03 Aug Road Map for August: Class of 2022
Despite the challenges we’re all experiencing this summer, I hope you’re able to have some fun and spend time on things you find meaningful. With respect to college planning, thinking about what’s meaningful to you can help you identify priorities for your college search. If you think about what you miss most, that might help you develop a list for what your college experience should offer, and you can use your time in the remaining weeks of summer to do some college exploration. Usually this means visits, and in this year when in-person tours may be unavailable, I recommend students do a variety of virtual tours and online information sessions. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), which holds a series of college fairs throughout the school year, has moved fall fairs online; you can register here for sessions where hundreds of college admission representatives will be available to talk with students and parents.
The landscape for standardized testing continues to evolve, and the Class of ’21 has seen big changes, with several hundred colleges going test optional since March for at least this year. While some of those colleges will require testing again for the Class of ‘22, many will remain test-optional for several years or on a permanent basis. I hope that helps take some of the pressure off, but I still recommend students take the SAT or ACT, and if you have time on your hands this summer you might consider getting ahead on test prep. My standard advice still applies: take a practice version of each test first to see if you’re better suited for one over the other, then choose your exam. One other note: if you have not completed Algebra 1 and 2 and Geometry, you may be better off waiting until spring when you’ll have more of the math content you’ll need to do well on the exams.
As always, your grades are more important to college admission officers than any other factor. Set yourself up for success in this unique year by doing some review or prep in subjects you may want to improve on, and by shoring up your online study skills.