College Visits and Deciding Which College to Attend

Look for announcements regarding organized virtual visit days for both admitted and prospective students. The National Association for College Admission Counseling is maintaining a database of policies put forth by colleges as a response to Covid-19 where you can search for changes in admission events, deposit dates and more. Many colleges are postponing the traditional May 1 candidate reply deadline whereby students are required to notify and submit a deposit to the college they plan to enroll in next fall.

In our recent blog I outlined the many ways to explore and compare colleges virtually. If you haven’t done so already, sign up for the mailing list, usually called “Request Information” on the websites of any college you are interested in. You’ll receive information about virtual tours and information sessions. The list of colleges offering virtual experiences is growing by the hour.

Coping with Cancelled ACT and SAT Tests

High school juniors will likely need to lengthen their testing timeline into the late summer and early fall. The ACT has rescheduled its April 4 national testing date to June 13. All registered students will receive an email to reschedule at no additional charge. Follow the ACT updates here. The College Board has canceled the May 2nd SAT and will provide additional details soon. Follow their announcements here. Take advantage of this additional time to prepare for future test dates – think of how you would feel if your teacher postponed a test. More time to study, right? There are scores of reputable online test prep companies that offer real-time classes, one-on-one tutoring and self-paced programs.

If testing is not your strength, look at test optional colleges. Search the list at http://fairtest.org/university/optional to see which colleges allow students to apply without test scores. If your scores fall below the range for accepted students and your grades are strong, you may benefit from a test-optional policy. If your scores fall solidly within or above the mid-50% of scores for accepted students, it might be more beneficial to submit them.