What's changed since Covid?

Last week I had a lovely time talking with a local PTO about college admission. I was specifically asked to talk about how the admission process has changed since Covid. That’s a great question, and I talked about three changes that I’ve seen in my own small practice over the past few years. From everything I’ve read about nationwide trends, my experience seems to be pretty typical of admission for most people.

So what’s different?

1. I talk about testing a lot less.

To be clear: All of my clients have taken at lease one SAT (usually administered at school during the school day). Some take it more than once, and some have also taken the ACT. Most of them are choosing to submit test scores in their applications. Testing has not disappeared.

And around 4% of colleges require test scores—MIT is a notable example. So please carefully check the policies of any school you’re thinking of applying to. Most schools who are going to announce any changes to their testing policy will do so this summer, so check again in the fall.

But many schools that relaxed their testing requirements for Covid have decided to stay permanently test optional, and some are going test blind and not looking at test scores even if you have them—the University of California system is a notable example of this trend.

Testing is still a part of the application, it’s just not the stressor it was a few years ago. Almost everyone takes the test once or twice, accepts their scores for what they are, and then moves on. It’s been two years since I’ve had any kind of “testing strategy” conversation. Once or twice I’ve spent a few minutes talking with a client about whether I recommend they re-test. Once or twice I’ve chatted about the pros and cons of test prep. I’ve had a single conversation this year about whether a test scores is “good,” or “good enough.” And a quick email about whether or not to report scores. That’s it. Probably a 90% decrease in time spent thinking about, talking about, and writing about standardized tests.

(The most common test-related question I’ve had so far this spring is about whether certain colleges prefer the SAT or ACT. The students admit that colleges say that they don’t have a preference, but wonder if they really do have a preference. They do not have a preference. Colleges are very used to both ACT and SAT scores.)

In the big picture, I think this de-emphasis on testing is a really great thing. Of all the things you do to make a stronger college application, standardized tests have the shortest longevity. Better grades in high school, a stronger essay, more connection with your community, more activity out in the world—all of these things are a better use of your time in the long run than getting high SAT/ACT scores. So I’m fine with this development, especially for otherwise bright and promising students who just don’t do as well at timed, high-pressure, multiple-choice exams.

I also acknowledge that the de-emphasis on testing can be frustrating for students who had hoped to make their test scores the centerpiece of their application. You can still report your scores, of course. And really high scores are never going to be a hindrance to your application. But students should be a lot less confident on their acceptance to colleges based solely on high test scores than they could a few years ago—and they shouldn’t have been over-confident a few years ago.

2. The whole process has moved up by about two months.

My first few years doing this, December was really busy for me. Clients were finishing up applications for Regular Decision deadlines in early January. There were lots of questions, lots of last-minute changes to their college list, and quite a bit of last-minute edits to essays. Then I would have little to do in January and February, wondering if I would even be able to continue doing this work since nobody was inquiring about my services. But a little later, mostly in the week before Spring Break and the week after, calls and emails would start coming in, and I had close to a full roster by May.

The past two years, that whole cycle has been accelerated by two months. October has been really stressful, and applications have been largely finished by November 1. Almost everyone I work with has applied early—whether through Early Decision, Early Action, or just turning a regular application in early—to at least one school. Many, though not all, had at least one acceptance by mid-December and didn’t submit any more applications. Even the ones who sent January applications were still pretty much done early, though, since they had already finished things up for a November deadline. December has been pleasantly slow.

Just as things are wrapping up a few months earlier than before, things are beginning earlier. I almost always only begin working with students in their junior year, and March and April used to be when I brought most people on board. Now, I’m getting calls and emails in the first half of 11th grade. I had about half of my current juniors by the end of December, and by Spring Break this year I was turning people away because I have all the clients I need. January and February are no longer quiet, but now really busy.

I don’t know to what extent this earlier schedule is a national trend. It could easily be that I’m getting client inquiries earlier just because I’ve been doing this a bit longer and am more established. But I know that early applications are definitely on the rise, so I suspect that the timing shift is bigger than just my small sample.

3. There’s no “normal” number of applications any more.

I used to tell students that ideally they will be applying to four to eight schools, and that most apply to eight to twelve. I still talk about the four-to-eight goal, but there’s no longer a “normal” or “average” number of applications for my students.

