Any questions should be directed to:
Melanie J. Ford (cell) 706-340-1883
Office of the University Architects, Director of Construction
210 River Road | Athens, GA 30602
p: 706-340-1883
e: mjford@uga.edu
w: https://www.architects.uga.
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By Matt Musico
College admissions has changed significantly in recent years due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Different areas of college admissions have been impacted in various ways. In this article, we’ll discuss how the landscape currently looks at selective colleges in the United States.
Many colleges dropping test requirements for at least one recruitment cycle during the pandemic has been one of the biggest changes in college admissions. While there have been a small number of colleges that went back to requiring an SAT or ACT from applicants during the 2021-22 academic year – such as the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech – test-optional admissions are now common practice.
According to Fairtest.org, more than 1,800 colleges and universities didn’t require test scores to apply during the current 2021-22 academic year. It’s looking to be similar for the 2022-23 academic year, too. Fairtest.org is reporting that 1,400-plus schools have already committed to not requiring tests for admission for at least the next recruitment cycle.
The schools that have already committed to not requiring tests for the 2022-23 academic year include several selective schools, like Boston University, Bucknell University, Colgate University, Middlebury College, University of Notre Dame, Stanford University, Tulane University, Tufts University, and the University of Southern California. As we continue creeping closer to the next recruitment cycle, we’ll hear more decisions from institutions about what their intentions are for the 2022-23 academic year if it hasn’t been decided already.
For those who have taken the SAT or ACT, it can be confusing on how to decide whether you should send scores with your application materials. I’ve had this conversation many times over the past two years, and the answer depends on the score and also on the school. In some instances, an SAT score of 1250 would help strengthen an application, but weaken it in other instances depending on the competitiveness of the school. Making this decision is easier by using CollegeData’s tools and resources.
Let’s use Indiana University as an example. If you head to its college profile page on CollegeData and select the admissions tab, you can scroll down to view average test scores. Doing so allows you to see what the middle 50% range is for each section. I advise students that it’s a good idea to submit their scores if they’re in the upper portion of that range. If not, let the rest of your application show why you’re a strong applicant.
If you decide to not submit test scores, don’t think it necessarily puts you at a disadvantage. For the college graduating class of 2025, Tufts reported that half of their applicants and just over 40% of admitted students applied without sending in test scores. Test optional policies are in place to help students – it’s not a secret way to put you into separate buckets when evaluating files.
The global pandemic has created two different situations for college admission offices. There are those who have experienced application surges, and others who are struggling to find students willing to apply. Due to various factors – like the test-optional movement and an inability to see campuses in person, among others – many top US colleges have seen a record number of applicants over the past two years.
A year after receiving nearly 59,000 applications and welcoming its largest class ever, Purdue University has surpassed that number of applications this year. It received more than 46,000 applications by its November 1, 2021 early decision deadline and nearly 54,000 more applications by its January 1, 2022 regular decision deadline.
Tufts received more than 34,000 applications this year, which is a 12% increase from the year prior. Also, Early Restrictive Action applications for the University of Notre Dame saw an increase of nearly 2,000 applicants from the previous year.
While not all selective and Ivy league universities saw an increase in the number of applications received this year, it’s clear that these well-known colleges aren’t having many issues with generating interest. And of course, this means that an already competitive landscape is even more competitive.
It’s imperative to build a balanced college list. There’s nothing wrong with applying to selective schools, but if that’s all your list contains, there’s a lot of uncertainty involved once decisions are released. You’ve worked hard throughout your high school career, and you deserve to have several schools to choose from that you’re excited about during the spring of senior year. Don’t dismiss selective colleges that you love, but also make sure your list is rounded out with non-reach schools that you’d be perfectly happy attending, as well.
Another part of the selective college application process that has changed is SAT Subject tests, which the College Board officially announced would be discontinued in January of 2021. These were typically used for students who wanted to display mastery of a subject, especially since SAT Subject tests reflected high school curricula. It also gave an indication as to how ready a student is to take a college-level course in that specific subject and helped improve a student’s credentials for college admissions.
Now that SAT Subject tests are gone, what can colleges use to help make these determinations? That’s right – AP (Advanced Placement) exams can be an option.
This could especially be the case for those applying via the test optional route. Colleges are looking for as much information as possible to determine a student’s qualifications. Using available AP Test scores is another data point which may help admission offices make that decision. Here’s a statement from Boston College on the topic of reviewing a student’s academic credentials (quote via Carnegie Prep):
'In reviewing applications that do not include standardized test results, the Admission Committee places greater emphasis on other required application credentials including academic performance, rigor of coursework, placement in class, personal statements, recommendations, and co-curricular involvement. Students who wish to further quantify their academic successes are welcome to submit non-required credentials such as Advanced Placement scores, predicted IB scores, or SAT Subject Test results (if previously taken).'
