HHS Junior College Admissions Night (3.10.22), Parent FAQs, Part I: College Exams

Hi families and students, we are nine days away from our HHS Junior College Admissions Night 2022. As part of the registration process, we have welcomed junior families to ask questions that may not be addressed in our upcoming presentation.  Below are some recent FAQs, as well as a short video about college testing. Please note that the webinar is only offered to eleventh-grade students and their parents/guardians, however, the FAQs may be helpful to read regardless of your child's grade.

PARENT FAQs, PART I: College Exams

When should the SAT or ACT be taken by?

Students should take at least one test of the spring of their junior year, and they could re-test in the fall (August/September) to be eligible for most early action deadlines. Be mindful that some southern colleges have early action deadlines of October 15th.

Is it worth taking the SATs or ACTs anymore?

We recommend that a student take at least one college test in the spring of the junior year. Even though many colleges are test-optional, some still require them. It’s better to get a test under one’s belt now rather than panicking/scrambling at the last minute. Please go to sat.org or act.org to register, and make sure that your child knows the username and password in case they need access at school.  Additionally, here is a doc listing all testing dates for 2022, as well as helpful tips and resources.

Will schools remain test-optional?

We hope so!!! However, it is still too early to predict what might happen; some colleges are committed to remaining test-optional until 2026 (or so) to track data to see if removing a testing barrier impacted the quality of the students admitted during their test-optional phase.

It is advisable to submit SATs/ACTs to colleges even when they may not be required?

It is advisable to submit scores if the student’s SAT/ACT is average or above the college’s published criteria so it is likely that your child sends scores to some schools but not all of them.  Additionally, it is important to note that some colleges may offer merit money to students whose scores are above the average so gaining a scholarship is always a plus!

How large of a role do SAT and/or ACT scores play in admissions?

In rank order, the most significant factors that admissions officers consider (in order of importance) are grades in academic classes, strength of one’s curricula, standardized tests, the college essay, the school counselor secondary school report, teacher recommendations, and the resume. If one does not submit college exams, admissions will heavily focus on the more subjective parts of the application (e.g. essay(s), recs, and the resume).

What is the difference between the SAT and the ACT?

Please watch Drew Heilpern of Summit Educational Group (time code = 18:35) to understand the difference between the tests.

 

Whoa, it's already 2022...

    I was hoping to post a new article when we returned from winter break, but so much for my New Year’s resolutions. In case you’re new to my blog, I create timely articles for my department about the post-secondary process…well, perhaps in the pandemic turmoil, they’re not as timely as I’d like them to be, but I try! Nevertheless, despite the rollercoaster of the COVID-19 world, this year I’ve seen a lot of bright spots to report to the Hopkinton community. In the fall of 2021, our school instituted a flex block in our schedule, which occurs on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week from 9:55-10:40. During this time, students can meet with teachers, counselors, and other support staff for extra help, remediation, and self-care. Our department seized this opportunity and used these blocks to offer our developmental curriculum to the students on our caseloads, which was an awesome experience as I was able to connect with my students more frequently than in the past. Though we’ve offered these classes for decades, this is was the first time in which counselors could teach their own students in person, so as such, I’ve now seen all of my freshmen at least five times in a group setting. Despite the mask that fogs my glasses, making me feel even more anonymous than my far-sighted colleagues, when I walk into the hallways and classrooms, freshmen now greet me and yell out to me by name. I am very grateful that I was able to establish a strong relationship from the very beginning of this year, and I have flex block to thank for it.

    Counselors are now just wrapping up our Junior Seminars, which cover post-secondary planning. These sessions are heavily focused on the college process, and this week, counselors focused on letters of recommendation (check out this youtube clip from my class), when students should ask their teachers (typically in April/May this year), and what information they should provide once a teacher agrees to a write a recommendation. Additionally, all counselors are required to write a recommendation for all students in support of their applications, and we just assigned My Story this week. This assignment, if done well, enhances the letter that we will write for the student. Additionally, parents are also welcome to add more information to our rec letters via the Parent Brag Sheet. Moms, dads, or guardians are encouraged to answer the outlined questions about your child and return them to their respective counselor; the anecdotes parents provide are super helpful when writing. Often, there are really interesting pieces of information that parents share through this correspondence that I may not have known otherwise. So please, don’t be shy…brag about your child! It can only help.