As I said, the past two years have seen more students applying to a few schools early, getting accepted, and being finished. Although the number of clients who apply to only one college is still pretty small, it’s double what it used to be. And the number of clients who apply to four or fewer schools is also a lot higher. So, fewer applications…

…except the students who don’t apply early, or don’t get accepted early, are typically applying to more schools. If there’s not early success, then they get nervous and feel the need to send out more applications, just in case. I’ve had a lot of clients in the past two years apply to more than 15 colleges overall. Last year someone applied to 23. So students are applying to fewer schools or to more schools, but not as many students are applying to the middle of range of four to 12.

Those are the major changes I’ve seen in the past few years. And they seem to be normal. It’s a mess out there, and I haven’t got a lot of hope in the near-to-mid-future that it will get better.

What advice do I have for parents and students considering these changes?

Consider early 11th grade as the ideal time to begin thinking seriously about college admission. I still don’t encourage 9th or 10th graders to get too involved, because there’s still so much time for so much to change. But I know lots of parents my age didn’t begin their own college admission process until 12th grade, and that’s just not nearly as feasible as it used to be.

Think of November 1 as your deadline, not January 1. Some of the large public universities have earlier deadlines, especially if you want financial aid or campus housing. If you’re in a position to consider Early Decision, then consider it seriously. While I used to have “will you apply ED to any of the schools on your list?” conversations, now I mostly have “to which school on your list will you apply ED?” conversations.

Building a balanced list of colleges is incredibly important. I want all my clients, no matter how impressive their transcript and resume, to apply to one or two schools they are very confident they’ll be accepted to. I don’t discourage anyone from applying to as many “highly rejective” colleges as they want, but we work hard to have realistic expectations, and I want those Dream School conversations to happen after the conversations about confident-in-acceptance schools.

Remember that the best way to prepare for college is to be a good high school student. It’s not about “tips and tricks” or strategy. It’s not about secret formulas or inside information. It’s about being the best version of you possible, and then clearly communicating who you are. And as I say as often as possible: when you see unhappy adults, they’re never unhappy because they didn’t get into their top-choice college twenty years ago. College is important, but getting into your Dream School just isn’t that important in the grand scheme. You’re going to be fine.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, here are three easy things you can do:

1. Share it on your social media feeds so your friends and colleagues can see it too.

2. Read these related posts:

   Four things juniors should do now, before the end of the year

   Three pandemic changes I hope become permanent

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Apply with Sanity doesn’t have ads or annoying pop-ups. It doesn’t share user data, sell user data, or even track personal data. It doesn’t do anything to “monetize” you. You’re nothing but a reader to me, and that means everything to me.

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The element that's missing from a lot of LOCIs

So first, LOCI means Letter of Continued Interest. It’s what you write to a college who is offering you a wait list spot if you want to be on their wait list. It’s where you explain to them that you still really want to go to their school.

I don’t actually think you should take a wait list spot if you have affordable acceptances from any other colleges. I recommend the emotional empowerment of basically saying "screw you and your waitlist, I'm going to a place that already recognizes my awesomeness." (You may not want to literally say that.)

But if you do decide to hold out hope and take a place on the wait list, you’ll probably write a LOCI. Make sure, however, that the college wants one. Some schools require them, but some ask you not to send one. If there are any instructions from the individual school, follow those instructions!

In many LOCIs, there's a looming question a lot of people don’t address: if this is your top-choice school and you want to go here so badly, why didn’t you apply Early Decision? You’re writing this letter now saying that you love the college, it’s your first-choice pick, and if they accept you—even late in the summer—you will go there. The way to signal to a college that it’s your Number One and that you will definitely attend if admitted is to apply ED. So why didn’t you? You should address this directly. This is the thing that’s missing from a lot of LOCIs—explaining what’s changed—and you can make your LOCI better by addressing it. Even if you’re writing a LOCI for a college that doesn’t offer ED, you can write a stronger letter by thinking about this question and answering as if they did.

There are three main answers for why a person has a top-choice but didn’t apply ED if they could have.

One reason is that you’ve learned more about the school. Since applying, you’ve done more research, gone on a visit, or somehow gotten a better idea of what the school is all about. If this applies, say so, and explain what changed. Tell them what you’ve learned about them since you submitted your application. Be as specific as possible. Or maybe you are the one who’s changed. You’ve gained a better understanding of yourself or have made some major decisions that make the school a lot more attractive now than it was at the end of last year. Either way, the college feels like a much stronger fit that it did when you had the chance to apply ED. Make that clear, and give concrete details.

