Have a son applying to college this year and are in lucky situation to be able to pay full tuition…is the theory that this year will be easier bc of schools budgets shortfalls, less intenational students and kids not wanting to go due to covid or harder bc of all the gap years? TY and hope everyone is safe
Will there be an impact? Yes. To what extent? No one but Admissions Offices know for certain. If your son meets the published academic ranges and has decent extracurriculars in-line with the schools he’s applying to (especially if selective,) apply and hope for the best.
Hope that helps! Good luck with admissions!
There are factors and forces working in both directions. I don’t think even admissions officers know for certain, although they’ll probably be the first ones to find out.
As with all things admissions-related, you have no control over a lot of the factors that affect your application. That was true pre-pandemic as well. All you can do is focus on submitting the strongest application you can, and hope for the best.
I agree with your theory, but it will vary by school. Jeff Selingo has mentioned that he expects more schools to admit a higher % of kids by ED, which usually indicates higher tuition $$$ per student (I recommend his new book highly).
JS only knows from his deeper experiences with 3 colleges, two of them similar in attractiveness, region, ranking, etc. Just bear that in mind.
“As with all things admissions-related, you have no control over a lot of the factors that affect your application”
Right. At a point, you have to let go and understand how very much it’s in their hands.
But my ongoing concern is that families do control for what they can, not assume, not look at superficials as though they guarantee some greater shot. Early apps, eg, don’t have a better chance of admissions unless they match what the college looks for. Maybe, for Emory and Davidson, yield is a vital concern. But if you’d only hearn about yield via CC, you’d think it reigns supreme.
Same with other aspects of enrollment management. It’s not really the number of times you click on something. Some hs kid could write a program to click smartly.
No, it’s about how you match, how you perceive that and convey it, more than career prep, reputation, etc. You can get a pretty good idea of a college’s values and the sort of students it seeks via their web info. IMO. It’s part of matching.
What’s the prognosis for kids who have relatively average stats/ECs and who opt to apply without test scores to “test optional” schools? Is it likely to be “easier” or “harder” to be admitted? I suppose it depends on the school. My daughter will be applying to schools like UKentucky, U Missouri, Michigan State, U of South Carolina, College of Charleston. She’s also planning get all applications in early, for EA rounds, in hopes early works in her favor this year. Any thoughts?