    I could go on and on about our seminars, but if you’re curious about when your child attended or will attend these classes, you can check it out here. Additionally, even though counselor sessions are focused on career development mostly in the freshmen and sophomore year, the flex block has allowed Valerie Lechtanski, STEAM and CVTE School-Community Career Coordinator, to reach out to any student who wants to meet virtually with a professional in a specific career. In these live sessions, the expert will talk about their journey, how they entered into the field, the future of the career, and what they do on an average day. Here is the calendar for February, and as long as we have enough student interest, we are hoping to provide more options for additional experts to share their stories and inspire youth in Hopkinton.

    Despite the fact that we’re still riding the COVID wave, now that I look back, I do realize that these new initiatives might not have come to fruition if we didn’t need to make structural changes to help transition our students back to a normal school day, whatever normal is now. I am deeply appreciative that I live in a community that is creative and flexible, allowing us to use the ample resources in our school to assist our students. If you’re reading this article and had no idea about our new flex block pilot program, please feel free to reach out to your child’s school counselor, or to me, Kristen Wurster at kwurster@hopkinton.k12.ma.us, and I can direct your question appropriately. In the meantime, be kind, be safe, and stay warm!

A Brief Timeline on the College Process

Well, after a long-induced pandemic hiatus, I've returned to my blog yet again to target our junior students and their parents.  On Thursday, February 25th, the Hopkinton High School's Counseling Department will present a webinar to kick off the eleventh graders' college application process.  If you did not see the recent email inviting the Class of 2022 and their parents to attend, please click here. We have already received many RSVPs, and the reason I'm blogging is to address some of the questions that parents have already asked in advance of the program.  Unfortunately, many of these inquiries are beyond the scope of our webinar's presentation, but I hope to clarify and inform those families who are going through this process for the first time.  I was the guinea pig in my family, as I was the firstborn in a family of four children, and I did not make it easy for my parents.  Stay tuned for a separate post addressing how parents can cope with the college process with a teenager who refuses to engage.

But, I digress; let's focus on the now.  Rest assured that the college application process spans over a year, and at this stage of the game, no one is behind. Your goal in the spring of your junior year is to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. Yes, there will be time to start applications, write college essays, craft resumes, and hone specific nuances of the process. Still, your current focus should be narrowing down your options so by the time you hit August of your senior year, you will have at least a handful of schools to which you plan to apply. You should also sign up for at least one college exam (SAT/ACT) in the spring of the junior year; if you haven't done so, check out this helpful webinar to learn more about the differences between the SATs/ACTs, or contact your child's school counselor to offer advice.

Additionally, all juniors are required to attend a mandatory Junior Seminar (February-March), in which each counselor meets with all of their students in a small group setting, addressing certain specific topics such as Finding your Fit/Using Naviance, The Common Application, the College Essay, Letters of Recommendation, Financial Aid/Scholarships, and more.  Check out this doc to see what you should be doing each season for the next year.  Additionally, if you want to watch a video with yours truly, click below to view a YouTube clip.

Here are some time codes so you can fast forward to areas in which you have interest:

1:15:  College Timeline:  The Here and Now

4:00:  The Junior Seminar

5:15:  Fall FAQs:  How many colleges to which students typically apply?

7:40:  Application Types (Early Action versus Early Decision)

11:30:  November 1st/15th Deadlines:  What grades are sent?

12:35:  Regular Decision Deadlines (January 1st/15th):  What grades are sent?

14:55:  Rolling admissions

16:25:  The FAFSA

18:20:  Scholarships

As always, please contact your child's counselor if you have any follow-up questions; or, at the very least, email me at Kristen Wurster kwurster@hopkinton.k12.ma.us so I can direct you to the correct person.  As always, it takes a village, and in the next year or so, your counselor will be an essential villager who will guide you through the process, not only through graduation but potentially beyond.  Please don't be shy in reaching out because this is how we forge strong relationships with our students and families.

Flexibility of Colleges During COVID-19

If you've read my most recent article regarding colleges going test-optional in the wake of COVID cancellations, I thought I would share another (hopefully reassuring) update for juniors who are worried about their applications in the fall of 2020.  With the most humble thanks to Wayland High School, whose counselors compiled these revisions to colleges' policies for the next admissions cycle, it is clear to see that the college world has turned upside-down, and changes will continue to evolve into the summer and fall.  The bright side of the chaos:  all students nationwide are now on an even playing field.  School closures are ubiquitous, and 11th-graders are forced to transition to remote learning.  Opportunities will be more limited, as internships, summer jobs, and extracurricular activities have been suspended or postponed.  Although these ideas may send students into a tailspin, fretting over the "what ifs" is not a healthy frame of mind.  Remember, colleges have always used holistic review when evaluating a student's application, which will be the saving grace for everyone across the nation. 

