Re: Northeastern virtual admission session - Their “live” session was one of my favorites so far. Funny that some schools seem to do it well, regardless of the medium and some just do it poorly.
@CCadmin_Sorin now this thread has weird tags like Humboldt State too! Can you delete these?
ACT has added more test dates in the fall…
http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html
I wonder how UT is going to handle their admissions scoring algorithms now that they are going TO. If you read “Your Ticket to the Forty Acres” the former AO goes into detail on how applicants are scored for the various schools. We were hoping D’s high ACT would help in that department, but now who knows. I wish they would go on the Common App! Then we’d have just one app for almost every school on D’s list.
We got email from our school superintendent saying they were hoping to announce a fall plan by July 15. We are not scheduled to start until the end of August, and it will be the traditional calendar. Honestly that is probably best given what’s happening in our area with the COVID surge.
Still haven’t received the unofficial transcript with class rank. So we have no idea on whether D will squeak into the top 6% or not for auto admit to UT.
Before the tagging of the threads I didn’t know anything about Humboldt State, but now… lol. It looks like a beautiful area.
In the spirit of Humboldt State…
If you’re child is looking for a school off the beaten track in a gorgeous location with a lot of outdoor activities, check out Fort Lewis College. It’s a public LAC in Durango Colorado which is an awesome jumping off spot for whitewater, skiing, and MTB.
Can we talk about admissions interviews (not alumni)? Tulane is doing these for the first time ever. They say they are optional, but … optional in college admissions is such a loaded word. I’m assuming they were added because of test optional admissions, but I could be wrong.
My daughter was happy that none of her choices required admissions interviews and is not excited about doing this one. She/we have done so many of their virtual offerings (and even made a physical visit) that she literally doesn’t have any legitimate questions remaining and doesn’t want to fake it by manufacturing some interest or inquiry. I suppose she could ask questions she already learned the answer to in some of the student panels or something.
Can I let her off the hook on this? Or (especially because it’s so easy to do from the comfort of your home) should she absolutely sign up?
@3kids2dogs I would think if she has 50% or better test scores she can submit the interview is less important. If not submitting test scores the interview could be an opportunity to stand out and make an impression. I think Tulane considers demonstrated interest as they tend to be focused on yield. So there is that aspect to consider. Of course if she is going to apply there ED then interview probably less important for demonstrated interest as ED is the ultimate demonstrated interest.
@burghdad Thanks for your thoughts. She thankfully does have a score that’s on the higher edge of middle 50%, so she will send it. She will apply EA, but no way is she thinking ED.
That doesn’t mean Tulane doesn’t have it’s place though. Right now she’s all about the large flagships, but Tulane is her number 1 smaller school. I would like her to put her best application foot forward so when push comes to shove if next Spring she changes her mind and doesn’t want a large flagship environment, she has a couple of good choices.
I think I’ll advise her that I think she should register for a spot, but leave the final decision up to her. Everyone has their limit. I get the feeling this might be it for her (not that she doesn’t want to apply, but that she’s done all the demonstrated interest activities that feel natural to her. She’s interested. She’s demonstrated she’s interested. Stop asking/offering “one more way” to show she’s interested). If she’s hit her limit, so be it. This is her journey, not mine.
For Tulane, if not applying ED, I would do the interview. Has she visited campus?
Yes, we visited June 5. They started up in person tours again.
Texas A&M just followed UT’s lead and will be Test Optional for this admissions cycle. I’m waiting to talk to our academic advisor but S21 may be going TO for his UT & TAMU apps. He’s already an assured admit at his other safeties.
Now, only if both UT and TAMU will start accepting Common App! 
YESSSS!!!
Our public school (my D24) board is probably going hybrid for high school, but my S21’s small private high school is going to be in person instruction. “Although it has not committed to a formal plan yet, the district school board approved what a hybrid scenario would look like, if it comes to that…In high school, students would be on a four-period block school, with classes on Mondays and Thursdays and Tuesdays and Fridays, with zoom classes on Wednesdays…final decision 7/21 full face-to-face, hybrid or 100% remote.”
Testing is only done at the publics. I have no idea if they will cancel, but I doubt our July ACT is going to happen even though our city still has few community cases.
I was happy to see today that ACT added more dates for the fall. D21 was not so thrilled, even though she knows she needs a higher score. She is registered for July but who knows if that will happen? So we requested the email reminder to be notified when registration for new September dates opens up.
Whoops, just saw that @Mwfan1921 had already posted. We were glad some of the dates were on Sunday, just on the very small chance that XC season happens this year.
I wish ours had a hybrid option among their plans. Right now it seems as if they are going either fully in person or fully remote. The state has laid out guidelines that describe some hybrid models (Mon/Wed, Tue/Thur or alternating weeks or AM/PM) but have said “Hybrid models should only be implemented if absolutely necessary and after factoring in additional logistical requirements/costs as well as day care requirements placed on working families and unnecessary burden on staff.”
Therefore I don’t think our district will use a hybrid model. We’re scheduled to go back in early August, so hopefully they’ll tell us the plan soon, but I expect they’ll say they’re going back in person but, if conditions change - and it’s not looking great here - they’ll pivot to fully remote which could happen before the first day of school even happens, so it almost doesn’t seem to matter what they claim the plan is.
Can anyone recommend a good resource for helping kids with the college interview process? Looking at some in person tours in July or August and most of the schools we’re looking at offer interviews after the 1-on-1 tour. I’m not sure if we should take advantage of these on-site interviews or not. It’s pulling teeth just getting him to sign up for virtual visits and info sessions, I really don’t know if he’s ready for an interview this summer. Is doing poorly on the interview enough to torpedo an application?
S21 has been needing to do interviews as he is a homeschooler (interviews generally either strongly recommended or required for homeschoolers). He is far from a natural in this endeavor but has had to do it. Originally we’d planned to do it on campus, but given COVID, he’s just been getting them done from his bedroom through the various virtual options. In fact, he has one starting in 30 minutes - his fifth. After the first one (which I didn’t think went great), he’s gotten better and more comfortable with it - I’m glad we started with a pretty low stakes one for practice, so I’d recommend that. Maybe your S could do 1 or 2 low stakes online ones now and feel better prepared for any in person ones he feels he needs to do ?
Two resources that were somewhat helpful for us were these podcasts:
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-and73-d1cfc6?utm_campaign=w_share_ep&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=w_share
(episode from 02/03 about Acing Your Alumni Interviews). Even though it’s specific to alumni interviews, there is still info here that is helpful for conversations with admissions offices.
And
https://www.collegeessayguy.com/podcast-stream/college-interview-tips-and-strategies
In S21’s case, given the selectivity of his schools, we mostly think that as long as he doesn’t tank the interview, it’s going to be neutral or positive for his application. He kind of tanked the first one, but that school has an admit rate above 70% so it may not matter much. In any case, I think it’s also been a good growth experience for him, even though I was somewhat terrified for him to do it, knowing that it wasn’t really the kind of thing that was in his zone. ?