Catching up on all the impressive work done by your kids! Definitely feeling “behind”. This is my second go at college admissions, but might as well be the first in this current atmosphere. Finding it very challenging to get D21 motivated to write essays and complete a couple applications before school and EC start up. We are in PA and beginning remotely, but I know it will be December before we know it. Our approach is to require target/likely applications to be completed first before moving on to any reach/preferred schools. I don’t want to push, but also don’t want her to miss out on important dates and deadlines. I feel bad for the kids as its hard to get excited with limited in person visits etc. My oldest is heading back to Pitt in a couple weeks if all goes well in the staggered move in/shelter in place/random testing approach. D18 had her Pitt admission by mid Sept which is possibly contributing to my worry. Happy to share any Pitt experience to date. Best of luck and any motivational advice would be welcome. Stay safe and sane…
On the CA, it looks like each school asks the question “do you want to apply with or without a score” in their college-specific questions. I guess that’s where you choose? I think you self report the scores, though, on the actual common app part that goes to all schools on the list when you hit “send”. So, this is confusing, I agree. If you self report scores on the CA but then choose that you are applying without a score for a particular school, do they see that score you entered on CA?
@Mwfan1921 do you know?
@dadof4kids If you have any questions about Tulane, D17 is a senior there. A 32 ACT sounds pretty good to me, especially with kids not getting in many tests this year.
@InfiniteWaves My S17 should be submitting his Pitt app today or tomorrow. I sent his SAT scores because he did well on math and is applying to Engineering. I think he will do TO for some schools, however, where his total score is on the low side (specifically Northeastern). I am hoping he will be considered for Pitt Arts and Sciences (he is interested in Physics) if he is rejected from Engineering.
I am not sure, I would ask your GC.
I had always thought if applying TO you still have to take out the self reported scores in the CA before submitting.
For applying TO, I’d take out the score before submitting to that college. There’s no reason to include it if the applicant already decided they didn’t want that college to see it.
The applicant can make changes to the Common App before submitting to any school. Prior submissions do not change - they are like a PDF.
Also, my rough understanding is that schools requiring an official score report might not use the test score field, i.e. their system might not see it.
Thanks all for the TO info re: the common app – does feel ‘right’ to take out the score info for TO schools. Ideally, he’d submit all the ones with a score in one batch and then remove the test info for the TO colleges, but I’m not sure his deadlines and completion of supplements will make it that clear cut.
@AlmostThere2018 I don’t think you have to do two batches. You could finish one app, make sure the CA looks the way you want (TO or not TO) and send it off. And then, when the next app is due, do the same thing. I would just wait until you get a confirmation from each college that they received the app before you make the test change in the CA and send another app.
@homerdog – yes, that’s right. I didn’t mean two literal batches. I just meant do all the ones with scores around the same time and then the ones without so that he’s not adding / deleting the score info multiple times! But it’s not a biggie in the scheme of things! 
Question on demonstrated interest… D is applying to all LACs, about half of which she visited in person last summer/fall. She has done virtual information sessions and tours for the rest. All of the schools have other virtual events, of course. For those that consider demonstrated interest (for both admissions and merit), how many other events should she plan to attend?
Especially during this unpredictable admissions cycle, I think she should do as many as possible, at least at her top 4-5 choices. I’d love to think she should be excited to learn more about these places and get a better sense of “fit,” and she seems to find them helpful when she actually participates, but it’s like pulling teeth to get her to register. Is doing an info session/tour/interview (where applicable) enough, or should I keep nudging on these other events?
Update on the Tulane interview:
She had a very different experience than some of you had. Very pleasant, conversational interview. She didn’t ask about submitting her 32 specifically, because she wasn’t 100% sure she wanted to give her that info in case she decided to not submit. But she was told they are test optional, and she got the impression that she meant truly optional, not just kinda optional, which is the vibe I got a couple months ago.
Of course I think that like most things test optional is a moving target this year. If it was only a couple tests getting canceled, I can see schools thinking that really you should be able to retest in the fall. Given what a debacle that has turned into though, I think even schools like Tulane that were somewhat drug kicking and screaming into being test optional will be at least more forgiving for no tests than they initially meant to be.
