“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” For any student who wants to attend four year college this Fall 2022, there’s openings still available, contrary to popular belief. The National Association for College Admissions Counseling recently released their annual College Openings Update, a listing of colleges still accepting applications for Fall 2022. So, students who…
As of March 23, 2022, all public universities in California are now test free, meaning no SAT or ACT scores are required, nor will be considered in admissions. The California State Universities (CSU) Trustees permanently eliminated SAT and ACT scores from consideration, joining with the University of California (UC) Regents who declared permanent test free…
As the legendary Mick Jagger belted, “I ain’t got no…sa-tis-fac-tion.” Mick’s words of wisdom can apply to many high school seniors and their families as the college decision making season descends. Robert Barkley via Rick Clark, seasoned Director of Admissions at Georgia Tech, is confronting the possibility for dissatisfaction regarding outcomes in the expectation laden…
Spring of senior year is a critical time in the college admissions process, in some sense, more pivotal than the application period, for a strategic blunder can be costly: misallocating 17 years of preparation for higher education, malinvestment of tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, and economic malaise that could last a lifetime. Seniors…
Each Spring Break, families pilgrimage to colleges reasoning that by visiting a college campus their teenagers will be motivated to select colleges. However, since many colleges are still conducting some classes online or not requiring in person attendance, in order to mitigate the on-going risks due to COVID, families may not experience students milling about…
On Friday, March 4, 2022, University of California, Berkeley admissions officers revised earlier estimates about reductions in enrollment from over 3000 students to 400 for Fall 2022, forecasting that most of the drop will impact graduate applicants. On March 3, 2022, the California Supreme Court did not grant a stay in the lower Superior Court’s…
With test optional/test free/test blind admissions policies, applicants (and their families) are empowered with choice how to present a student’s unique qualifications for admissions. Yet, like with any choice, being informed to choose responsibly is essential. First, as previously posted in What’s the difference between Test-Optional, Test-Blind, and Test-Free College Admissions Policies?, students must understand…
Many Fall 2022 applicants to the University of California Berkeley (Cal) received an unexpected Valentine’s Day greeting—an email announcement that by court order, up to 5100 less acceptance letters may be issued for Fall 2022. Olufemi Ogundele, associate vice chancellor of enrollment management and dean of undergraduate admissions at UC Berkeley writes: On Thursday, Feb.…
Welcome to The Big Wait, the post-application period, with nothing to do but check applicant portals and wait for admissions officers to respond. High school students (some transfer admissions candidates too), anxious to “get done” with applications in the fall, expect to relax during the winter months, as “there’s no more college essays to stress…
Enrolling in college is a process, executed over a series of conversations, which increase in frequency starting during the Spring of Junior year and typically extends through the first semester of college, as teens and their families are seeking agreement about which college is most valuable. The more a family accepts that college admissions isn’t…
The applicant portal is an online dashboard assigned to students by each college’s admissions officers to track their application, be notified of any missing information, possibly alerted to scholarships as well as likely most important to students: receive admissions decisions. Typically, admissions decisions are sent through the applicant portals or email, fewer admissions officers send…
Many college applicants think they’re done with applications once they click, “Submit”, but they’re not. Nearly every university’s admissions officers send an online applicant portal, which is multifunctional, where students can: Admissions officers email the applicant portal website and temporary login information, typically within 7-10 business days after submitting applications. Some college admissions officers may…
Students applying to college worry about being denied admissions, a seeming failure at the end of a twelve year long competition in the modern academic meritocracy. They’re frustrated that no guarantees exist, despite being taught that everyone has equal opportunity to compete in the modern academic meritocracy. As Michael J. Sandel, Harvard professor, argues in…
Updated: March 23, 2022 In September 2021, Cornell University, one of the eight Ivy League colleges, announced the continuation of their test-optional/test-free admissions policy for Fall 2023 and 2024 first year admissions, affecting current Class of 2023 high school Juniors. Will the remainder of the Ivy League follow Cornell’s lead, extending test-optional policies for another…
AFTER submitting a college application, each admissions office emails each student an Applicant Portal, an online dashboard showing all required information has been received. Yet, many teenagers notoriously don’t check their email, or often they’ll overlook an Applicant Portal as a promotional ad for the university—since the sender’s address is the admissions office. As college…