What's a holistic review?  Essentially, colleges look at a student as a whole person, not select pieces.  Using this approach means that admissions officers will not fault students because the nation (and by default our teenagers) experienced an unprecedented calamity for which we were not prepared.  Thus, colleges will look at trends and the big picture:  Has the applicant taken challenging classes over his/her four years?  Is the student's essay well-written and insightful?  Do the accompanying letters of recommendation demonstrate a deep relationship with staff members, as well as attest to the student's academic strength and character?  Remember, all colleges try to find a way to admit students, and they don't seek out the minutia.

As a counselor, these ideas are nothing new to me; I know colleges don't hyper-focus on a single variable (e.g. a student earning a C+ in a class rather than a B-) to weed students out.  And, they certainly won't try to predict "what if."  Everyone will recognize that the Class of 2021 will look very different from previous years:  yes, their GPAs might be lower.  Their resumes may be a bit shorter.  They may not have any SATs or ACTs to report out.  But that's okay:  essentially, colleges (and students) will have to toss out any expectations that they might have for this fall, and frankly, perhaps the next fall.  Remember that colleges are businesses, and they are concerns about filling their beds for the upcoming freshman class of 2020.  College and university presidents are deeply worried that the coronavirus crisis could wreak havoc on their institutions' finances in the short-term and beyond.  As such, it's possible that it may become even easier to earn acceptance at certain schools if they experience low enrollment in 2020; this upheaval and uncertainly may be a blessing in disguise for any 11th-grade student worried about their prospects in 2021.  So take it from me:  take a deep breath.  Relax.  Stay safe.  And wash your hands...

COVID-19 and Test-Optional Admissions

In the light of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Case Western Reserve University and three other colleges went test-optional last week, citing the cancellation of SAT and ACT exams in March, April, and May.   Case Western's vice president for enrollment management said, “We would rather students focus as best they can on their academic subjects rather than worrying about the SAT or ACT. Testing has always been just one factor in our evaluation of applications, and we are confident that we will continue to make quality admission decisions for those students who are either unable to test or who choose not to submit test scores.” Another representative from the school also commented, "These scores have always made up just a portion of our evaluation of prospective students, and we don't want our future applicants to feel hamstrung by circumstances far outside their control." As a school counselor, I'm sure that my colleges will follow suit within a few weeks or months, and I'm sure that the College Board and the ACT are freaking out.

Why do you ask? I've been a counselor for close to fifteen years, and every year, colleges decide to remove entrance exams. Generally speaking, those schools on this list tend to be smaller, private colleges, which often have significantly fewer applicants than larger institutions. As a result, such schools can afford to spend more time considering everything an applicant has to offer, rather than concentrating only on grades and test scores. Some of these test-optional colleges include highly selective institutions such as the University of Chicago (IL), Bowdoin (ME), College of the Holy Cross (MA), Providence (RI), Franklin & Marshall (PA), Hamilton (NY), Smith (MA), Pitzer (CA), Middlebury (VT), Muhlenberg (PA), and Union (NY). For a complete list, visit the website www.fairtest.org.

Sound too good to be true? You are correct to ask yourself what the motivation could be behind a practice that creates more work for schools by making the process less objective. For those skeptics out there, rest assured, these colleges truly are test-optional, and it will not be held against your son or daughter in admissions if s/he chooses not to submit scores. As it turns out, colleges actually reap many benefits, prestige-wise, by not requiring the submission of scores in the application process. According to Lynn Shaughnessy’s (2009) article in the New York Times, it has long been documented that standardized tests favor families from higher socioeconomic brackets who can afford expensive test-preparation courses. Since colleges are engaged in an intense competition to recruit more applications each year, test-optional policies are alluring because they attract significantly more students, particularly ethnically diverse ones. Additionally, the onslaught of applications received after a school removes a testing requirement often makes the school in question appear to be more selective. This phenomenon occurs because colleges maintain the same number of freshman seats each year, but now students who may not have considered the school a possibility due to lower scores become much more likely to throw their hats into the ring. Colleges making the switch from test-mandatory to test-optional typically see an immediate ten to twenty percent increase in the number of applications they receive, whereas it would normally cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional recruitment expenses to achieve the same results. Because “selectivity” is one of many measures used by periodicals such as U.S. News and World Report to create their lists of college rankings, test-optional schools ultimately see their “prestige” rise due to the simple laws of supply and demand.

