Is Your High School Junior on Track with College Planning?

College admissions has changed dramatically this past eight months due to Covid-19. It is important that high school juniors get on track with their college planning in order to be prepared for the college application and admission process.

Although many colleges are test-optional for the class of 2021, that does not mean that colleges are test-blind. Most will still accept test scores from the SAT or ACT and consider them as part of the college application if they are submitted. Many colleges will also consider SAT and ACT scores for merit scholarships. For students who choose not to submit test scores, essays will carry more weight than ever before because they allow a school to determine how a student will contribute to theIr college community.

Colleges will be more flexible with who writes the recommendations, because they too will help a school get a picture of a student’s character, which is a big thing this year. Whether getting into college will be more difficult or easier for 2021or 2022 high school graduates remains to be seen. However, students need to write the best college applications and essays in order to be competitive. The more planning that high school juniors do, the more successful their college admissions oportunities will be as a high school senior.

Susie Watts is a college consultant with 30 years experience. She begins working with high school juniors once they are into their first semester. You can contact Susie at 303-692-1918 or susie@collegedirection.org with questions.Love

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YOUR SENIOR MAY NEED TO APPLY TO MORE COLLEGES THIS YEAR DUE TO COVID-19

Parents of seniors are worried how Covid-19 will affect their child’s chances of admission to college. This is my advice. Make sure that you know what is and what is not within your student’s control. Building and honing a college list is within every student’s control. Every school that is on that list, whether it is a safety or reach, should be a school that your child would be happy to attend. It important to have options. With Covid-19, college admissions could be dramatically different than it has been in years past. To save you child from disappointment, check and double check that list and make whatever changes might be necessary. Many application deadlines have been extended and other good schools are on rolling admissions.