What Will College Admissions Look Like in Fall 2020?
Covid-19 Series The Princeton Review
Hi, everyone.
I’m Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief at The Princeton Review.
This past college admissions cycle was perhaps the most unforeseeable it could possibly have
been.
But, in large part, college-bound students had already submitted their applications by
the time that things ground to a halt.
For lots of graduating seniors, so many other factors changed—from their ability (or lack
thereof) to go on campus visits, to their financial aid needs, to their desire to stay
close to home.
And those factors, for many students, influenced their college choices.
While the spring changes we just experienced were unprecedented, we’re now rolling into
a fall cycle that will bring us into uncharted territory—perhaps even more difficult to
navigate.
For those of you who will be applying to college this fall—you’ll have to contend with
differing circumstances, both in your own home high schools and in the colleges you’ll
be applying to.
Maybe your high school will be in session this fall, or maybe you’ll be logging in
online—or maybe you’ll be doing some combination of the two.
You’ll likely have done remote learning during much of junior year—meaning that
the transition to senior year (academically and otherwise) could be challenging.
You may not have been able to take your SAT or ACT yet.
Your extracurriculars were probably canceled.
Maybe your classes were pass/fall, too.
You’ll be heading into senior year with a very different set of experiences than the
cohorts that came before you.
At the same time, you’ll be applying to colleges that may be fully operational for
in-person instruction, partially operational on a hybrid model—with some students on
campus and others remote—or fully closed for in-person learning.
And that’s before we even think about the emotional, physical, and financial challenges
that you and your families have faced.
It’s a lot.
So here’s a silver lining.
More than 315 admissions leaders (and counting!) have issued a document called “Care Counts
in Crisis: College Admissions Deans Respond to COVID-19.”
We’re going to put a link to it in the description so you can check it out in full for yourself.
The goal of that document is to reassure students—to reassure YOU—that while admissions may feel
different this year, you will not be assessed by 2019 or 2018 admissions standards.
Admissions will be different too.
Before I tell you more about this document, I want to tell you a bit about who signed
it: representatives from all 8 Ivy League schools, as well as MIT, University of Chicago,
a number of top liberal arts colleges including Bowdoin, Haverford, and Williams; and major
public research institutions like University of Arizona, UT Austin, MIchigan, and others.
What I’m trying to convey here, folks, is that this is very much a mainstream set of
principles and ideals, and you can feel confident in taking them to heart.
What comes first is often most important, and that’s certainly true here.
The very first item in the document is self-care.
Here’s a direct quote: “We encourage all students to be gentle with themselves during
this time.”
The second item is about academic work, and here’s what these admissions leaders say:
“We will assess your academic achievements in the context of [the] obstacles [you faced].”
They also say that they’ll evaluate academic achievements mainly based on academic performance
before and after the pandemic.
They are explicit that you will not be disadvantaged because of a change in plans because of the
pandemic, or because of your school’s decision about transcripts, or because of the absence
of AP or IB tests, or because of a lack of access to standardized tests, or because you
weren’t able to visit campus.
You will be viewed in the context of the curriculum, academic resources, and supports available
to you.
Next, they emphasize the importance of service and contributions to others—again, assessed
in the context of obstacles you faced.
They are clear that you shouldn’t engage in any kind of competitive public service,
and they explicitly say that what matters most to them is whether your contributions
or service is authentic and meaningful to you and others.
And again, they remind everyone reading that you will not be disadvantaged if you’re
not in a position to provide those contributions.
The next part is about family contributions.
Admissions leaders truly understand that, due to the demands placed on your family as
a result of the pandemic, you may have had responsibilities at home that you wouldn’t
otherwise have had.
And they expressly say, “We view substantial family contributions as very important, and
we encourage students to report them in their applications.
It will only positively impact the review of
their application.”
The final section is about extracurricular and summer activities, and the long and short
of it is: You will not be disadvantaged for not engaging in these right now.
The signatories on this extraordinary document also call on students to communicate factors
specific to you that may have impeded your academic performance (that information will
be confidential).
And do note that both the Common Application and the Coalition for College application
will provide opportunities for you to describe how you’ve been affected by the coronavirus
pandemic.
These are no ordinary times, but colleges get it—they TRULY get it.
I hope that this update provides you with some much-needed comfort during this difficult
time.
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updates about college admissions, standardized tests, and a lot more.
Leave us a comment and let us know how the pandemic has changed the way you think about
applying to college.
Thanks so much for watching.