Another direct effect of not requiring students to submit their test scores is that the average SAT score of accepted applicants is artificially inflated. Because students with low scores are less likely to share their results with admissions officers, their numbers cannot be included in a college’s published averages each year. According to Shaugnessy’s (2009) article, applicants who do not divulge their SAT results generally score 100 to 150 points lower than a typical submitter. Consider Mount Holyoke as an example of this phenomenon: in 2001, when their admissions office required SAT scores as part of a student’s profile, the middle 50 percent of accepted applicants reported scores of 1170-1360 out of 1600. Years later, with only 70% of applicants submitting scores, the range jumped 60 points on both ends, and is now at 1270-1490.

After reading this information, the reader might ask, "Why report scores at all at a test-optional college?" Although there is no current data to suggest how widespread the practice is, it is suspected that a significant number of colleges use test scores as a determining factor in awarding merit scholarships. Sound contradictory? You are right to have raised an eyebrow at this practice; Debra Shaver, director of admissions at Smith, an institution that does not use test scores to award merit scholarships, was quoted as saying, “You can’t say, ‘Tests are not a good tool in the process,” and then say, ‘If you don’t submit your scores you can’t qualify for merit aid’...it doesn’t make sense.” 

Whether hypocritical or not, the fact remains that going test-optional has been a hot trend for colleges each year, and with the windfall of COVID-19 this spring, I am guessing that removing a testing barrier will make practical sense for all students applying in the Fall of 2020. And, even though colleges are purporting that this policy is only for the application season of 2020-21, I do wonder if the benefits associated with this decision will entice them to make it their standard approach. Regardless of what occurs in the future, it is important for students and parents to make informed decisions when deciding whether to submit scores at these schools. As with every facet of the application process, thorough research is your best protection against missing out on an opportunity to gain admission or a possible scholarship at a college or university. Juniors should email admissions officers for their individual advice regarding what criteria should be used when deciding whether or not to report scores to their specific institution, and parents should be listening to responses with an open yet critical ear. As always, if questions persist, do not hesitate to ask a high school counselor for input. 

All statistics and quotations courtesy of Lynn O’Shaughnessy’s article, “The Other Side of Test-Optional,” appearing in the July 26th 2009 edition of The New York Times. 

Too Many Choices?

In the throe of the scheduling madness, I always ask myself, "Why do we need so many options?" I hesitate to write, "Back in my day...," causing the reader to perceive I am out of touch, but nonetheless, I continue to see the stress level in my students increase more and more every year.  It starts in mid-August when students receive their schedules for the upcoming year and are disappointed they didn't get their top elective or a preferred teacher.  Begging commences, and sometimes tears are shed, but eventually, the student moves on and copes, yet still disappointed that s/he didn't receive the ideal schedule.  Then, once scheduling is officially finalized (at least for this fall; it will rear its ugly head in January) the senior college application frenzy initiates, with a litany of questions from parents and students:

“If I’m applying to a college that is test-optional, should I submit my scores? Do you think I’d be better off going to a small liberal arts school or to a university that has lots of options? Is it more practical to major in biology rather than enter into a pre-med program? If a school has a rolling deadline, when should I apply?  Will I be penalized for not writing the “optional” essay on this supplement? Do you think I should apply single-choice early action to Yale or early decision to BC?”

I often find myself exhausted by the number of decisions my students have to make regarding college choice. It all starts during junior year, in which students are forced to tackle the gargantuan task of whittling down their list from an initial pool of 3000 to about 6 or 10.  It finally ends with the senior application process, in which even the savviest 12th grader can get swept away in the minutia of how to present the best application package to colleges.

In the counseling department, we do our best to guide students towards making informed choices, but sometimes I sense that certain seniors are left disappointed, fearing that by making a final decision, they may have lost out on an opportunity at a different college. The more I started thinking about the abundance of alternatives that are available in our lives (not only in the world of college admissions but also outside our front doors) the more I began to realize how crippling making these decisions can be.

My curiosity drove me to research the notion of choice and I was surprised to find that there have been a variety of studies done on this concept. Barry Schwartz, a psychology professor at Swarthmore College, notes that people living in a westernized society often make the assumption that the more options people have, the more freedom they enjoy. He notes that due to America’s capitalistic mentality, it is now possible to purchase more than 175 different types of salad dressing in a typical grocery store. At his local electronics store, he calculates that a shopper could end up buying one of 6.5 million different configurations of stereo systems.

However, as it turns out, being presented with too many options is stressful to our brains; it gives us too many ideas to compare and contrast. As a result, Schwartz postulates that an excess of choice imposes two negative effects: one, it produces paralysis rather than liberation. With so many options, it can be difficult to choose at all.  Looking back on my own application process, I now realize that my desire to avoid choices may have led me to choose the college that I did.  I didn’t want to research too many schools for fear of being confused by all of the options...and, I'm not going to lie, touring schools took me away from my friends.  As such, I visited one school in Boston, felt like I would fit in there, so I decided to attend.  My search was done.

