Seniors around the country grappled with all sorts of stressors, complications and hardships due to COVID -19. Colleges appreciate and understand and really want to know if a student has struggled with anything due to the pandemic, so they can review your application in that context.
Some students became responsible for the care and schooling of younger siblings as they concurrently work to get their own academic work done. Others took care of sick or elderly family members, or experienced a loss in the family due to COVID or other complications. Some families struggled financially due to loss of income and students got jobs to make up income or simply shouldered the financial anxiety. There are students who didn’t have a quiet, and/or dedicated workspace to complete their schoolwork in, and others whose parents were essential workers – there were also students who became essential workers themselves.
Scads of students could not participate in normal extracurricular activities with competitions, games, internships and research projects cancelled. Some students received Pass/Fail grades for Spring 2020 while others got actual letter grades. Everybody’s situation is different, so it’s important you note whatever happened in your life as a result of the pandemic.
Colleges want to know how COVID affected you, so don’t be shy about writing something and adding it to your applications. If your situation is not extreme – let’s say you got Pass/Fail grades for Spring 2020 and were unable to complete testing, then two or three sentences will suffice. If your situation is more complicated or extreme than that, be sure to include a statement so that any college admissions officer that reads your application will have an understanding of how COVID-19 impacted your life.
There will be tremendous flexibility with the way applications are reviewed, so be sure to give colleges the information they need to fairly review your applications! Call us if you need help figuring out what to say. (818)207-0263
