RAMBO

Safety precautions related to Covid-19 have caused anxiety among high school juniors and seniors about being able to complete their college process successfully. 

Cancellation of SAT and ACT tests puts juniors in a bind trying to take tests required for admission.

The cancellation of accepted student days means that seniors lost the chance to take one last look at their top schools before making a final choice.

Not knowing what to expect has produced concern that keeps students awake at night and make them feel that their fate could be left to chance. One student said he felt like he was in a crazy chess game in which he was not even a player.

While schools are closed and SAT and ACT exams have been cancelled, there is good news today to help students through the crisis:

1. College Board will allow students in AP classes this year to take their AP testing online at home on two different dates.

2. Colleges are adjusting requirements. Some are going test optional for the high school class of 2020 for SAT and ACT. Some, like MIT, are no longer planning to consider SAT Subject Exams in college admission decisions.

3. Some colleges have moved the deadline for seniors to accept college admission offers from May 1 to June 1.

There are more positive actions under consideration to help the class of 2020 and 2021. Stay tuned!

Regular admission deadlines for the fall 2019 entering freshman class are near. Some are in December while others are in early January. Students should not put off getting their applications and essays completed. It is critical to avoid turning in applications that fail to show a student off to his best advantage. Even the best high school senior writers fail to deliver their best essays when they write in haste with little time to edit. Parents can help by being sympathetic and patient encouragers as well as essay readers who give constructive critiques. Like many things that are unfamiliar, starting college applications is the hardest part of the process. Once students get past that point, they usually do very well.

This is the week by which students are supposed to make a decision. May 1 is the accept or reject an offer deadline nationally. The exception will be for students on a wait list for a college. Their decisions could come as late as July.

Students who do not officially accept an admission offer by May 1 at most colleges, will lose the admission offer and any scholarship money that was attached to it.

There is more work for students to accomplish during the same time period.

Additionally, some colleges provide a boat-load of info and expect students to develop a college course list for fall term BEFORE they show up at orientation.

Many colleges register students for classes at orientation as early as June. Students who sign up late for orientation may find that some classes are filled.

I finished my applications...I'm done right? Not by a long shot. 

Completing college admission applications is just the beginning.

If you've done them right, you've got lots of follow up mail to answer.

Follow up mail includes scholarship offers that may require an application

and opportunities to join an honors program.

It is a common misconception among students and families that getting

applications completed is the end of the road for things to do to get in to college.

The students who experience the most success are those who watch their

email as well as the email that a college might have assigned to them. 

Other important messages that students receive include warnings that transcripts or test scores have not arrived or that a reference has not completed their reference form. Additionally, totally new forms pop up that will keep students from being accepted if they do not complete them.

Don't make the costly mistake of not closely following admissions applications to colleges.

Today's rising seniors have just 60 days to prepare for the start of college admission applications. To prepare, they need to consider identifying their major if they have not done so. This takes thought and research. They also need to design their college admission targets. This too, will take thought, research and college visits. Then there is the development of a college essay that represents the student well-this takes months rather than hours.

It is true that students can just wait until the deadline and wing it with college applications. However, those students will be competing with students who have taken the time to prepare. What a student chooses to do depends on what they would like to accomplish in terms of college acceptances.

Parents play a key role in helping rising seniors realize the enormity of the task before them... and the timeline. Because time management is an executive skill that high school students are still developing, parental guidance is extremely important. Rising seniors who do not get started this summer will face a terrible choice: lower grades in the fall because of the additional workload of college applications or substandard college applications resulting in less than desirable college admission decisions.

Seniors who have not yet applied to colleges or who did not get accepted where they applied, still have options. In addition to their local community college, students can apply to four year colleges on a space available basis. Some of the four year colleges still accepting applications are listed below. Some are accepting applications only for select campus locations. Scholarship deadlines may have passed for fall term at some colleges, however students may still apply for financial aid.

Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, OH

Belmont University, Nashville, TN

Burlington College, Burlington, VT

Catholic University, Washington, DC

Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO

Curry College, Milton, MA

Drake University, DesMoines, IA

Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

Emory and Henry College, Emory, VA

Ferrum College, Ferrum, VA

Hawaii-Pacific University, Honolulu, HI

Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA

Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, OK

Patrick Henry College, Purcellville, VA

Prescott College, Prescott, AZ

Randolph College, Lynchburg, VA

Rollins College, Winter Park, FL

Stetson University, DeLand, FL

The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK

University of Great Falls, Great Falls, MT

University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS

Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, WV