Another reason people don’t apply ED to a top-choice school is that they are fearful of applying ED because they want to compare financial aid offers. That’s perfectly reasonable and understandable. If you’re now in a situation where you wanted to apply ED to a school but held off for financial aid reasons, but the other financial aid offers you got just aren’t good enough to make you change your mind, say so. Make sure you discuss this with your family first, though. You’re basically signaling that attending the college is more important to you than financial aid. That’s potentially a very expensive thing to say, so be thoughtful about saying it. No, you’re not obligated to take a waitlist spot if they offer you one but don’t offer enough financial aid to make it affordable. But understand up front that they’re probably not going to offer much financial aid, because their budget may be limited by the time they get to the wait list. So if you think it’s a strong possibility that you won’t be able to afford to go even if they offer you a place, you may not want to bother with the LOCI and wait list.

There’s a third situation that’s tricky to write about. That’s when you’re asking for a wait list spot not because the college is really your first-choice pick, but because your first-choice pick didn’t accept you, and maybe your second also didn’t accept you, and now the top of your list is the one who waitlisted you. It’s hard to tell them “you never were my favorite, but now I guess you are, because all my favorites didn’t accept me. I’m feeling a little desperate.” You don’t need to hide this or feel embarrassed. Still, your LOCI will be stronger if you take the time do some research and write most of your LOCI as if you’ve learned a lot more about the school and/or learned more about yourself.

What else should you include in a LOCI? Give them any updates that may be useful. Has your GPA gone up at all? Have you won any awards, completed any big projects, or done anything else noteworthy? If there's anything that's substantially changed for the better since you applied, let them know about it. All this is going into a single page. Unless the school directs you otherwise, aim for 400-500 words.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, here are three easy things you can do:

1. Share it on your social media feeds so your friends and colleagues can see it too.

2. Read these related posts:

   Three things seniors can do while they wait

   Make your choice and don’t look back

   Dealing with denial

3. Ask a question in the comments section.

Apply with Sanity doesn’t have ads or annoying pop-ups. It doesn’t share user data, sell user data, or even track personal data. It doesn’t do anything to “monetize” you. You’re nothing but a reader to me, and that means everything to me.

Photo by Angela Elisabeth.

Apply with Sanity is a registered trademark of Apply with Sanity, LLC. All rights reserved.

How to handle bad news

Yesterday, December 15, was a day of good news for many college applicants. Thousands of students learned that their Early Decision or Early Action applications had been accepted. Congratulations to all of them!

But it was also a sad day for thousands more, who had their ED and EA applications deferred or denied. (Colleges use the term “denied,” because although they are denying you acceptance to their school they don’t want you to feel like it’s a personal rejection. Every student I know calls it “rejection,” because—at least at first—it indeed does feel like a personal rejection.)

If you got good news, you know what to do. ED applicants—you’re done! Enjoy your break and enjoy your spring! EA acceptances mean you have some place to go and some place to compare your later offers to. That’s a nice spot to be in.

If you got bad news, though, you may not know what to do. You may be overwhelmed with questions or disappointment. So here’s some advice on dealing with the bad news.

First, understand what you’re looking at: is it a no or a maybe? If you are denied, then it means they are not going to enroll you. You won’t be going there; it’s decided. But very often with ED and EA applications, they don’t actually tell you no. They instead defer you to the regular decision pool. Your application will be looked at again, and you still may be accepted—or waitlisted—when those decisions come out. You may still be going to your top-choice school.

Either denied or deferred, if you applied ED this means you need to make sure you have other applications ready to go for regular admissions deadlines, mostly around January 1st. That gives you several weeks. That’s not a whole lot of time, but you were probably working on them anyway. You’ve got time to catch up. Make sure that your applications include a wide range of selectivity. Don’t assume that because you got denied or deferred once that it means you “can’t get in” at a low-acceptance-rate school and decide not to apply to any.

You should also apply to at least one or two schools where you are very confident you will be accepted. For some students, this means making sure you include schools with acceptance rates over 50%. For some it means making sure to include schools with acceptance rates over 70%. For some it may mean applying to schools with acceptance rates over 90%. You probably know which category you fit in—for most, 70% is a good standard, just to be sure.

