The world of college admissions, like so many other facets of life has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. New developments are being announced on almost a daily basis, so everything is changing fast!
The Class of 2020 of course got hit hard with the loss of prom, grad night and graduation itself as we have always known it. Many of them will be doing their first semester of college online, and waiting to see how developments unfold after that. We’ve been really impressed with the high level of acceptance we’ve seen from students we know in that class. Students from Class of 2020 have surely shown a tremendous amount of resiliency and acceptance. Fortunately for them, they had already applied to college. The big adjustment for them was changing weight to their decision-making options of where to actually attend.
For Class of 2021, things have changed quite a bit. At many colleges around the country, testing will be optional and the list of test-optional colleges grows by the day. (https://www.fairtest.org/university/optional) If students in 2021 do have the opportunity to prep and sit for testing, great – they should do it! But if that becomes difficult or even impossible, the colleges have sent the clear message not to worry about it – they will show tremendous flexibility with this class! Students are also worried about how colleges will look at the pass/fail grades from Spring 2020 – during that all-important 6th semester. Again, colleges are saying, don’t worry about it! Our best advice is that you students just do your best with Fall 2020 grades, and make sure you are using your time wisely during this summer. Here’s a list of ideas we’ve come up with to help inspire your summer activities (https://navcc.net/?s=covid).
There’s also been some rumbling about Early Action or Early Decision deadlines shifting later, but no official announcements have been made. We will keep you apprised on that as time goes on.
The biggest thing to know is that the basic recipe for getting into college remains the same. Rising seniors should work on essays all summer long, and build a college list that is well-balanced in terms of academics, social needs and family finances. Most applications open August 1st so get these elements going right now, and you will be in great shape come fall.
Get in touch with us if you need help, as that is where we come in! https://navcc.net/contact-us/ or call us (818)207-0263. We are here to help!!
