omg. I think all we need is one ACT or SAT testing Covid breakout and all tests will be cancelled.
Random rant. I seem to have had too many of these lately.
I thought D had a pretty good somewhat unique essay idea. Then a story popped up on my news feed of a kids who wrote a really unique essay at least excerpts of which were shared online. Same basic essay she was writing.
Iām not going to say what it was just to avoid it further spreading the idea. But now Iām concerned instead of it being unique it will become the ālessons learned from dead grandmaā essay of 2020.
Yes I realize Iām probably overstating it and this is probably #255 on the list of things I should worry about. This whole process has me majorly stressed out. Canāt wait for March one way or another.
@inthegarden has your daughter ever visited Loyola? While it is within the city limits of Baltimore, it is located in a beautiful residential area miles from downtown. Most of Baltimoreās exclusive private schools are in the same area. The campus is beautiful. When my daughter applied in 2017, they were very generous with merit aid. Dh and I went with her to accepted students day and were very impressed with all it has to offer. We would have been very happy had she chosen to attend, but alas, not only was it ātoo close to homeā for her, but her best friend was going, along with at least 8 classmates from her class of 100. She wanted to spread her wings a little further from home (and just our luck, went 3000 miles away!). S19 also applied as a safety but was recruited for a sport so he also went elsewhere.
Now I would love S21 to go to Loyola for a variety of reasons, moreso than my older two, one reason being that he has a mild learning disability and he is not as mature as his siblings so it would be nice not to have him too far away. Unfortunately, he goes to a different high school than my older two did (has a special program for kids with LDs) and his high school is already in the Baltimore area. As a result, he feels like Loyola would be an extension of h.s. and he wants to āget out of MDā and go someplace new and different. We will still have him apply to Loyola anyway - with all that is going on right now, he may change his mind about being far away from home.
I agree that Ithaca should be given a look. While I havenāt been to their campus, I did visit Ithaca and the area about 6 years ago. My son was attending a lacrosse camp at Syracuse but itās a bit of a drive for us to do two roundtrips for dropoff and pick up. My younger two were away at summer camp and dh on a business trip. I ended up taking my oldest with me, who was in h.s. at the time, and we stayed at a B&B outside of Ithaca for a little getaway while my son was at Syracuse. Ithaca was such a cool town, looked like a great place to go to college. We did a drive thru of Cornell when we, by chance, happened to eat at a restaurant next to its campus, but we didnāt ever visit Ithacaās campus. If it appeals to what your D is interested in, I would take a further look.
Well, the essays are all individual, no? Your Dās story canāt possibly be the āsameā. All she has to do is be authentic in her writing and she"ll be fine! Itās not about being unique. Itās about showing the reader something about her that they donāt know from the other parts of the app.
@burghdad - saw that CNN story too. Now seriously thinking about skipping the subject tests S21 has signed up for. @3kids2dogs - thx for posting that Alabama NMF scholarship info. Looks to be the same as last year.
@burghdad and @homerdog Couldnāt we see this coming? Kids desperate for a chance to take the ACT or SAT, perhaps already gone through multiple cancelations, this might be their one chance? So they feel lousy but go anyway, just like kids power through a high stakes test or group project at school while ill.
The follow on story about the kid in Wisconsin is illustrative. I had two burning questions - why didnāt the proctor remove the obviously ill, coughing, wheezing test taker? And itās unclear if the boy featured in the article who was so concerned for his health, was, in fact, wearing a mask.
And testing agencies also should have seen this coming. For Peteās sake, make mask wearing mandatory for the ACT/SAT. If McDonalds and Walmart can do it, so could the CB or ACT board.
@mamaedefamilia it is also not clear if the kids were six feet apart at that test. Sept and Oct are so close now. I just donāt see those months going any better for testing. Right now, our high school is saying they will have an all school SAT. Itās back to being mandatory for graduation in Illinois even though it was cancelled in April. So D might get one shot.
Reading through the CC thread on the virus and medical updates, I just donāt see how school or testing will be any better for fall or even spring.
Schools should just all be test blind, TO everyone will still be trying to test.
Anyone know if the test sites were doing temperature scans for the test takers upon arrival? Seems like that, along with a required mask, would be easy enough to accomplish.
My S took the July 18 ACT. He said they did screening questions but not a temp check (which surprised me). However, there were only 9 test takers in the classroom, and they were required to wear a mask throughout the test b/c of our stateās mask mandate (Thank you, Gov. Cooper!) Overall he felt safe and was able to focus on the test. Iām appalled to read some of the other test taking set ups ā too many students and no masks! And theyāre in the same room for HOURS. Not safe and totally stressful for kids.
If College Board/ACT canāt force sites to implement very clear and very explicit standards (including mandating masks) they should just cancel all remaining tests. They are more focused on getting tests to happen than they are on public health, and thatās a problem.
These companies clearly arenāt set up to monitor what happens on the ground. Itās a buyer beware situation b/c regardless of whatās on the ACT/College Board website, a student doesnāt know what theyāre walking into on test day. My S was seemingly very lucky.
Agree colleges should be test blind not just TO at this point in order to tamp down demand for the tests. I read the AP article and the whole situation is ridiculous. Okay, rant over.
My D took test in MNāmasks not required, no temps taken. I can see a proctor being uneasy about making a student leave a test, even if coughing (did not read about WI case). There could be all sorts of discrimination issues involved when asking a student to leave?
