I have a high schooler, class of 2025, who went remote in the middle of 7th grade. Their school grades completely tanked over freshman and sophomore year of high school and are only now returning to As and Bs. They are looking at public colleges, which seem to just look at overall GPA and SAT scores. My question is are public colleges taking the fallout of COVID into account at all? I know private schools tend to look more holistically at applications, but my impression of the public schools is that they just go by numbers. Any thoughts? Thank you!
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Depends on the school. Some are holistic. Some go by grades and / or grades / test.
So it will be school dependent.
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It does depend on the school. Good news is that there are a lot of good schools out there, both public and private, where a kid with low stats (for whatever reason) can get a strong education. If you aren’t already doing so, the class of 202X 3.0-3.4 threads etc. are a great place to start. Lots of success stories there: Parents of HS Class of 2024 3.0-3.4 GPA
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Being able to adjust to adversity is something schools look at also. Their school counselors can write up about this but never use it as an excuse. There might be a question on the common app about it and they can use that information there. Find a school that is a good fit and one you can afford. But starting with your known local public is a good place to start. The kids are also compared to kids in their own schools so… The question is… How did those other students do as well? (this might be rhetorical). Also what other things did your kids do to stand out during this time? Many did nothing but also many did things to set themselves apart.
Good luck.
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As do the elite/selective public schools.
But having said that, everyone else in your school and community was similarly impacted so they will assess the application in the context of your school and community.
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Define “grades completely tanked over freshman & sophomore year.” What grades did they get?
short answer to your question about public colleges: It depends.
There’s a lot of variation across the country in terms of how public colleges handle admissions. Some do holistic apps, some do not. Some require SAT/ACT test scores, some do not. Some require them for OOS applicants but are test optional if you’re an in-state student. Also can depend sometimes on what major(s) your kid is applying for. In many parts of the US, neighboring states to where you live may have reciprocal agreements w/your state, where if your kid graduates from high school from your state with a certain min. GPA, then they’d qualify for in-state tuition at the OOS school. WUE is an example of this in the western US, for example.
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