I still do think which bucket you fall into matters. Where we are from most kids will have a score, even if it isn’t necessarily reflective of taking it under ideal circumstances (I think D is the “up at 4:30” @homerdog was referring to). Chicago, California, NY? I think it’s been much more difficult.
Hi everybody, reporting back…I have had a lot of insomnia in the last few weeks, which gives me just enough energy to read and to occasionally post but not enough to respond to many of you very well . Plus, having to speculate about so many unknown things has made me disengage a bit to hold onto my sanity.
Our school district just announced last week that our school start will be pushed back almost two weeks, well into September and will be fully online until deemed safe to start hybrid reopening. I’m actually relieved. I was worried about facing the issue many of you have had ( a choice between fully online or all in-person) and relieved our community is being careful. I think that the teacher’s union realized that, even with a hybrid aapproach, it would be difficult to afford the bussing and extra costs of adequate ventilation, cleaning, etc.
My D isn’t as upset as I thought she’d be, though she’s a bit stir-crazy. She said she knows that kids would be pulling down their masks in classrooms, not distancing in stairs and hallways, and there would be no real way to stop that. Our band director was trying to put together some kind of rudimentary distanced band camp (though the competitive season was cancelled) but that is also not to be.
The good (or at least better) news is that our state has spent millions of dollars improving broadband and will distribute computers for families that need them. Last spring, school consisted only of assignments and YouTube videos, Khan academy, posted on Google classroom and paper packets for those without computers or WiFi. This fall there will be at least some kind of modified schedule of synchronous Zoom teaching (we’ll see how that goes) and higher expectations of teachers and students in general. Schoology is being used … anyone familiar with that?
So, our high school will not be a test center for August/September SATs but D was able to get seats For those in the next county at a community college 45 minutes away. The CC will decide this week whether or not the August test will be held. I will try all fall, if necessary, to get her a test but I don’t think I’ll we’ll travel further than this college. We are in one of the safest (most rural) area of our state, and if it’s not happening here, it’s probably not happening anywhere within reason. I have given my D the option of not testing again (as long as she knows that the reachier schools on her list would be less likely) and she adamantly wants to try. She spent four hours yesterday prepping on Khan (mostly math). Spent most of today working on her essay but will probably be be back at math prep tomorrow.
We took the advice on this thread to ramp up interviews from easy to challenging, so D did a “practice” interview last week for a school she may or may not apply to that would be a safety. It went well, and built her confidence. Monday did another interview for a school that we’ve thought of as more-or-less a match (but very hard to determine what is a match for her given her lopsided scores). This school is a place where she’d be reasonably happy to go, with maybe just a hint of reservation about some aspects, but perfectly OK. (Hint…it’s NOT Dickinson, lol…I know I mention that school a lot). Anyway, it was supposed to be a 45 minute interview but the AO kept her there for 90 minutes! Anytime I passed by my D’s closed door I heard her laughing…and my D is NOT the sort of person who tends to laugh a lot or laugh out of nervousness, so I assume it went very well. D was happy coming out of it. She said she even explained about her math/ERW scores and said the AO seemed to shrug off the fact that her math is low and said she may even get merit for her composite score. Feels very good to think this school may be a more likely admit and that my D feels positive about it.
We just found out that D’s AP bio class (which would have taken up two class periods) has been cancelled for lack of participation. ?! Last May we were told enough students signed up to hold it. She could take AP environmental science and an online DE college bio class (known to be less rigorous than AP bio) but she’d have to drop band for the DE college bio. Band may be a nothingburger class (through no fault of the band teacher)if it’s all virtual but she’s loyal to it and it’s kind of painful to drop. OY! I’m kind of ticked off about it, TBH, Our school usually can’t offer all the science APs in any given year (except for enviro…kids sign up Every year because it’s easier). But they tend to rotate between physics, bio and chem. Chem hasn’t been held in a couple of years and this past year it was physics 1 (which my D took). Next year it will be physics 1 again, and the teacher will also somehow juggle a few physics 2 kids in the same class, but no AP chem or bio. Some of those who wanted bio have changed to physics 2 but there is no way another physics class would be pertinent to my D’s academic goals. So she’ll have to settle for the less-rigorous schedule, I guess and I hope she’s not penalized for it in admissions.
