When October rolls around, most seniors take on an intimidating and stressful task: college applications are undoubtedly difficult, demanding, and intimidating, because it feels like futures for the next four years are largely determined by an online application. While the majority of seniors apply to a selection of colleges and universities across the country, a lot of students may choose to pursue a different path for their future.
Some seniors take a gap year, join the military, attend a community college, get a job, or do something else of their own choosing. There is no correct way to go about your life after high school, and that is one of the unique and extraordinary things about this process.
Often by this time of year, students who have chosen to apply to colleges have likely visited campuses of their choosing, taken the SAT or ACT, and have heard from enough of their peers to construct a list of schools that suit their interests. But, what does one do when trying to navigate this decision amidst a global pandemic?
The class of 2021 faces a future of uncertainty and confusion — is it worth paying $80,000 a year for a university that’s online? Will they be sent back home after just one week of experiencing on-campus housing? Will they ever get to go to a real college football game? Will they be able to ever meet with their professors face to face? The seniors this year have a unique task on their hands of determining where they want their future to take them, during such a weird and unpredictable time.
College visits in the form of online webinars
It’s common for juniors or seniors interested in attending college to take a trip during mid-winter or spring break and visit colleges that are interesting. When there are over 4,000 degree granting institutions in the U.S. to choose from, touring a campus, getting an in-person feel for what the location of the school is like, meeting students who attend the institution, and being able to have any questions answered right on the spot is an incredibly valuable experience to have.
However, like many other things, COVID has made this process impossible. Universities have been shut down and closed off to students and the public, so touring them in person is off-limits.
Of the 34 RHS seniors surveyed, only 55.9% said they were able to tour colleges in person. Seniors have turned to online webinars, Zoom interviews, YouTube campus tours, and hours spent on Google trying to navigate every college’s confusing admissions page.
Some students may know what they want out of college, such as Sora Storck ‘21, who says “I know what I want from a school, so I can pretty easily tell if they have a good music program from the website.” For others, it’s very difficult to get a feel for a school you haven’t even visited. The websites can certainly help inform you on a school’s academics, but pictures and video tours only go so far.
Some students have completely unique experiences, such as student athlete Katie Thiers who was scouted to commit to various school’s basketball teams. Katie was offered the chance to play basketball at three different schools – Princeton University in New Jersey, Columbia University in New York, and the University of California Santa Barbara. After weighing out the importance of academics, the basketball program, the location, and individual campus visits, she settled on Princeton.
Optional test scores
The news around this process isn’t all bad. A majority of American colleges have waived test results, meaning that submitting an SAT/ACT score is entirely optional.
According to The Washington Post, seniors can now apply without a test score to more than half of the Ivy League schools, to most top-ranked liberal arts colleges, and to all of the public universities in California. This is huge for people whose scores are not their main strength on their application. Colleges are now placing more of an emphasis on personal essays, extracurriculars, and the academic rigor of high school classes. Moving away from test scores gives applicants a better chance to show themselves as a person and why they’re interested in that particular school. Additionally, it places more emphasis on a student’s GPA.
“I think it’s better than placing so much weight on the SAT because the SAT is based on privilege and the admissions look at your scores like everyone has an even playing field; which is just so false. You have more control over your essay. It’s easier to come from a lower-income and still get good grades vs. the SAT which is so based on monetary privilege,” says senior, Sora Storck. There is still the option to submit test scores when you apply, but schools promise there is no advantage or preference for doing so.
73.5% of the RHS seniors surveyed said they consider the personal essay to be the most important part of their application. It’s tough to reflect upon yourself and create a meaningful essay. As Sora Storck summed it up perfectly, “It’s stressful because the essay is such a big part of it, and you’re having to reflect so much on yourself. Sometimes you really don’t want to reflect on that time in your life, but that would make a better essay.”
Merit & financial aid based on test scores
Another new aspect to college admissions this year is how universities and colleges are distributing merit aid. Usually, this is based off of test scores and GPA, but a lot of colleges aren’t even requiring test scores. The New York Times recently published an article titled “How to Predict Merit Aid in a Strange College Application Season”, which covers some specific schools and their solution to the shift away from standardized testing.
The University of Alabama still requires test scores, meaning students will receive merit aid based on their scores and their GPA. On the other hand, Loyola University of New Orleans is adopting a “test blind” policy, so admissions officers won’t even consider SAT/ACT scores. At Wabash College, the dean for enrollment management and director of admissions says its plan is to “take an even harder look at grade point averages in core, college-preparatory classes.”
The price of college is always a very important factor to students and their families when considering such an investment, and financial aid and scholarships can certainly help lower the price and make school more affordable. The author of the New York Times article, Ron Lieber, recommends referring to each school’s website or asking an admissions representative for exact details on submitting test scores for merit based aid as that will give you the most precise answer.
Inflation of grades, no chance for extracurriculars, cancelling of sports
Last year, Seattle Public Schools instituted an “automatic A” policy, and while it seemed great at the time, no one considered how it would affect those choosing to apply to colleges this fall semester. Universities and colleges look at many components to a student’s academic history, but GPA plays a very important role. No one knows for certain, but how will the automatic As received by Roosevelt seniors during their junior year play out? Will it benefit them or damage their academic history?
Coronavirus has presented many other challenges regarding the future of Roosevelt students, like how to go about completing community service hours when opportunities are so scarce. Incoming freshmen and seniors scrambling to complete their 60 hours may face a stressful situation with limited places to volunteer.
Furthermore, sports and most extracurriculars were cancelled, and they certainly play a hugely important role in college applications. Students aspiring to be team captain for spring sports lost their opportunity to demonstrate their athletic talent, and club leaders have been struggling to engage with new members and encourage people to their meetings.
Of the Roosevelt seniors who responded to the survey about college applications during COVID, 67% used the word stressful to describe the process. Students are worried about being “able to live in the dorms, how meeting people will work, having online classes”, “not being able to enjoy the college experience as much”, and “not being able to socialize with new classmates”. Planning one’s future is usually an exciting task, but there is so much uncertainty this year that it makes it tough to be excited about much.
While 2020 has undeniably been a year of confusion, frustration, and unreliability for everyone, not all hope is lost for seniors this year. Since no one is exactly sure what the future will look like, perhaps a relatively-normal college experience will ensue. Whatever path the seniors this year choose to take post-graduation, it will be the right decision for them. Remember that there is no correct way to go about your life after high school, and that is one of the unique and extraordinary things about this process. Best of luck to the Class of 2021!
