Last week I had a lovely time talking with a local PTO about college admission. I was specifically asked to talk about how the admission process has changed since Covid. That’s a great question, and I talked about three changes that I’ve seen in my own small practice over the past few years. From everything I’ve read about nationwide trends, my experience seems to be pretty typical of admission for most people.

So what’s different?

1. I talk about testing a lot less.

To be clear: All of my clients have taken at lease one SAT (usually administered at school during the school day). Some take it more than once, and some have also taken the ACT. Most of them are choosing to submit test scores in their applications. Testing has not disappeared.

And around 4% of colleges require test scores—MIT is a notable example. So please carefully check the policies of any school you’re thinking of applying to. Most schools who are going to announce any changes to their testing policy will do so this summer, so check again in the fall.

But many schools that relaxed their testing requirements for Covid have decided to stay permanently test optional, and some are going test blind and not looking at test scores even if you have them—the University of California system is a notable example of this trend.

Testing is still a part of the application, it’s just not the stressor it was a few years ago. Almost everyone takes the test once or twice, accepts their scores for what they are, and then moves on. It’s been two years since I’ve had any kind of “testing strategy” conversation. Once or twice I’ve spent a few minutes talking with a client about whether I recommend they re-test. Once or twice I’ve chatted about the pros and cons of test prep. I’ve had a single conversation this year about whether a test scores is “good,” or “good enough.” And a quick email about whether or not to report scores. That’s it. Probably a 90% decrease in time spent thinking about, talking about, and writing about standardized tests.

(The most common test-related question I’ve had so far this spring is about whether certain colleges prefer the SAT or ACT. The students admit that colleges say that they don’t have a preference, but wonder if they really do have a preference. They do not have a preference. Colleges are very used to both ACT and SAT scores.)

In the big picture, I think this de-emphasis on testing is a really great thing. Of all the things you do to make a stronger college application, standardized tests have the shortest longevity. Better grades in high school, a stronger essay, more connection with your community, more activity out in the world—all of these things are a better use of your time in the long run than getting high SAT/ACT scores. So I’m fine with this development, especially for otherwise bright and promising students who just don’t do as well at timed, high-pressure, multiple-choice exams.

I also acknowledge that the de-emphasis on testing can be frustrating for students who had hoped to make their test scores the centerpiece of their application. You can still report your scores, of course. And really high scores are never going to be a hindrance to your application. But students should be a lot less confident on their acceptance to colleges based solely on high test scores than they could a few years ago—and they shouldn’t have been over-confident a few years ago.

2. The whole process has moved up by about two months.

My first few years doing this, December was really busy for me. Clients were finishing up applications for Regular Decision deadlines in early January. There were lots of questions, lots of last-minute changes to their college list, and quite a bit of last-minute edits to essays. Then I would have little to do in January and February, wondering if I would even be able to continue doing this work since nobody was inquiring about my services. But a little later, mostly in the week before Spring Break and the week after, calls and emails would start coming in, and I had close to a full roster by May.

The past two years, that whole cycle has been accelerated by two months. October has been really stressful, and applications have been largely finished by November 1. Almost everyone I work with has applied early—whether through Early Decision, Early Action, or just turning a regular application in early—to at least one school. Many, though not all, had at least one acceptance by mid-December and didn’t submit any more applications. Even the ones who sent January applications were still pretty much done early, though, since they had already finished things up for a November deadline. December has been pleasantly slow.

Just as things are wrapping up a few months earlier than before, things are beginning earlier. I almost always only begin working with students in their junior year, and March and April used to be when I brought most people on board. Now, I’m getting calls and emails in the first half of 11th grade. I had about half of my current juniors by the end of December, and by Spring Break this year I was turning people away because I have all the clients I need. January and February are no longer quiet, but now really busy.

I don’t know to what extent this earlier schedule is a national trend. It could easily be that I’m getting client inquiries earlier just because I’ve been doing this a bit longer and am more established. But I know that early applications are definitely on the rise, so I suspect that the timing shift is bigger than just my small sample.

3. There’s no “normal” number of applications any more.

I used to tell students that ideally they will be applying to four to eight schools, and that most apply to eight to twelve. I still talk about the four-to-eight goal, but there’s no longer a “normal” or “average” number of applications for my students.

As I said, the past two years have seen more students applying to a few schools early, getting accepted, and being finished. Although the number of clients who apply to only one college is still pretty small, it’s double what it used to be. And the number of clients who apply to four or fewer schools is also a lot higher. So, fewer applications…

…except the students who don’t apply early, or don’t get accepted early, are typically applying to more schools. If there’s not early success, then they get nervous and feel the need to send out more applications, just in case. I’ve had a lot of clients in the past two years apply to more than 15 colleges overall. Last year someone applied to 23. So students are applying to fewer schools or to more schools, but not as many students are applying to the middle of range of four to 12.

Those are the major changes I’ve seen in the past few years. And they seem to be normal. It’s a mess out there, and I haven’t got a lot of hope in the near-to-mid-future that it will get better.

What advice do I have for parents and students considering these changes?

Consider early 11th grade as the ideal time to begin thinking seriously about college admission. I still don’t encourage 9th or 10th graders to get too involved, because there’s still so much time for so much to change. But I know lots of parents my age didn’t begin their own college admission process until 12th grade, and that’s just not nearly as feasible as it used to be.

Think of November 1 as your deadline, not January 1. Some of the large public universities have earlier deadlines, especially if you want financial aid or campus housing. If you’re in a position to consider Early Decision, then consider it seriously. While I used to have “will you apply ED to any of the schools on your list?” conversations, now I mostly have “to which school on your list will you apply ED?” conversations.

Building a balanced list of colleges is incredibly important. I want all my clients, no matter how impressive their transcript and resume, to apply to one or two schools they are very confident they’ll be accepted to. I don’t discourage anyone from applying to as many “highly rejective” colleges as they want, but we work hard to have realistic expectations, and I want those Dream School conversations to happen after the conversations about confident-in-acceptance schools.

Remember that the best way to prepare for college is to be a good high school student. It’s not about “tips and tricks” or strategy. It’s not about secret formulas or inside information. It’s about being the best version of you possible, and then clearly communicating who you are. And as I say as often as possible: when you see unhappy adults, they’re never unhappy because they didn’t get into their top-choice college twenty years ago. College is important, but getting into your Dream School just isn’t that important in the grand scheme. You’re going to be fine.

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