The "Ideal" College Applicant During COVID-19 (Part Two)

The Wall Street Journal published an article last week addressing students applying to college this year, and how to meet the expectations of admissions officers during a particularly challenging time. Although the pandemic has been responsible for extensive cancellations and disruptions to students’ academic lives, it’s actually those challenges that colleges want to hear about.

Eric Furda, Dean of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, says “Students should explain as well as they can the context of their lives during Covid. That means hunting deep for insight about how Covid affected them, how they were able to derive meaning from it, how it will impact them moving forward.”

Personal essays have always been a vital part of the college application, which hasn’t been changed by COVID. Rather, the pandemic is calling attention to the importance of personal essays, to tell colleges what you can’t show them through testing or transcripts.

The article also includes a quote from Matt Bonser, the Director of Admission at Colorado College, who says students who apply Early-Decision, which commits a student to one school before they have heard from any others, may have an additional edge this year. “Admissions teams will face more Covid-related uncertainty as they try to enroll their next class, so many of them may be inclined to accept more early-decision applicants,” he says.

So, if your student is applying to college this year, there’s two major components to note:

• Reflect on the challenges that COVID has required you to face this past year and how you responded.

• Consider applying early decision to your top choice schools. (Read our post here to see if your top school is still offering Early application deadlines this year).

For more insight as to what colleges are looking for this year, read our Part One of “The "Ideal" College Applicant During COVID-19” and reach out to an expert on the Ivy Link team to design a personalized admissions plan for your student as soon as possible.