‘More Stressful than Ever’: Pandemic-Era Admissions Worry Harvard Applicants and College Admissions

"Applicants to Harvard’s Class of 2025 have to reckon with an ongoing pandemic that has limited access to standardized testing, disrupted extracurriculars, and for many, severely altered their senior year of high school.

Less than two weeks after the College evicted most students from on-campus housing in March, the admissions department issued guidance to then-high school juniors that they would not be penalized for failing to submit Advanced Placement and SAT subject test scores.

In light of increased testing site closures across the country and test cancellations, Harvard’s admissions office updated its guidance in June and announced that they would not require Class of 2025 applicants to submit any standardized test scores to be considered for admission. Since then, every Ivy League institution has adopted test-optional policies for this year’s admissions cycle.

With the college application season in full swing during an ongoing pandemic, high school seniors applying to the Class of 2025 still said they feel uncertain and concerned about these revised policies for the next Harvard application cycle and their admissions prospects." …

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/11/2/harvard-coronavirus-pandemic-admissions/