Additionally, the second consequence of copious choices is that ultimately, we end up less satisfied with the selection we eventually make. Schwartz’s theory is that if we invest significant time and energy choosing an option, we expect it to be ideal. If it is not, we often have a nagging sensation that we could have done better. Since fortunately, most of our decisions are less weighty, one way in which Schwartz suggests we tackle the problem is to become more comfortable with the idea of “good enough.” Seeking perfection, especially in big decisions like colleges is a recipe for misery.

For students or parents who may have been horrified when I admitted to visiting only one school’s campus, I now realize that this fact was, in fact, a blessing in disguise. Another reason I didn’t do more research is that I never expected a school to be absolutely perfect. My expectation helped me to be more realistic about my freshman year; frankly, I wasn’t immediately happy during my first semester, but I recognized that my struggles would likely have remained the same, no matter where I went to school.

Remember that the typical senior does have difficulty transitioning to college, and those who struggle most are often those who idealized their experience before moving into campus. Recognize that nothing is perfect. Movies, television shows, and online media have all hyped up college to be “the best time of our lives,” but in reality, it is not always the case. Although I grew to love my school, it was a process that occurred over time, as I found my niche and grew more comfortable with my identity as a college student.  As an adult, I now realize that going to college is a grand adventure in its own right, as teenagers will experience tremendous growth during these four years.  And, sometimes, struggling can be part of the process that eventually sparks genius; many entrepreneurs say that feeling uncomfortable is the key to success, and if we frame our college experiences in this mindset, society as a whole can reduce the stress level in our teenagers.

January 24th: Coffee with Counselors and the College Process for Students with Disabilities

On January 24th, join the counselors for some morning refreshments and a discussion on the college application process for students with disabilities.  From 7:30am-9:00am, counselors will address the differences between services at the high school and college level, along with information on testing,  the types of accommodations available, and the importance of campus visits.  Ferne Bork of Landmark College will present from the college perspective. 

In case you can't attend the session, HHS counselors recognize that the transition from high school to college can be a confusing time for students with learning disabilities and their families; in addition to the challenges that all students face when transitioning to college, other obstacles confront students who need extra academic support. Complicating the process even further is the fact that there is not a standard model of how special education services must be conducted at the college level.  At a minimum, all colleges are required to offer disability services, and thus all schools are required to designate an institutional contact person who ensures that students with disabilities receive accommodations such as extended test time, a separate exam location, or access to assistive technology. However, this person is not required to have training in special education, and s/he may have additional responsibilities on campus. As such, institutions are not allowed to charge families fees for providing these basic accommodations.

Nonetheless, many institutions go beyond this minimum standard and offer a disability program, which has a full-time coordinator or director. Although the nature of these programs still varies from college to college, they may provide support in study skills, instruction in writing strategies or individual tutoring. In these cases, the college may require that families pay a fee for these more comprehensive programs since the institution will need money to fund additional staff members who run the extra support groups.  If you are a parent who is planning to visit a college in the near future, check out these questions you could ask of the disability service office.

It is also essential for families to know that any special education services, as well as modifications outlined in a student’s IEP, are terminated when the student graduates from high school. At the college level, institutions are not required to change admission standards, course content, or programs of study for a student because of his/her disability; for an applicant to be admitted, the college or university must consider him/her to be “otherwise qualified” despite the existence of a disability. Furthermore, the student is responsible for self-identifying to the college and providing adequate documentation of the disability. If the student chooses not to disclose this information, accommodations will not be made, and they also cannot be granted retroactively to a student who struggled because s/he had not identified him/herself as learning disabled.

If a particular college does not allow for formal self-disclosure on the application, applicants might consider including information about his/her disability in a supplemental statement. Describing how a learning disability affected a particular class, or what techniques the student learned to compensate for his/her weakness can be helpful information for a college to have. Bear in mind that this disclosure will not guarantee admission, but it may give committee members better insight into inconsistencies in his/her transcript, or inconsistencies between grades and standardized test scores. The statement should be carefully and thoughtfully prepared, and counselors are more than happy to help their students work on these disclosures.  As always, starting conversations with counselors early in the process is helpful, so please reach out if you're not able to attend our coffee but still need personal advice for you or your child.  

Resources:  Madaus, J.W. (2005). Navigating the college transition maze. Council for Exceptional Children, Jan/Feb, 32-37.