Consider skipping the ACT/SAT.
The College Board added a test date in September, in addition to its August and October dates, and gave priority registration for all three to juniors who never had the chance to take the SAT. But whether the ACT/SAT will be able to administer their tests this fall or offer the usual capacity in an era of social distancing remains unclear. On Tuesday, the College Board announced it was postponing plans to offer a remote SAT this year, saying it “would require three hours of uninterrupted, video-quality internet for each student, which can’t be guaranteed for all.”
So, what should juniors do who still haven’t taken a test? “Normally, I’d suggest students prepare for the tests, unless they’re not a good test taker,” said Brennan Barnard, director of college counseling at the Derryfield School in New Hampshire and co-author of “The Truth About College Admission.” “But this year, students should definitely question whether it’s worth it with the number of schools that have gone test optional.”
Test-optional means that applicants can submit test scores if they want to, but it won’t hurt their chances of admission if they don’t. A handful of selective colleges enacted test-optional polices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic — some temporarily for the Class of 2021, such as Columbia University, the University of Washington and Boston University; others as part of a three-year experiment, including Davidson College and Tufts University. The University of California also suspended testing requirements for the Class of 2021, and last month agreed to phase out the ACT/SAT altogether for in-state residents over the next few years (the system will decide on out-of-state applicants later on).
You might not have an ACT/SAT score, but you probably have a PSAT score that gives you a sense of how you perform on a standardized test. If you have solid grades from taking a strong curriculum in high school, but a subpar PSAT score for the set of schools you’re considering, you might consider looking to the growing number of test-optional schools rather than wait on in-person ACT/SAT tests that might never happen.
Go beyond the virtual campus tour.
When you go on a campus tour in person, “you hear the great stuff, and the not-so-great stuff just by being there,” said Mark Butt, director of undergraduate selection at Emory University. “Now you have to actively seek that experience in virtual tours.”
Online information sessions and phone calls with admissions counselors are useful, but students should go beyond the channels that the colleges control. Scroll through topic pages on Reddit, such as r/applyingtocollege, or watch YouTube videos recorded by students talking about how they applied to college or “day in the life” videos showing you what life is really like on their campuses.
Don’t just sit around this summer.
Summer jobs have disappeared for many teenagers, as have many summer activities and sports. But that shouldn’t be an excuse to play video games in your bedroom or make TikTok videos all day.
