When COVID hit in March 2020, it disrupted life for everyone across the globe, including college admissions. Standardized test dates were cancelled, rescheduled, and cancelled again, and ultimately more than 1200 colleges and universities made them an optional part of their admissions process. We’ll update you on test optional policies for the 2021-2022 admissions cycle and share our thoughts on whether or not juniors should still plan to take them. In Office Hours, we’re answering your college admissions and finance questions.

by Emily Toffelmire, former admissions officer at University of Southern California

This is part two in our award series. Check out our previous post and stay tuned for part three.

The 2020-2021 admission cycle has been a beast. It’s caused even more anxiety and stress than would normally be expected, and it’s laid bare inequity of our education system as well as the fragile state of so many of our institutions of higher learning. It’s been hard to identify any slices of good news out there but I do consider the move to test optional and test free admission policies to be a win—a silver lining of a mean and ugly cloud. And there are other silver linings. Despite the enormous pressure and unpredictability of the last year, many admission offices saw 2020 as an opportunity to improve the work they do: to become more accessible to more types of students; to upend years of the same old, same old in their app review process; and to increase transparency when it comes to that process.

by Elizabeth Heaton, former admissions officer at University of Pennsylvania

The news on college applications can feel a little scary this year—applications are up in huge year-over-year numbers at Brown (26%), Oregon State (40%), UC Berkeley (28%), University of Pennsylvania (34%) and Colgate (100%!). How to account for these increases?

by Emily Toffelmire, former admissions officer at University of Southern California

Another week, another announcement that makes the college admission testing landscape feel more unpredictable than season three of Game of Thrones (yet, thankfully, much less violent). However, we can’t help but think most people were happy to hear the news that two pieces of College Board testing will be discontinued: the SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay section of the general SAT. For those of you who are saying, “Wait, what were the SAT Subject Tests—was I supposed to take those?!” let’s back up and explain these two soon-to-be-defunct items.

by Sara Calvert-Kubrom, former admissions officer at Lewis & Clark College

It is time for a follow-up from our September article about the California State Court preliminary injunction that could have banned the University of California system from using standardized test scores!

For much of October, news about this case has been unclear because an appellate court temporarily stayed the ruling requiring the UCs to stop using the SAT or ACT in their admission process. Essentially, the UC system was still allowed to use standardized test scores in their admission process for applicants to fall 2021, with each campus given the freedom to decide if they wanted to adopt a test blind or test optional policy. This piecemeal approach left students confused and unsure of whether or not to submit scores.

Standardized test date cancellations across the world have led many universities to institute temporary and permanent test optional policies. This week we’ll help you decide whether or not to report your test scores to the colleges on your list who aren’t requiring them. It’s October 1, and the FAFSA is out—we have all the details you need to know to file this important financial document. Finally, host Ian Fisher joins the show to share his story about not getting into his first choice college.

by Sara Calvert-Kubrom, former admissions officer at Lewis & Clark College

As we field calls from high school seniors and their parents, we have noticed that there is substantial confusion and uncertainty about what “test optional” is, and how to navigate the college admission process during this time of extensive SAT and ACT exam cancellations. Here are some tips and insights to demystify the landscape of standardized testing and college admission for this year’s seniors and to empower you to make informed decisions:

by Sara Calvert-Kubrom, former admissions officer at Lewis & Clark College

On September 1, 2020, a California State Court judge issued a preliminary injunction stating that the University of California system may not use standardized test scores like the SAT and ACT in their admission evaluation process. This ruling was made in response to the extreme limitations of testing during COVID that have been exacerbated for students with disabilities. These students have had less access to testing sites and/or needed accommodations during testing which are protected by the California Disabled Persons Act and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Although the judge’s ruling bars the use of standardized test scores by the UCs for applicants to the fall of 2021, the legal process is not yet complete and we will learn more after a litigated case management conference on September 29, 2020.

In terms of the college application process, almost nothing has been impacted quite as significantly by COVID-19 as standardized testing. A testing expert joins us to share her insights into what to expect when it comes to these evaluations this fall. In our second and third segments, we’re answering your questions related to college finance and admissions.

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.