relaunch of the 2019-2020 Common App on August 1st is in two days, marking the official beginning of the college application process for all incoming high school seniors. The Common App has a brand new look, a few more members colleges, and improved tools to assist students prepare the strongest possible application.

Staying organized and following a timeline helps students stay in control of the application process and will significantly reduce the stress that will invariably creep in. So let’s start keeping that anxiety at bay with a few points which might seem obvious, but are often overlooked.

• Good application planning begins with establishing personal criteria. Will it be a small, medium or large campus; rural, suburban or urban setting, and what’s the geographical location? Next,  students need to identify possible areas of study, how far do they want to be from home, which campus culture will they be most comfortable in, sports interests, political and religious affiliations, financial and health needs, etc. The most important criteria of all should be personal fit.

• Check your high school transcript - Get a copy of your unofficial transcript and check it for accuracy. Are the classes and corresponding grades correct? Will all the state mandated requirements for graduation be met by June 2020 - especially important for those who have attended more than one high school? It is the student's responsibility to make sure this document is correct.

•  Senior Year Course Load - Follow the 4x5 formula as closely as possible: four years of the five core subjects: English, math, science, history and a foreign language. If it's not possible, get as close as possible. State mandated requirements for graduating from high school will vary from state to state, but in general are lower than those needed for a competitive college application. So avoid the temptation to take only what you need to graduate senior year and opt for a full course load.

• Extra Curricular Activities - All students are so much more than their grades and how they spend their time outside of school speaks volumes to admission officers. Write down everything you do and edit if necessary. See what qualifies as an extra curricular activity and remember the golden rule: quality over quantity. Don’t forget to mention those jobs (both paid and unpaid) as they show many great personal qualities that colleges are looking for in their students.

•  SAT/ACT Scores - One of the three most important parts of a student's academic profile after the transcript and GPA/class rank are their SAT/ACT scores. But what's a good score?  Also, more and more colleges are now ‘test optional’ meaning that the student decides whether to submit their scores when applying. Click here for more detailed information.

Prefer to retake either test? Next SAT is August 24th and the next ACT is September 14th. Scores will be back in time for the early admission due dates.

•  College List - Put together a list of schools you'd like to apply to. Everyone should aim to have a well balanced college list of reach, target and safety schools. While many would encourage students to throw the net wide, a well researched list of 8-12 schools has proven to be more successful in the long run. And remember, any school with a single digit admission rate, regardless of the rigor of the student's transcript or strength of SAT/ACT scores, should not be considered a safety school. 

•  College Essay - Fortunately for everyone, the 2019-2020 essay prompts are the same as last year’s. Besides good grammar and spelling, a college essay is NOT an English class essay and never assume you know what the admissions officers want to read or that a good essay is a reformatted resume. It's often the small 'incident' that makes the best essay topic. An essay has accomplished its job if the reader learns something about the applicant that is not already contained in the application.

It's hard to write about yourself, but that is what will be necessary in order to produce a solid essay, and these prompts encourage that. Ask any admissions officer and he/she will tell you that nine out of ten college essays are dull and uninteresting. A good college essay tells a story, hooking the reader from the start and giving them a peek at who the student is beyond the stats. A strong essay requires several drafts and a few weeks to complete, so be patient and don't rush the process. It is now time to start thinking about it. 

•  Campus Visits - Never a waste of time, much can be learned from a campus visit, even if it was a school you didn't like. Keep track of the little things and listen to your intuition. Best seen with students around, few spots on a campus will better tell you if the school is a good personal fit than the cafeteria, library and dorm so make sure to visit them.

• Parental Role - Parents often have a hard time knowing how to best help their children with this very exciting part of their transition from adolescent to young adults, but in five words or less: be there, be supportive, but stay out of the way.

November 1st is the first, and best known, early application due date. However, more and more schools are offering early application (Early Decision, Early Action, Priority & Rolling) due dates as early as October 15th.

So it would make sense for rising juniors to make good use of this block of time before school starts again in September to focus purely on the college application process. It will not get any easier once school is back in session, especially for the student athletes who participate in a Fall sport.

Common App Updates for 2019-2020

Common App continues to improve the college application process by improving the experience of first-time and transfer students. Click here to see what’s new!

Prepping for the College Application Process

The college application process has only just begun for high school juniors. While applying to college via the Common App has gotten easier there remain things that require serious thought in order to achieve maximum positive results. These include the creation of a well-balanced and realistic college list, identifying the best strategy for when and how to apply, and thinking of how to finance a college education without incurring a massive amount of student debt.

The foundation of every student’s college application process is their academic profile, which is made up of the transcript, GPA/class rank and SAT/ACT scores. Together these three pieces of information will dictate which schools will be on the college list. All too many college lists are either top heavy with reach schools or bottom heavy with safeties. The objective should be well-balanced list of reach, target and safety schools.

The admission rate of a school is crucial in determining whether it will be a reach, target or safety and it is not necessarily the same for each applicant. Some of the factors that can come into play include grades, class rank, rigor of the transcript, legacy, ethnicity, gender, and sadly - ability to pay. Even the reputation of the high school can influence admission. So yes, a student should have a few reach schools on their list, but the focus should be on schools where being admitted is realistic. This also holds true for those students at the top of their class because even with a stellar academic profile the Ivies should never be considered a safety school.

One’s ability to pay for college should always be part of the creation of a college list as well. A school could be a target or safety yet be among the most expensive to attend. As a rule state schools will be less expensive for in-state students, but don’t not apply to those out-of-state colleges either if they fit your criteria. Experience has shown that with the right qualifications these private out-of-state schools have offered financial aid packages that bring the final cost of tuition even with the state school. Therefore a good college list will include several financially safe schools.

Once the college list has been finalized then it’s time to decide how and when to apply. Today’s students can select from Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA), Single Choice Early Action (SCEA), Priority, or Regular Decision (RD). Based on the college list, academic profile and determination, which makes the most sense? Several realities exist with each option: the first is that many colleges fill their incoming freshman classes with candidates from the Early Decision (ED) and Early Action (EA) pools; secondly, qualified students are encouraged to apply Priority to state schools while there are more funds available for financial aid packages; and third, highly selective schools only offer Early Decision (ED), Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) or Regular Decision (RD) forcing students to choose. These early application options all have application due dates beginning as early as Oct 15th through to early December so work on those applications must start over the summer.

Note: Early Decision (ED) is not a good idea if you aren’t totally in love with the school. It’s binding and students aren’t able to compare financial aid packages. Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) in very similar to Early Decision as it does not allow an applicant to submit any other early applications, yet isn’t binding. It does, however, offer well qualified students a slight edge over applying RD. Think twice before being tempted to use your SCEA on a reach school as it might not be the best strategy.

Regular Decision has January or February due dates giving students more time to put together a strong competitive application, and if applying to a very selective school might be the only valid option. Ideally, it’s really nice to already have a few acceptances by December which is one of the reasons Early Action is so popular.

Regardless of which schools a student is applying to having a strategy in place will improve the odds of being admitted into their first choice schools. Once an application is submitted to a college the fate of the student is in the hands of the admissions officers, so why not take the time to select colleges and universities where the student’s academic profile, and personality, are a good fit ? This will increase the chances of admission and reduce the disappointments.