@AlmostThere2018 Imagine what the reported test score ranges are going to look like after this year if a lot of kids below the 50th percentile opt not to send them. Could be the start of a vicious cycle to the point where the reported ranges hardly mean anything. This really could be more of a permanent disruption to the whole process rather than a one-year anomaly. I’m kinda glad this is my last kid to go through it.
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I can see how TO increases the apps to many schools but I am surprised it led to this large of an increase at schools like MIT (CalTech, etc). MIT has a separate app too which is a bit more painful to complete…this certainly adds anxiety in our household…wow!!
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@rbc2018 Tell me about it! I keep saying the same thing about it being my last kid, as I’ve wondering too how high the test averages are going to look for these schools next year and how many kids are going to be put off from applying altogether. I do think the range of scores will still show some on the lower side because of athletes, and others that need to submit scores for certain qualifications or scholarships, but probably not a lot. I also hope wonder if a school only accepts students who submit test scores that are 36’s are they risking a lawsuit for some sort of discrimination against kids who may have had a slightly lower score but would have been accepted had they not submitted a score? Someone submitting a score that would have been accepted with the same stats in any other year, shouldn’t now be declined because someone else decided to not submit a score. So I wonder how schools will handle that.
@almostthere2018 Similar to your son, my son has very high grades, AP’s, strong EC’s that he’s been able to continue remotely, an athlete, top of his class, and I assume good LOR’s (no clue what they say but 2/3 of the same teachers got my D into an Ivy so assume they aren’t bad). He took his test in September of junior year because his sport is in Spring. He did well but not a 36! We vacillated back and forth on turning it in (maybe I did more than him) but he turned it in because why the hell not? Everything else is stellar and I think his score shows the whole picture of him and is humbling that he’s willing to put himself out there and be honest. So will he be dinged for not having a 36? I hope not. But a part of me feels like any male applying in Engineering is going to have a 36 and that freaks me out. I know, it’s probably illogical but this whole TO thing just freaks me out.
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I have a theory that one reason top 20/30 schools are seeing big increases is that with so many sports and other ECs canceled this Fall, students have more time to write essays and broaden their reach. That, along with the TO option and just a lot of overall uncertainty, makes it more appealing to case a wide net.
By comparison, I remember when my D18 was going through the process, between her sports and academic load, it took almost all she had to apply to 10 schools. It was super stressful! My S has applied to 9 schools and while it was not always smooth sailing, it certainly was easier to manage b/c he just doesn’t have so much going on this Fall, socially or for ECs.
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@Tribegiant, that is wonderful news! Congratulations!
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Probably true to some degree. Our school has been completely remote this year and will probably be all year. Activities are still happening but via remote. Until recently some sports were occurring. It depended on the amount of contact. However, I do think kids being home had more time to work on essays because they’re not driving back and forth to school, or sitting on a bus or getting up an hour early to do so, thus not losing sleep. Plus, they’re just in school for less hours remotely than in person. However, there are still plenty of schools in the country that are full open, or hybrid of some sort, and playing sports, so who knows what it is.
Also, I heard that Princeton got rid of REA this year so some of those apps probably got distributed to other ED/REA programs.
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Congratulations! That must feel amazing!
Welp, we’re back on the roller-coaster 
(Officially this time!) Decisions out this evening, says the school’s Instagram!
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Good luck! My fingers are crossed for you and your daughter!
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So, just found out our high school dropped the ball and didn’t submit my son’s Q1 grades to the school he applied to ED. Fortunately, they weren’t required, only encouraged, but it’s frustrating. They apologized and are sending asap but I assume since they were due around Thanksgiving they aren’t going to be looked at anyway.
Anyone have any opinion on how this might affect someone? Pre-covid he had consistent stellar grades. Last Spring no change in grades, other than an asterisk that it was covid if I recall, but our state policy was that semester grades couldn’t be lower than Q3 grades so for some kids that had lower grades for Q3 it gave them an opportunity to really boost their grades. His were already good, but a school doesn’t know that. Senior grades were good although our school does semester grades by a full avg so Q1 is really just a point in time and somewhat meaningless. One grade was actually different one day after the Q1 grades were posted.
He emailed the admissions office to let them know they weren’t sent and are coming and asked if they’d be considered but I assume not. Will this hurt him a lot if they’re not considered or maybe not because he has the prior grade consistency? I don’t think a lot of students tend to submit grades for this program because it is in an obscure spot on their admissions page and not on the main school admissions page, which I’ve always found strange.
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Dean J from UVA mentioned this on one of her Instagram live chats. This is just from a UVA perspective, but assume it might be consistent - she said it’s fine because not all schools have the same grading periods, so it’s inconsistent if/how they receive them. She also said it’s fine to take a screen shot and upload that into the portal, that it didn’t always have to be an official report from the school. If the school doesn’t require them, I’m sure they won’t use that against him. It honestly sounded like it would be more important if it showed an upward trend.
Since they don’t require grades, nothing was missing technically. If accepted they will likely make a request for grades. These things are out of his control so it can’t be held against him and reaching out gives him an opportunity to confirm this.
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Yeah they don’t require them and his portal shows complete. They said anyone who isn’t complete they would bump to RD so that wasn’t an issue but you know when they say recommended and you don’t do it, it’s nerve wrecking. They say something about knowing some schools are on trimester vs semester etc.
His grades are pretty much a flat line, lol. But it’s engineering so it’s very competitive and you don’t want to look like you’re hiding anything. But the upper trend thing makes more sense.
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Congratulations!!
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@rbc2018 I thought the same thing about submitted test scores being above the 50th percentile. While colleges may like what it does for their rankings, it’s sure to be such a cloudy picture. Glad this is it for us.
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My theory is that many kids haven’t had a chance to visit schools to find an ideal ED school. But ED is a such a good opportunity no one want to waste. So take a shot at a reputable reach school is the way to go.
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@inthegarden wishing your D all the best! 
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I have not heard a lot about ED at D’s school. One of the advantages of online schooling is that the competitive college chatter is muted. In an ordinary year, there would be a lot of commentary, not all of it kind, so if there are silver linings in the pandemic, this is one of them. As others have reported, I do get the impression that kids who don’t test well are applying higher than they normally would TO, interpreting TO as “why not?”
D’s school is a test center and was fortunate enough to be able to offer both ACT and SAT for the summer dates and into early November. She had classmates who did multiple seatings. Whether or not AOs will be aware of of the fact that testing was readily available is anybody’s guess. I suppose if there’s a cluster of students that apply to a particular university and most report scores but a few don’t, that might be noticed? Whether it matters, who knows? We are fortunate that D was able to get her testing done pre-COVID and her score was competitive for where she applied. So no second guessing about standardized tests, but plenty of second guessing about everything else!
@Inthegarden Fingers crossed for your D today!
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Sending positive vibes your way!!
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Thanks, everybody, for all the support! Even if it’s a negative decision it will be a relief to know something and be able to move on to the next step! It’s as if time is standing still at the moment. Think it’s time to break out a board game or something!
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