One thing You Can Do: Flip the Admissions Script

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDC9uWg7IJY[/embedyt]

This is the first article in a series where I discuss what you can do, should do, and need to do to get ahead in these atypical times. Today we’re talking essays. Check here for information on testing and here for information on closures. 

Even if some colleges go test optional, no college will go essay optional. 

The application process usually goes like this:

Test → Essay → Application/Letters of Recommendation

Flip the script. Put your essay in-front. 

Essay → Application/Letters or Recommendation → Test

Here is why…

If the quarantine lifts by summer…

1.  Most college-bound juniors will test this summer, many will test more than once. The earliest most students could test is June, excepting in-school SATs and ACTs scheduled for spring.

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2. Test dates are unknown, makeups are uncertain, so the number of attempts available to students is unknown. 

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3. Students applying to colleges that require SAT Level 2 exams will lose a test date to take the SAT Level 2s. Level 2’s are given the same day as the regular SAT. While MIT has dropped the SAT II for this year, it’s unlikely that the bulk of colleges will follow suit. 

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4. College visits, a key part of the decision process for many families are on hold. (Check out why college aren’t perfect here). 

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5. Many students may have summer school to address what they missed. 

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6. Colleges requiring essays will require the same number–or more–regardless of test-optional. 

Here’s what we can assume:

1. Students will want to make up for lost time with friends and freedom. 

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2. The “Sunday night stress” will be intense. A break from routine makes the return to routine stressful. The longer the break, the more the stress. More stress means more tension between parents and students. It is a toxic combination when paired with the stress of applications and the looming college transition. Stress affects admissions results, and stress can damage relationships. 

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3. Summer jobs, volunteering, travel sports, camps, family vacations, religious activities, community orchestras, scouting, and so on will resume. We’ve already forgotten–I know I have–how much we were on the go. Resuming normal life will take up time and time to adjust. Many summer activities will be compressed and that the same activity may require more hours per week. 

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4. Selective colleges will want to know what students did during the quarantine. More on that here and an article coming next week. 

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That sounds like a bleak picture. It’s not. It’s just different. By flipping the order you do things, you’ll be well ahead of your competition next fall. Here’s how you can take charge.

What should I do?

Go ahead and get started. The biggest, thorniest part of the college application process is the Common App essay. It is also incredibly important–the Thanksgiving turkey on your admissions table. Unless your situation is exceptional, or you have something unique to say, writing about the quarantine will be boring to admissions officers. 

I promise that you already have a brilliant essay topic. It’s all about finding it, and for most of you, that topic is really hard to find. It’s hard to write about yourself, it’s hard to tell what’s unique and interesting about yourself. Further, you have little experience with this kind of thematic narrative and you don’t know what they want to see. (Hint: it’s your authentic self on paper). Here’s a short primer on the common app essay. Here’s a primer on the essay itself. 

Contact us for a free consultation about your applications and essay. It won’t hurt you, and it will be a lot easier than starting on your own. If all you do is come up with a well-defined idea will put you ahead of 99% of your competition. 

I’ll make you one more promise. If you get started, even if it’s lousy and no good and painful and tedious, you’ll find that you feel more control over your life. You’ll be looking forward to the future more and worrying about it less. Reach out, take control, and life will be much easier.