Sorry to dump this big bear of an update but it has been so long since I’ve written regularly…hope to get back to responding to your posts and write less of a mountain about us!
@inthegarden : Bummer about the AP Bio class. I thought that was rather popular everywhere. Our DD is taking both AP Bio and AP Environmental Science, and we’re also distance learning for the first semester (at least). Should be interesting.
@inthegarden Impressed that your D is getting interviews with AOs. (I don’t think Dickinson even does those.) D21 only has three schools that do interviews. S19 had five but they were all with alums except for one.
Hope she gets a seat at a test!
I think they don’t want to know about it. lol
There is nothing fair about college admissions and this year is shaping up to be crazy. Some kids are going to “luck into” a reach through ED and others will struggle in this knew holistic review. Keep in mind these new TO schools have almost zero experience with finding their type of students with out the test scores.
I’d tell her to sign up and login to as many different zoom sessions as she can. She doesn’t have to actually watch them if she doesn’t want to.
Also, reach out to the admissions department and see if they will do an interview.
My D toured a couple of Southern California schools last week, and I think it really helped her start to understand what she liked in a school. I normally would prefer students there, but it is what it is. Plus, she is one of those kids that will rule a school out just because of something silly she saw or the tour guide was a jerk.
She was able to roller blade around all of the state schools and privates except for LMU. Gates were closed there. I was kind of hoping she would fall in love with LMU!
Alright. Let me get some opinions on SAT vs ACT. My D is most likely applying to engineering schools and here are her scores:
SAT: 800 M 750 E for 1550
ACT: 33M 35E 36S 36R for a 35
She has taken a lot of hard math and math based science classes and done extremely well. She has a 4.0 uw gpa and has taken the “most rigorous” courses.
Should she send the SAT or the ACT? That 33 math looks bad, but it really doesn’t reflect her math skills. We’re definitely not taking another test! lol.
Send both!
@AlwaysMoving If she has a good score for AP Calc or a SAT Math II that offset the 33 in the ACT, I would lean slightly towards the ACT. But honestly, either score will clear the bar wherever she wants to apply, especially this year. Well done!
FWIW, my D17 found the math on the ACT easier but also easier to make a careless error or two because you have to move so quickly.
@Muad_dib, yes, I would think so. At least a couple of my D’s friends are pretty upset about it, as AP bio relates directly to their future college/career goals. I’d love to get to the bottom of why it was cancelled. My D doesn’t know of anyone who dropped out after signing up last spring. Maybe the school just needed to pare down costs wherever possible and wanted to consolidate all the kids wanting advanced bio Into the DE class. It’s more popular than AP, not only because it’s easier but because so many of our local kids go to the community college and the credit transfers there automatically without the bother of having to take an AP test. The community college teacher actually comes to the high school (when there are in-person classes) so no transportation needed.
She doesn’t absolutely need another AP science (as a.non-STEM student) as she has taken honors chem, bio, earth science and AP physics 1 and can take AP environmental science. But she does want to have a strong schedule. I don’t know…maybe AP stats (along with the Calc) would be more useful than the DE bio and let her keep band…that is, if stats works into the schedule. Will call the GC tomorrow!
@homerdog, I didn’t know it’s unusual to get interviews with AOs since we’re new to this. Maybe it’s harder with the larger and/or higher-ranked schools ? But D definitely said these adults introduced themselves as admissions officers, though one said that she is also an alumnus. I guess we’ll find out as she proceeds gradually through the reachier ones on the list, though non are high-reaches-for-everyone schools. We’re just not in that market
@Aguadecoco, I agree that all the travel difficulties make things harder for less-affluent kids. But less-affluent kids also tend to go to less-affluent, less-competitive schools, where they may come up short in TO or test-blind schools because of their lower-ranked high schools and no way to corroborate their skills… So really, I don’t know that test-blind admissions, or anything, really (without revamping our whole society) can adequately level the playing field. It’s hard all-around.