Take note of the first two things mentioned in the above quote: academic performance and rigor of coursework. Regardless of how college admissions change over the years, there’s one thing that won’t: the importance of the grades you earn and the types of classes you take. The best way for an admission office to find out what kind of student you’ll be in college is to look at what kind of student you have been throughout high school.
AP Test scores won’t necessarily become a focal point anytime soon if they rise in importance, but their role in the process is changing. In the past, having scores to report certainly seemed like a bonus, but with SAT Subject Tests no longer available, AP Tests could be the logical substitute.
With application numbers rising and the test-optional movement making the other parts of your academic profile even more important, finding other ways to stand out is crucial. One of the ways you can do that is by demonstrating authentic interest in the colleges on your list, with participating in an interview being a great way to show that.
Not all selective colleges track demonstrated interest or offer interviews. However, it’d be wise to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with an admission counselor if it’s available. One way to check whether this is an option at the schools you’re considering is to check the profile of that institution on CollegeData. If we use Wake Forest University as an example, you can see by heading to the admissions tab and scrolling down to the “Selection of Students” section that an interview is not only offered, but it’s also an important piece of the puzzle for admissions.
The timing of when these interviews are made available will vary by school. For Wake Forest, it typically opens interview times – both in-person and virtual – to seniors early in the fall. Once it gets past a certain point in the calendar, those opportunities are only available for students who have already applied.
Interviews are great because they allow admissions officers the opportunity to put a face to the name, so to speak. It brings your application to life, and enables admissions officers to gauge how seriously interested you are in their institution. Having a sense of your personality and social fit for campus in addition to your academic and extracurricular qualifications helps an office make a more informed and confident decision on your admission status.
So, if colleges on your list offer interviews, take advantage of the opportunity to show them the type of student they’d be bringing to campus if you’re accepted and decide to enroll.
With such fierce competition for admission, it’s imperative to find a way to stand out. One way to do that is by displaying a “love of learning”, but what does that even mean?
This isn’t something you can fake just to put on a college application – it needs to be authentic. If you feel certain about what you’d like to study in college, it’s an opportunity to show admission offices you’re serious about that field. For example, if you’re interested in journalism, it’d be great to showcase writing you’ve done for the school newspaper or other publication. If you’re interested in the medical field, it’d be helpful to shadow professionals and do volunteering to be immersed in the environment.
Even if you’re undecided, it’s an opportunity to find an activity or learn more about a subject simply because you want to. Colleges love it when applicants show a desire to challenge themselves beyond their high school curriculum in an activity or subject they’re intrigued by. There are plenty of qualified applicants who don’t gain admission to a top college. The application evaluation doesn’t only consist of a formula that counselors plug numbers into – it’s also a very human process that considers lots of factors beyond a student’s academic qualifications. Showing them a passion outside the classroom can make a difference.
There are many things you can’t control regarding the current landscape of selective college admissions. However, there are plenty of things you can control, such as your grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, and the college list you create. Controlling those things is what will be the key to putting together a convincing application to be evaluated, so don’t lose sight of what’s within your power.
Matt Musico, a current college counselor at Collegewise is a freelance writer for CollegeData. He has worked in higher education for the better part of a decade. Half of that time was spent working in an undergraduate admissions office, while the other half has involved working with high school families as a private college counselor.
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views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely
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USA or any other person or entity. All liability with respect to actions
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View the following videos recorded at a recent live event, and read the questions and answers from each session. You'll learn from the experts how to prepare for college and career – from finding scholarships to transitioning to life on campus.
Jump to Sessions: College Planning | Career Navigation | Paying for College
The NCAA states that it represents almost half a million student athletes, meaning there is a large audience of parents who expect to help their child through the college athletics experience. However, many parents are unfamiliar with the process of transitioning from high school to college-level athletics and may not know what to pay attention to and be critical of.
When an athlete commits to a college or university, they're committing to more than just the school’s sports program. There are other important variables to consider, such as mental health and academics. Drawing from my own personal experience as well as expert suggestion, here are seven important questions every parent of a high school athlete should ask and have answered before making a college decision.
Coaches want to recruit talented athletes to play for them. So be aware that some of them will tell your high school student whatever they want to hear in order to keep their interest.
Amanda Charpentier, former Judson University women’s volleyball player, said she wished she had known her coach better before committing to play on her team.
“A coach can help encourage and develop players,” Charpentier said. “Or they can have the opposite effect. Knowing your coach can help you learn which type of coach they will be.”