My kids are getting ready for zoom interviews and I pulled some questions based on info from their HS counselor, friends that are alumni interviewers and other sources - wanted to share. My kids want no assistance or feedback for their essays, but this is the one area they seem to value our opinion and are willing to practice a bit with us - my husband and I were so happy to finally be asked to ādanceā :smile. Many of their schools wonāt schedule interviews until after the app is submitted - but they each have a couple set up over the next 3 weeks.
What books have you read lately for pleasure? What other media?
What books have you read in school?
What activities do you participate in ā why are they important to you? What do you do for fun?
Why do you want to attend our school? What would you add to life at our school?
What other colleges are you considering?
If you could invite 3 people living/dead to dinner - who would you invite?
What do you like or what would you change about your current high school? (Do not be negative!)
What do you want to study in college? Specific course at our school? (okay to be undecided major - but still find a course or subject)
Senior year course schedule ā What courses do you like and why?
Be prepared to discuss a current political issue and your thoughts
Names of your State Senators and Representatives
What would you be like as a roommate?
Covid ā how has it impacted you? (can be that you are walking to dog more - doesnāt have to be a big story and also what was cancelled, if relevant)
What are you doing this summer?
What 3 words best describe you?
Your Questions:
Get interviewers contact information for Thank You note
What is one of your favorite things about College X? What would you change?
Favorite class and/or professor ā a class I should not miss
Bring in something you saw on the tour or zoom session
Okay to ask ā can I think about that for a minute - you donāt have to answer right away.
What do you want them to know about you ā make a short cheat sheet
@coffeeat3 this post is invaluable, thank you. Here is link of an article I read back when all of this was so far off. I suggested to D that she essentially write her answers and study it so she didnāt draw a blank during an interview. I donāt want her to sound robotic, just prepared. Iām happy for you that you and your husband got asked to dance. Iām still leaning against the wall, hoping, lol.
https://www.thoughtco.com/college-interview-questions-788893
It may be repetitive!
@homerdog i realize Iām being ridiculous.
Mostly I was annoyed because the article talked about how the AOās thought it was a really unique approach. I think all of them will be somewhat unique to the kids writing them. Itās more about the framework he used to tell the story. I think hers will look a bit like she read his and then tweaked it a bit. Iām not going to flag it for her, both to avoid anxiety and to avoid her lifting ideas from it and sounding even more similar.
I think I have a problem. . .
The problem with test-blind is that plenty of splitters exist. Students with relatively ālowerā GPAs may be (unexpectedly) cut off from schools where theyād otherwise have a chance with a high test score. The more dramatic the split, the more theyād be hurt by test-blind. Some of these students may already have scores, though obviously some donāt.
If the tests canāt be held safely, then they shouldnāt be held, but as my mother used to say, where thereās a will, thereās a way. (Keeping our fingers crossed as our county decides, not if to go back in person, but how.)
@4kids4us Loyola Maryland is at the top of S21ās list. Mr. InfiniteWaves and I are alums (met while in school) and we would absolutely love it if one of our kids ended up there. 
S19 was admitted with merit that put it within budget but decided on Penn State instead. Which was fine by us as we are PA residents.
S21 also loves Saint Josephās in Philly. Itās basically Loyola. Right down to the pedestrian bridge spanning across the main city street!
My D has five schools on her list and submitted three of the apps this week - Montana State, Utah State, and Northern Arizona. The other two are Oregon and Oregon State, which use the common app. She finished the apps but needs to wait for it to rollover to submit them.
The are all TO but say they need test scores for merit aid. She is registered for the August SAT, so hopefully she can take it.
@InfiniteWaves I think weāve talked about this before on the 2019 page maybe? I knew you went to Loyola. Depending how old you are, we may even have some friends in common as I have a few friends who went there. We are mostly looking at Catholic/Jesuit schools for S21 b/c we think the mid-size schools are best for him. We looked at Fairfield last fall and fortunately visited St. Joeās just in time (took advantage of a day off school in late January). He really liked St. Joeās. We know a few alumni and my friendās daughter will be a freshman in their nursing program this year. They also have a co-op program that sounded interesting but Iād need to do more research on that. Iād been to Fairfield many times in my college years - it sure looks much nicer now than I remember back then! Also on his list but we have not visited are Xavier, Dayton, Loyola and JMU. We had a planned trip to see Xavier and Dayton in late fall but had to cancel due to a family emergency and now Iām annoyed that we didnāt go. He also has Butler but not sure if we will apply (he did a drive thru tour with dh a couple summers ago but thatās more of a āthey have a good basketball teamā wish and we havenāt looked at it in depth). I know there are a few others on his list but Iām blanking at the moment.
Howās that fair to all the high school juniors who prepped for and completed their standardized tests well before spring of junior year? Many students planned ahead and took these tests well in advance of any CV-19 shutdowns. I realize that some testers didnāt get the scores they wanted earlier in the year but hopefully they will have a chance to take the test again and safely over the next few months.
In addition, some colleges give great merit and full rides to 99th percentile test scorers. Wouldnāt be fair to them to not be able to submit a score on their college applications.
I think test optional is the only relatively fair option but will not please everyone, of course.
@socaldad2002 My S21 was one of the lucky ones that was able to test before COVID and is happy with his scores, but parents and students stressing and risking their health to get a score is not right.
Plus should only kids whose parents were in the know and tested prior to school day SAT be eligible for these merit scholarships you mention?