by Julie Wolf, Guest Writer

“While remote or online learning is different than face-to-face, it truly isn’t less than.”

A professor friend told me this. I believe it’s true, but some students are anxious. Who better to address their concerns than experienced faculty members? A dozen professors in varying fields (art history, architecture, writing, literature, African-American studies, nutrition, philosophy, computer science, and electrical engineering) from varying institutions (midsize Ivy League and liberal arts schools, large private universities in the Northeast, even larger state universities in the South and Midwest) weighed in: What can students do to achieve a successful fall semester? Their advice will be helpful not just for college students, but for students in high school as well.

by Steve Brennan, former admissions officer at Occidental College

At Bright Horizons College Coach, we speak with hundreds of families every week about college admission. And every week, we try to put a stressed out family at ease by saying something like, “Don’t worry about the PSAT or PreACT – colleges will never see that score.” Or, “It’s true that the 11^th grade PSAT can have implications for merit scholarship consideration, but no college admission officer will ever see it and use it for admission.”

In the too-often opaque admission process here was advice that didn’t start with, “Well, it depends…” or have multiple caveats. And? Families had one less thing to be anxious about. Anytime we can dial down the stress surrounding the college admission process for students and families, that’s definitely a win.

Enter the University of Michigan.

COVID-19 looms large for all of us this year, including high school students. For many, it might be tempting to write their essays about their experiences—but should they? We’ll talk through this question and offer our perspective as former admissions officers who have read tens of thousands of admissions essays over the years. In other segments, we’ll go over how students can help themselves financially this summer and hear about one of our expert’s experiences selecting her college and studying abroad in London.

by Mary Sue Youn, former admissions officer at Barnard College

As we talk to families, a version of the same question keeps popping up over and over again:

“What will the impact be on the class of 2021 if a high number of the class of 2020 takes a gap year?”

A “gap year” involves delaying enrollment at a college for one year, oftentimes for travel, volunteer, or employment experiences. Students must ask their enrolling college for permission to use this option, and generally students are not permitted to take courses at another college during their gap year. Annually, about 3% of American college students opt for a gap year, but recent articles have touted that the number of gap years will skyrocket in the age of coronavirus. If 30% of the incoming class didn’t enroll this fall and held off until next year, it would certainly mean that colleges would have 30% less spots for next year’s applicants, right?

The University of California leaders had already been toying with the idea of going test optional when COVID caused them to hit the fast-forward button.

COVID-19 has disrupted many things in our world this year, including many high school students’ summer plans. We’ll be talking through how to adjust your activities with social distancing and cancellations in mind. For all those juniors who took the PSAT this past fall, we have information on how those scores will relate to scholarships available to students. Finally, if all the changes in admissions this year has you looking for assistance beyond our podcast, we have thoughts about how to evaluate your options.

by Kara Courtois, former admissions officer at Barnard College

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” —Dr. Seuss

This is the summer of reading—or at least, it could be your best literary summer yet. With the change in many summer plans due to COVID-19, my fellow college admissions counselors and I are regularly encouraging students to focus on what is in your control. Enter—READING!

With next fall’s plans pretty a giant question mark, many families are trying to understand what online study versus on-campus study will do to their costs. We’ll share what you need to know about funding an online education. In other segments, we’ll offer some standardized testing advice as test dates are cancelled and more colleges opt to go test optional in the coming year. Finally, we’ll revisit computer science, this time with Rick Bischoff of Case Western offering the college perspective.

by Ian Fisher, former admissions officer at Reed College

Last week, the Common App announced it will add a short COVID-19-themed essay question for students applying to college this fall. This came as little surprise to those of us at Bright Horizons College Coach, where one of our more prescient educators even had a dream about this addition, way back on April 10. We have long anticipated that colleges would offer a way for students to express how this global pandemic has upended the ordinary parts of their lives, and the question below will give them an opportunity to do exactly that:

by Lauren DiProspero, former admissions officer at Columbia University

As I spend time speaking with families, I notice that many are missing the cultural experiences they had before stay-at-home policies were established. Some love museums, no matter how small and quirky. Some miss the popcorn at their local movie theater. Some are yearning to learn new things at lectures. And, honestly, many didn’t have regular access to these experiences within their community before this.