This week, the big news was the College Board’s announcement that it is officially dropping SAT Subject Tests and the Essay section of the SAT. While not a surprising policy change (the Subject Tests have been deemphasized for years and the Essay section never took off), the timing was unexpected. As a result, most colleges’ websites and policies are not yet updated.
In other College Board news, it’s hosting a series of virtual college fairs this winter. You can learn more about these events and see what colleges and universities are participating here.
While many highly selective colleges have reported significant increases in applications (NYU topped 100,000 applications and Tufts is up 35%, for instance), many students are delaying their college start because of the pandemic and burnout from online classes. About 460,000 fewer students enrolled in U.S. colleges this fall than in fall 2019.
Speaking of application increases, Stanford announced this week that it’s pushing its notification date back to April 9 due to the “notable increase in…application numbers” and their desire to give each one a thorough review. They’re also giving students a couple of extra days to respond to their offer of admission by changing their reply date to May 3 (from May 1).
On Inauguration Day, the Howard University Marching Band escorted Kamala Harris while the University of Delaware Marching Band escorted Joe Biden during the inaugural parade. We loved seeing the representation of their respective colleges!
Our high note this week was Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Day poem. Ms. Gorman, like President Biden, has overcome a speech impediment and is the youngest inaugural poet. Ms. Gorman graduated from Harvard University in 2020 with a degree in sociology and has a long-term plan of running for president herself. Social science and humanities majors, rejoice!
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