If you applied EA, this probably doesn’t change much. You were already working on other applications and weren’t completely sure you want to go to this one school. Otherwise, you would have applied ED. So you’ve got emotions to work through, perhaps, but you’re on track.

If you’ve got emotions about the bad news—and you probably do—then you should work hard to name them and understand them. Work on at least one sentence that follows the “I feel _____ because _____” pattern.

I feel disappointed, because I really wanted to go to that college, and they denied me. I feel discouraged, because this denial makes me question how well my other applications are going to go. I feel embarrassed, because I acted as though this was going to be my college, and now I have to find another one. I feel angry, because I think they underestimated me and are taking away an opportunity.

You’ll probably have more than one feeling, and they’ll change over time. If you’ve got negative feelings, that’s not a problem. Don’t listen to the people who tell you not to feel that way. You don’t, in fact, need to stay positive. But one of the most productive ways to make sure your negative feelings don’t sabotage your chances with future applications is to have a clear idea of what your feelings are and where they’re coming from. Naming your feelings is a way to help keep them from controlling you. You’ll probably want to discuss those feelings with someone you trust.

If you got bad news of any kind, you may be wondering what you did wrong. It’s normal to do this, to want to know that one thing that messed things up for you: they must not have liked my essay, or my test scores were too low, or even I know someone with worse grades who got in, so there’s something unfair going on. Let go of this thinking as soon as you can. It’s normal, but it’s not useful or productive. Holistic admissions means that there’s no one thing that you did wrong. It’s just not that simple. The truth, which you may find reassuring but may find frustrating, is that you probably did absolutely nothing wrong. It may be that you did everything fine, but the school had more applicants who did everything fine than they could accept. This is why, other than politeness, they don’t call it a rejection.

If you’re experiencing strong negative emotions and making strong negative assumptions—things like “I won’t be able to have a successful life now that I’m not going to my top choice school” or “I’m not going to be accepted to any college”—then you may need to work on what psychologists call decatastrophizing. You can search for “decatastrophizing worksheet” and find plenty of examples, and they all ask you to logically and honestly ask yourself what the worst possible outcome really is, how likely that worst-case scenario really is, and what you plan to do if that worst case does (or doesn’t) come true. No matter what it feels like right now, the odds that this one college decision will actually be your downfall and ruin your life are incredibly small.

Remember that you planned for this. You knew this might happen, and you planned for it. Even if you applied ED, you knew that you would need a plan B and had other schools in mind. If you applied EA, then you definitely had other schools in mind. You certainly hoped to get good news in the first round, but you knew that it might not be the case. You have a few weeks to finish other applications to most schools, and even longer for some schools with late deadlines or rolling admissions. This is disappointing, but it’s nothing you aren’t prepared for.

The only thing left to do is take the next step. And unless you applied ED to one school and haven’t got a back-up, you already know what the next step is. Feel disappointed or frustrated or sad or embarrassed or whatever else you feel, and then finish up those other applications if you haven’t yet. Don’t decide that you need to throw your entire plan out the window and start all over again at zero. Don't decide that you’re a failure. Don’t decide that you will not even bother applying to college. Don’t spend the next two weeks feeling too bad to do anything about it. Just do what’s next, the logical next step, and you’ll be fine.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, here are three easy things you can do:

1. Share it on your social media feeds so your friends and colleagues can see it too.

2. Check out these related Apply with Sanity posts:

   What to do when you get waitlisted

   What are your chances of getting into your top college?

3. Ask a question in the comments section.

Apply with Sanity doesn’t have ads or annoying pop-ups. It doesn’t share user data, sell user data, or even track personal data. It doesn’t do anything to “monetize” you. You’re nothing but a reader to me, and that means everything to me.

Photo by Angela Elisabeth.

Apply with Sanity is a registered trademark of Apply with Sanity, LLC. All rights reserved.

Dealing with denial

It’s December, so acceptance notices are coming in for early applicants. That means, of course, that denials are also coming in for early applicants. All denials—colleges use “denial” instead of the harsher and more emotional “rejection”—feel bad, but the first one feels the worst. It especially feels worse if it’s from an Early Decision or Early Action application and you were hoping to be done with the whole process by now. I spent an entire morning reading through web pages on “how to deal with rejection,” and most of them deal with being rejected by someone you ask out on a date or being fired from a job. So here is my college admissions-specific advice about working through your first—or second, or twelfth—skinny envelope.

