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It’s been a long but rewarding application season here at Union Hall Advising.
We predicted that test-optional policies would make 2020-21 the hardest year on record for highly selective college admissions, and the ED round has certainly proven that. Many of our students gained early admission to top schools, despite the gaudy application numbers. But for those that didn’t get in early, we’ve worked overtime to increase the number of schools they applied to in the regular round.
Why? Because the huge growth in applications during the early round for places like Harvard, MIT and others is very likely just an appetizer to the main course, which is huge application increases in the regular rounds to schools up and down the Top 50.
We help students get into top schools, and so this year, that has meant applying to more highly selective colleges (even though we know that this only increases the total number of applications at these elite places!) It’s been a lot of work for our students and their advisors, but we are certain it will pay off.
Many of our students gained early admission to top schools despite the gaudy application numbers.
Our new year’s resolution is to do more outreach. Our high school seniors are braving this new test-optional world for the first time, but we believe that today’s juniors are also in for another unpredictable year. Testing policies for the 2021-2022 admissions cycle have not yet been announced at most schools, but some have already locked in test-optional policies (like Tufts and Cal-Tech).
Other highly selective colleges are going to hate to see their admit rates increase year-to-year, so we predict that many of them will also remain test-optional for the high school class of 2022. They very likely want to keep those applications flowing.
Our new year’s resolution, by the way, is to do more outreach on our site and on our social platforms, which is why we formally launched this page. We have a lot to say and we haven’t always said it - but that changes this year!
