Do you feel confused about COVID-19 and college admissions? Are you worried about the extent to which COVID-19 is affecting college admission essays and a student’s acceptance? Do you want to decrease your stress level and get answers to how your teen’s college applications need to shine during these uncertain times?
If you answered yes, you aren’t alone. In my house, my parents are trying to navigate the college application waters with my younger sister. Meanwhile, my college hasn’t even announced a plan for the fall yet!
Parents of rising seniors, the season of college applications is naturally full of challenges and unknowns. However, this year, you must add in the unique challenges and unknowns that arise during a global pandemic. While we don’t yet know all the answers to questions surrounding college and COVID-19, we do know a little bit about how the college admissions process is adapting to the situation.
The UNC System has changed it’s admission requirements.
In March, the Board of Governors announced that students with a minimum high school weighted GPA of 2.5, or an SAT of 1010 or ACT of 19 will now be eligible for admission, according to The News & Observer in Raleigh. You can read the article here.
What does this really mean?
While the new policy still requires students to submit their test scores, it means students must only meet one of the criteria (GPA or test scores) to be eligible for admission to a school in the UNC system.
This change will remain in place for the next three years.
To read more, check out this article from The Daily Tar Heel.
The University of Georgia will now accept The Common Application, The Coalition Application, or the UGA based application.
According to the UGA Admissions website, regardless of what application students choose to use, all applicants will have to submit a longer personal essay (250-650 words) and a shorter essay (200-300 words). For the longer essay, students will use a prompt from either The Common App or The Coalition App depending on which application they choose to use. Currently the application will still require test scores.
For more information so that you can stay informed and help your teen, check out this blog post on the UGA Admissions website.
Many schools have made their application test optional. To read the full list, check out this article.
What does this really mean?
Essays are going to be an even more important factor when considering students for admission this year without test scores.
Want to read more about why essays are important this year? Check out last week’s blog post, The Secret to Taking Control of Your Teen’s College Applications.
If your teen is ready to get started on their essays, check out my post, 3 Easy Steps to Feel Better about Helping Your Teen Start College Essay Writing, and don’t forget, it’s not too late to schedule your FREE 15-minute session with Total Writing Enrichment.
Check back in next Monday for my next blog post!
Enjoy the warm weather, and stay well!
Moira ♥
*Moira Ritter is a junior at Georgetown University and looks forward to contributing her writing skills to Total Writing Enrichment this summer!
