With over 5,000 U.S. colleges and universities to choose from, narrowing down the best matches for your student is already a Herculean task. Factor in the pressures of testing, grade point averages, writing essays, and financial considerations, and you have a recipe for major family stress.
Choosing the right college is just a bit more complicated now|Choosing the right college is just a bit more complicated now
How to research colleges during the pandemic|How to research colleges during the pandemic
A lot can happen between now and the start of the 2021 college year — and even more by the time your student graduates in 2025. Institutions that scrambled to implement coronavirus policies this year will have a better idea of what works on their campus (and what does not). Better COVID treatments and the approval of a safe vaccine can greatly diminish the danger of contracting the virus. High school seniors should take advantage of the same counseling, research tools, and college databases their older siblings used pre-pandemic, and evaluate their choices using the same criteria: academic philosophy, campus culture, size, location, costs, etc.
The difference now is that applicants should make additional evaluations based on how their prospective choices have responded to COVID — and whether or not it makes sense to stay close to home, or go to community college for a couple of years before transferring to a four-year institution.
“Admissions officers are getting creative — they're doing virtual tours and allowing prospective students to tune into the online learning experiences they're offering. The University of Virginia actually had all of its campus tour guides make TikToks,” education reporter Elissa Nadworny wrote on NPR.org.
At a recent panel of college admissions directors, Brenna Heinz of Swarthmore College noted, “If your school has decided to go pass/fail, and they have never done that before, we will never penalize you for that. That’s how we will look at grades in particular.”
At that same panel, UC San Diego Taylor Pondy, advised high school seniors to “take rigorous courses and if you feel comfortable taking an AP course, even if you can’t take the exam, that is something that we would still love to see because it shows dedication.”
In the end, NPR’s Nadworny reminds students to remember to ask for help. “I think you've got to just take a deep breath and remember that you're not alone in this," she said. "Your guidance counselor and the folks at your school are still working. The admissions offices and financial aid offices are still working, too. So you can reach out and ask questions. You are not alone in this.”
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A lot can happen between now and the start of the 2021 college year — and even more by the time your student graduates in 2025. Institutions that scrambled to implement coronavirus policies this year will have a better idea of what works on their campus (and what does not). Better COVID treatments and the approval of a safe vaccine can greatly diminish the danger of contracting the virus. High school seniors should take advantage of the same counseling, research tools, and college databases their older siblings used pre-pandemic, and evaluate their choices using the same criteria: academic philosophy, campus culture, size, location, costs, etc.
The difference now is that applicants should make additional evaluations based on how their prospective choices have responded to COVID — and whether or not it makes sense to stay close to home, or go to community college for a couple of years before transferring to a four-year institution.
“Admissions officers are getting creative — they're doing virtual tours and allowing prospective students to tune into the online learning experiences they're offering. The University of Virginia actually had all of its campus tour guides make TikToks,” education reporter Elissa Nadworny wrote on NPR.org.
At a recent panel of college admissions directors, Brenna Heinz of Swarthmore College noted, “If your school has decided to go pass/fail, and they have never done that before, we will never penalize you for that. That’s how we will look at grades in particular.”
At that same panel, UC San Diego Taylor Pondy, advised high school seniors to “take rigorous courses and if you feel comfortable taking an AP course, even if you can’t take the exam, that is something that we would still love to see because it shows dedication.”
In the end, NPR’s Nadworny reminds students to remember to ask for help. “I think you've got to just take a deep breath and remember that you're not alone in this," she said. "Your guidance counselor and the folks at your school are still working. The admissions offices and financial aid offices are still working, too. So you can reach out and ask questions. You are not alone in this.”