First, understand what you’re looking at: is it a no or a maybe? If you applied EA or ED and you don’t get accepted, then they’ve probably deferred your application and will reconsider it with the regular application pool. If you applied regular decision, you may be placed on a wait list rather than be denied. The good news is that a deferral or a waitlist isn’t necessarily a denial—you might still be accepted. The bad news is that it’s still probably going to be a denial in the long run. Take a few minutes to do some quick searches and see if you can find any stats or statements about that for the particular school. Remember, though, that the percentage of deferred or waitlisted students who were eventually accepted last year doesn’t mean that’s how many will be accepted this year. But it will give you an idea of what you’re working with.

If you applied ED, then this means you need to make sure you have other applications ready to go for regular admissions deadlines, probably around January 1st. That gives you several weeks. That’s not a whole lot of time, but you were probably working on them anyway. You’ve got time to catch up.

If you applied EA, this probably doesn’t change much. You were already working on other applications and weren’t completely sure you want to go to this one school. Otherwise, you would have applied ED. So you’ve got emotions to work through, perhaps, but you’re on track.

If you applied regular decision and got put on a wait list, I think you should just probably tell them to bug off and not think about them any more. There are other schools that want you.

If you got bad news of any kind, you may be wondering what you did wrong. It’s normal to do this, to want to know that one thing that messed things up for you: they must not have liked my essay, or my test scores were too low, or even I know someone with worse grades who got in, so there’s something unfair going on. Let go of this thinking as soon as you can. It’s normal, but it’s not useful or productive. Holistic admissions means that there’s no one thing that you did wrong. It’s just not that simple. The truth, which you may find reassuring and/or frustrating, is that you probably did absolutely nothing wrong. It may be that you did everything fine, but the school had more applicants who did everything fine than they could accept. This is why, other than politeness, they don’t call it a rejection.

If you’ve got emotions about the bad news—and you probably do—then you should work hard to name them and understand them. Work on at least one sentence that follows the “I feel _____ because _____” pattern. I feel disappointed, because I really wanted to go to that college, and they denied me. I feel discouraged, because this denial makes me question how well my other applications are going to go. I feel embarrassed, because I acted as though this was going to be my college, and now I have to find another one. You’ll probably have more than one feeling, and they’ll change over time. If you’ve got negative feelings, that’s not a problem. Don’t listen to the folks who tell you not to feel that way. You don’t, in fact, need to stay positive. But one of the most productive ways to make sure your negative feelings don’t sabotage your chances with future applications is to have a clear idea of what your feelings are and where they’re coming from. Naming your feelings is a way to help keep them from controlling you.

Remember that you planned for this. In its current form, a lot of the college admissions process isn’t based so much on people saying Yes as it is on people saying No. Colleges get a lot of credit and prestige for denying people. “Elite” and “low acceptance rate” are almost the same thing, and a low acceptance rate actually makes more students want to apply to a college. While the majority of colleges don’t operate this way—around 80% of colleges and universities accept at least half their applicants—almost all student applicants plan on being told No and also plan on telling at least one college No. If you’re hoping to have more than one acceptance so you can compare quality and/or financial aid, then you’re essentially planning to say No to someone. So it hurts to be a student who hears No and has to wonder if they’ll get into a good-fit school. And it hurts to be a school who hears No and has to wonder if they’ll make their desired yield. But being told No is part of the system on both sides, and you’re prepared for that.

The only thing left to do is take the next step. And unless you applied ED to one school and haven’t got a back-up, you already know what the next step is. Feel disappointed or frustrated or sad or embarrassed or whatever else you feel, and then finish up those other applications if you haven’t yet. Don’t decide that you need to change your list based on this one piece of bad news. Just do what’s next, and you’ll be fine.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, here are three easy things you can do:

1. Share it on your social media feeds so your friends and colleagues can see it too.

2. Check out these related Apply with Sanity posts: “What to do when you get waitlisted” and “What are your chances of getting into your top college?”

3. Ask a question in the comments section.

Apply with Sanity doesn’t have ads or annoying pop-ups. It doesn’t share user data, sell user data, or even track personal data. It doesn’t do anything to “monetize” you. You’re nothing but a reader to me, and that means everything to me.

Photo by Angela Elisabeth.

Apply with Sanity is a registered trademark of Apply with Sanity, LLC. All rights reserved.