After meeting a college coach, make sure you have a good grasp on whether or not the coach cares about your student’s well-being beyond just athletics, including their academics, social life, mental health and physical safety.
Compare the coach's characteristics to those of coaches your student has had in the past and see how they measure up to your personal expectations of a good coach.
Team members generally view new players as either a positive or negative thing. As a result, it can be easy to read whether or not the team is going to be a good fit for your student.
When meeting with the team, observe whether they appear genuinely interested in your student and ask them lots of questions. If the team seems excited about the possibility of your student joining their program, this is a great sign. However, if the team is quieter and looks like they’re “sizing up” your student as competition, this may be a red flag.
Your student will be around these people more than anyone else throughout their college experience, so it’s important to get to know them before signing day.
Even if your student was recognized as one of the best players on their high school team, they aren’t guaranteed playing time in college.
Dr. Ramel “Kweku” Smith, PhD, LP, University of Wisconsin Madison’s senior psychologist in clinical and sport psychology services, said that many student athletes deal with pressure to be the best on their teams.
“For most collegiate athletes, they’re leaving circumstances where they were ‘the person,’” Smith said. “And then to come into an environment where you’re one of many people, and maybe sometimes nowhere even near the best, then that can obviously create situations. But it’s a good pressure in some ways to always be the best.”
Ask your student if they love the sport enough to value winning and team success over playing time and enjoyment, especially if they're considering playing in a higher division.
“I wish I'd asked myself if I valued competition way over fun,” Charpentier said. “Because more often than not, it was not fun.”
Your student athlete will spend a lot of time at the fieldhouse or field and the weight room. Therefore, it’s important that they can see themselves being happy in those places.
Consider the size of the field or fieldhouse, the floors or turf, the equipment, the bleachers and the scoreboards.
Check out the weight room and determine whether it’ll be big enough for team workouts or if it will be crowded. Ensure there is sufficient equipment that is safe and high-quality.
Is there a trainer who treats injuries? Is there a strength and conditioning coach who programs workouts for athletes? Dr. Smith said that also having a sports psychologist on campus is important in achieving mind and body parity.
From small liberal arts colleges to big state research universities, campuses vary widely. Before you visit an individual school, research its layout and surroundings. Consider the school’s location in relation to your home town if your student has family, friends or community ties that they want to stay close to.
If the college or university is located in a rural area, make sure your student is okay with not having many restaurants or stores nearby. You may also want to research the safety of the surrounding area.
As you walk from place to place during a college tour, try to see it through your student's eyes and evaluate whether the campus would work for them long term. Be critical of things that could possibly cause issues and ask your student how they feel about the size and environment of the school.
More about why location matters when choosing a college >
The mental health of college athletes is often overlooked. In some cases, it becomes difficult for student athletes to adjust to the college lifestyle and manage their time effectively. In other cases, pre-existing conditions begin to affect a student athlete’s performance.
Dr. Smith said that the most common issue student athletes come to him about is anxiety.
“Anxiety is a fear of the future,” Smith said. “So specifically for athletes, ‘how am I going to perform for this conference coming up, for this practice coming up?’ Those types of fears.”
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), approximately 30% of women and 25% of men who are student athletes report having anxiety. However, there are resources available to athletes to help them through their college experience, such as tutors and sports psychologists.
Additional resources for supporting your student's mental health >
According to the NCAA, fewer than two percent of NCAA student athletes go on to be professional athletes. This means that the vast majority of student athletes depend on their education to prepare them for life after college.
Don’t overlook the academic profile of the college or university your student is considering. Does the school offer a program of study your student wants to pursue? If so, make sure that the major they select will be beneficial to them when it comes time to look for a job after graduation.
Look at the course catalog with your student to see what classes are offered in their major of choice. Sit in on a class or two and if possible meet with professors.
Also inquire about extracurricular, job and internship opportunities wherever possible. Think about the things beyond the sports program that will make your student successful after graduation.
It's easy to make the mistake of prioritizing a school's sports program over the university's other features. However, asking the seven questions above will help your student athlete make the right college decision and prevent them from experiencing regret later on.
Suzanne Shaffer/Collegiate Parent Blog
It’s every parent’s dream for their student to win enough scholarship money to pay for college. Sugarplum fantasies of a full-ride scholarship dance in our heads when our children exhibit an above average aptitude in sports, academics or other talent giving us hope some college will offer to finance their entire education.
Sadly, for most of us, this doesn’t happen. I know it was certainly my dream. Although my daughter was not the beneficiary of a full-ride scholarship, she worked hard throughout high school and received some merit aid in the form of grants and scholarships from the school. We supplemented that with outside scholarships, making her education affordable.
