I teach/tutor for one of these tests, and a colleague of mine tried the at-home version of the test. Among the issues I had with what she reported after trying it (for my kid if he were to have to face a similar situation with the SAT): she reported that she wasn’t allowed to get her hand anywhere close to her face, and the only way to work out math problems was on a whiteboard app on the computer screen (not on actual scratch paper). Okay, maybe these are issues I personally would have taking a version of the test like that (and I’m just projecting onto my kid), but I get the occasional itch or whatever and needing to worry about preventing myself from touching my face (or even coming close to doing so) would be a distraction/extra stress for me. And despite the fact that I work a lot of math problems in my head, I do like to jot things down here and there to work some arithmetic or algebra or organize information/thoughts and having to do it with a mouse on an on-screen scratchpad…ugh…apparently it doesn’t work with a wacom tablet stylus sort of thing, either. I really really really hope high school students don’t have to deal with at home online testing - in that case even my kid, despite the homeschool status, might have to skip it.
Congratulations to your awesome D @homerdog!
@nichols51 Nope nope nope. That is not going to work for so many kids!
Ugh, @nichols51, that sounds awful. I don’t think my D (or anyone not supremely confident with math) could do well in that scenario.
If there are no in-school tests in the late summer/fall I don’t know what my D should do. I think all of her possible schools are test-optional now but with an unknown high school and good but not standout ECs, I don’t feel good about her going the test-optional route. She has the grades, rigor and class rank (right now tied for #1) but within an average high school I don’t know what that’s worth. Her ERW score is her one ace in the hand and just too good to throw away but the current math score would be a real detriment WRT most of the schools she favors.
Tonight she got very excited because she discovered that CB classifies certain schools as matches that I’ve been telling her are reaches, even high reaches. CB is classifying by the composite (her composite is fine but not outstanding) and of course, doesn’t pick up all the nuances of holistic admissions, and I think it gives students a misleading idea. I hated to be a downer but I had to reiterate that the lopsided score is going to be an issue. Also, I’ve been on CC too long to get too excited/confident prematurely when it comes to admissions and I‘d hate for her to get her head too much in the clouds so I’m trying to talk very favorably with her about the schools that would be fine with her stats “as is.”
@inthegarden When our D looked at Naviance, she was surprised to see that they had categorized several highly selective colleges as “matches” and a few that seem like high matches as “safeties.” Maybe the system doesn’t take acceptance rates into consideration?! Fortunately, she knows enough to take the recommendations with a huge grain of salt. Between this and the overzealous marketing by some schools, though, it’s no wonder students are shocked when they aren’t accepted to schools that are reaches for pretty much anyone!
ETA: D also has strong but somewhat lopsided test scores. She was planning to re-take the math, but online as @nichols51 described above? No way.
OOPs, sorry! ?
When I posted that last night I somehow thought I was in the parents of 2021 thread!
Thanks, @kbm770.
@inthegarden, I actually thought the same thing! Oops on my end as well. Sorry, @homerdog!
@inthegarden @kbm770 Lol! No biggie!
@homerdog - Congrats to your D on her essay award!
If Vanderbilt does go TO, I definitely think she should apply. She would be a good candidate, and based on the other schools on her list, I think she would really like it. And it’s nice they have ED2.
@homerdog LOL at the “Roaring 20’s” theme planned for the yearbook. Karma has a sense of humor tinged with irony - the Roaring 20’s came right on the heels of the 1918-19 Spanish Flu!
Maybe that is exactly what the world will need after we get through with Covid:)
We had dinner with an old friend who has a rising Bowdoin junior this weekend. We have a rising sophomore. We were all sitting around and the junior was throwing out names to our S - hey, do you know x person? Do you know Y or Z? And he knew them all. This freaked D21 out. How could they know something like a dozen of the same people when they aren’t the same grade, she’s a girl and he’s a boy, they aren’t in the same major or live in the same dorm or play the same sport. D21 now thinks a school with 2000 kids is too small.
She wants to try to focus on the more midsized schools on her list. None of which are slam dunks. Wake, BC, Tulane, Vanderbilt not sure what else right now. I think she will keep Richmond and Colgate on for now. I’m afraid Davidson might fall off. I think she should add W&M.
I need to get back in the saddle and try to find other schools between 4000-7000 students.
Still registered for Aug and Oct SATs but not convinced that Aug will happen.
Would she consider taking another look at Lehigh? How about Emory or Boston College?
@twogirls BC definitely on the list. We visited and she liked it. We just realized that one of our neighbors’ kids goes to Lehigh so we should ask about it! Emory maybe doesn’t have the rah rah aspect she thinks might be fun but I’m going to have her do the info session and virtual tour. 
Tbh…Lehigh sounds like a great fit for your D. I would encourage her to look at it again.
What about Villanova? Bucknell?
At least Vanderbilt will be test optional this year. 
I do think doing the info. session for Emory would be a good idea.
Is Syracuse too big? That’s another school that seems to be a good fit for your daughter. Beautiful campus, very rah rah, she can join a sorority, etc. it’s also not as reachy as some of the other schools (“reachiness” may be different with Covid, who knows).
I recall earlier posts about D preferring warm weather schools. But BC is in the running as well, of course…
@Tigerle yes. Prefers warmer weather but that narrows the list quite a bit. Too much for our comfort. We live in Chicago. She’s ok with the weather. She has two friends at BC (incoming sophs who she spent years dancing with) and they are having a very good experience. Weather can only be part of the equation for the list. After she sees acceptances then she can prioritize things like weather.
I think she should add Syracuse if you don’t mind spending the application fee. It is a likely school that I am fairly certain she would like. Girls from our HS who attended (dance team etc) were very happy there, and they were similar to your D academically. I also know kids from our HS who were not as strong academically…but that’s ok…it makes it a likely school.
It’s also well known nationally, and all of the grads that I know are employed.
Many of the Jesuit schools are in that mid size range and could be options for matches/safeties (I think BC and Georgetown are the toughest admit by far of the Jesuit schools).
In regards to chancing by test scores, I always told my son that he needed to be in the high part of the range, because he is unhooked. That did play out true with his admissions.