According to EducationData.org, five million scholarships make $24 billion available to college students every year. Most parents want their student to win some of that scholarship money. Even if you can afford to pay for college, free money is always welcome.
When I talk with parents and parent groups, I hear their frustration about scholarships. Some say their student isn’t motivated to search and apply for them. Others complain their student has applied for scholarships but hasn’t won a dime. Most ask me for advice on how and where to search.
But the number one question parents ask me is, "How can I help my student search and apply for scholarships?" Their students are overwhelmed by all the other tasks related to applying to college, and adding scholarship searching to that list feels impossible.
Parents can most certainly help their students with a scholarship search strategy. This can happen during high school and continue in college since scholarships are also available to current college students.
Here are just a few ways parents can help with scholarships!
Your student needs a system to organize the scholarship search and application process. Encourage them to set up a Google docs spreadsheet for scholarships with the name of the scholarship, requirements, due dates, and information needed for each. Don’t forget to include scholarships they might qualify for later (after high school, college, graduate school).
As you and your student find scholarships, you can add to the list that will be easily accessible to both of you. This will also help you stay on top of deadlines so you can quickly text a reminder to your student.
It's also a good idea to schedule scholarship check-ins to go over any outstanding items or completed applications ready for submission.
Many businesses offer college scholarships to the children of employees. These scholarships aren’t usually publicized and often go unclaimed because employees aren’t aware of them. Always ask if there are scholarships available.
Local alumni organizations often offer scholarship opportunities to assist local students who are applying to their alma mater. If your student is interested in a particular college or university, have them contact the local alumni organization affiliated with that school to inquire about grants or scholarships. Many times these funds go unclaimed.
Local scholarships offer the best odds for your student. Since many have few applicants, the chances of your student winning the scholarship are increased. These may be smaller awards, but every dollar adds up. These funds can cover the costs of books or other college expenses.
Local organizations like the Lions Club, the Elks Club, the Toastmasters, your church, engineering firms and more offer scholarships to local students. With most, your student does not have to have an affiliation with the organization to apply.
Perhaps one of the most helpful tasks parents can do is search for scholarships. With the help of your smartphone and some spare time, you can easily search for scholarships, save the links, and add them to your spreadsheet later.
Use the internet to do specific searches such as “scholarships for seniors 2022.” You can also use scholarship search sites with searchable databases that help you filter out scholarships that don’t match your student’s background or interests.
I also recommend purchasing (or borrowing from the library) The Ultimate Scholarship Book. This book lists thousands of scholarships for students. I carried it with me while my daughter was in high school and used free moments while waiting at the doctors, the DMV, and other places where I was able to sit and read to search for scholarships.
Don’t forget social media! You can search for scholarship opportunities on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Organizations and scholarship search sites post available scholarships daily and it’s easy to follow them and keep up with their activity on social media.
In addition, pay attention to the local news as they often announce scholarship winners, ask friends and family if they know of any scholarships, look on your student’s high school website, and search other local high schools online for scholarship notices.
Email or text your student when deadlines are approaching to remind them to submit the application on time. With so many things to do, it’s hard for students to stay on top of deadlines.
It may be helpful to keep a scholarship calendar either online, on your phone that you can share with your student, or a physical calendar updated with scholarship application due dates listed.
Most scholarship applications can be completed and submitted online, but many local scholarships still require a paper submission. Whether you submit online or in the mail, it’s important to note that in your spreadsheet and make sure your student has plenty of time to complete and submit the application at least a week before it is due. This will ensure it’s on time and arrive before the last-minute applicants.
It makes sense to be prepared with all the required scholarship components easily available. Have these items on hand to insert in the application packet or submit online when needed:
Having these items readily available will make it simpler for you and your student to complete and submit applications on time, especially when you come upon a scholarship that is due soon.
When your student commits to time each day to work on scholarships, it breaks the scholarship process down into bite-size tasks. They might devote 30 minutes a day into specific scholarship-related tasks: searching, organizing, essay writing and applying.
Encourage your student to view this as a part-time job. Three hours working on a $1,500 scholarship, if won, would equal $500 per hour. You can’t earn that working any part-time job after school! The time they devote to this process could pay off in huge dividends.
It’s easy to give up when you don’t see results. The key to having a winning scholarship search strategy is perseverance. The more scholarships your student applies for, the greater their chances are of winning.
It’s time-consuming, stressful and often disappointing, but you can be a positive influence throughout the entire process. When your student doesn’t win, encourage them not to give up. Help them learn from any mistakes they might have made and improve on the next application.
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