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It’s true that many colleges and universities have adopted a test-optional policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s important to remember that these tests can still be an opportunity for students who choose to take them. Standardized tests can help demonstrate a student’s academic abilities and potential, particularly if their grades or other application materials may not fully reflect their abilities.

Additionally, performing well on the SAT or ACT can potentially open doors to more selective colleges and universities or scholarship opportunities, which could have a significant impact on a student’s future prospects.

Of course, standardized tests are not the only measure of a student’s potential or worth, and universities do consider a range of factors when evaluating applicants, including extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation, as well as academic achievements. However, last year at Ivy League institutions, where about 50% of students submitted test scores and 50% did not, 70% of those admitted were those who had submitted test scores. So, if you can do well enough on your testing to want to submit scores, doing so can tip the scales in your favor. Afterall, there are very few universities that are completely test blind. The majority are test optional for the time being and some have already reverted back to requiring test results.

In summary, while standardized tests like the SAT or ACT may not be required by all colleges and universities, they should be seen as an opportunity for students who choose to take them.

As university admission decisions begin to trickle in this month, students might be invited to attend April Admit Days for US universities to which they have been admitted. Also known as Admitted Student Days, these events are designed to give admitted students a chance to explore the campus, meet with faculty and current students, and get a feel for the university community. Whether the student is 100% set on a university to which they’ve been admitted, or undecided between one or more campuses, I highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity and either visiting or revisiting that one campus of choice or visiting/revisiting 2-3 campuses even though the timing is just before AP and IB exams.

Here are some reasons why attending April Admit Days can be beneficial to students:

1. Attending April Admit Days can help students make a more informed decision about whether to accept the offer of admission. They can learn more about the university, its programs, and its campus culture, attend campus tours, visit or stay in residence halls, and attend social events, all of which can help them decide if the campus is the right fit for them.
2. Admitted Student Days are a great opportunity to meet other students who have been accepted to the university. Students can make connections, find potential roommates/friends and explore the campus together with them, and get a sense of the student community. These will be friends they can stay in touch with over the summer who will be there in the fall to help reduce the anxiety inherent in starting life in a new and unfamiliar place.
3. Students will have the opportunity to meet with professors and staff members from the university, who can answer any questions they may have about academic programs, research opportunities, and campus resources.
4. Attending April Admit Days allows students to experience the campus firsthand, which can help them get a better sense of what it’s like to live and study there. They can experience campus life, explore facilities, and get a feel for the surrounding community.

At many universities, Admitted Student Days include one or two days of overnight stay, where a student can take a sleeping bag and stay with a current student at the university for a more immersive experience. I highly recommend for the student to take advantage of this opportunity to experience dorm life, even if parents are accompanying their son or daughter to the university and staying at a nearby hotel!

Some universities also have organized events for parents who are accompanying students on visits. If this is the case and parents opt to attend, they will be unlikely to see much of their son or daughter as students will be kept busy socializing and getting a truly immersive experience.

Overall, attending April Admit Days can help students make a more informed decision about which university to attend, give them a better sense of what it’s like to be a student on that particular campus, and make for a more comfortable transition to university the next fall.

The Digital SAT has already been launched internationally and all tests administered internationally in 2023 will be taken by students on a computer. For this first year, international students will be guinea pigs as there will likely be glitches and issues that College Board, the test’s manufacturer, will have to iron out prior to releasing the digital test in the United States in 2024. The question is whether you wish to be among the first students trying out the SAT in this new format.

Pros of the new digital SAT include:

• The test will be shorter by one hour—about 2 hours instead of 3 for the current SAT with shorter reading passages, some higher level reading material which will include a minimal amount of poetry and some vocabulary-in-context questions. Fewer reading-intensive word problems in the math section with more geometry and trigonometry questions.
• More time is provided per question—an increase of 13.3% more time per question.
• Immediate scoring: Students can receive their scores more quickly with the digital format, as the test can be graded electronically.
• Improved accessibility: With the digital format, the SAT can be taken by students with disabilities who require accommodation, such as a larger font or audio support.
• Two additional test dates have been added to international administrations of the test to equal what is offered in the US.
• Some key features are the ability to annotate, a countdown clock, a built-in calculator, an answer eliminator, and ability to flag questions for later review (within each section).
• The student can take the test on their own familiar laptop. There is also an option to request College Board to supply a laptop for students who don’t own a laptop.

Cons of the new digital SAT include:

• Technical difficulties: There is a risk of technical issues arising during the test administration, such as network connectivity problems or computer malfunctions.
• Accessibility concerns: Not all students have access to a computer or the internet, which could create disparities in test-taking opportunities for those using their own laptop vs. those using a borrowed laptop they’re not used to.
• Technical difficulties: There is a risk of technical issues arising during the test administration, such as network connectivity problems or computer malfunctions.
• The new digital SAT is section-adaptive meaning that the first module of the math and English sections will have a fixed level of difficulty and a fixed score potential. Depending on the student’s performance on this baseline module, the difficulty level of the second module will increase or decrease.

Given the option to take it on paper or online, which should I choose? It’s all about a plan that works better for you so prepare for whichever type of testing works best in your case. Beginning in 2024, all US testing will be digital as well. Students can download the Bluebook digital testing app for practice.

Is there an option to cancel my SAT results? Yes, there is an option to cancel your SAT results. The College Board, the organization that administers the SAT, allows students to cancel their scores before they are released. This option can be exercised before you leave the test center by asking the test proctor to cancel that day’s test. As well, this is typically available through a student’s online College Board account within a few days of taking the test. Score recipients listed on your registration receive your scores online within 10 days after you receive your scores.

If a student decides to cancel their scores, they will not receive a score report, and the test will not be included in their college admission process. It’s important to note that once scores are canceled, they cannot be reinstated, so students should carefully consider their decision before choosing to do so.

What about the digital ACT? The ACT has been offered as a computer-based test in Canada since 2019. Some students opt to take the test digitally at a test center and others travel across the border where the test is still offered on paper.  So digital or on paper, the choice is yours for the ACT, at least for the time being. In either case, if you don’t like your ACT score, you can pay to have it erased.

So, you’ve been deferred. It’s certainly not the end of the world. The good news is that the university to which you applied early wants to take another look at your application and compare it to applicants in the RD pool. You still do have one advantage and that is that they know they happen to be your first choice given that you applied early and were willing to make a binding commitment to attend, if admitted.

• If it’s an opt-in deferral (most are automatic), then make sure you accept the deferral online or in the university’s portal, as directed. Some universities, like NYU, might ask deferred students to write an additional essay in their portal by a specific date.
• Give some thought to whether you wish to ask an additional person to write a letter of reference for you – this can be a teacher from school, a faculty member from a summer program, or someone who knows you through an activity in or outside of school who can shed light to something new or different about you.
• Begin putting together a letter of continued interest, better known as a LOCI.
• Send this to the university in late January, when you can PROVE improved grades and details of one or more amazing projects/extracurriculars, or something significantly new in terms of sports, music, dance, published papers, debating championships, science fair awards, etc., that you have managed to accomplish since your early submission last fall. Most universities will allow you to share this information via their portal.
• Your school counselor will be sending in a mid-year school report with an updated transcript to all the universities to which your have applied. If there is something you want your counselor to include in this submission, be sure to communicate this with him/her.
• Do not pester the admissions office with multiple emails.
• Admissions will initially be focusing on RD applications from January to mid-February. They will likely get to rereading application from deferred applicants sometime in late February.
• At that time, they will be considering their institutional needs as they review your application to see what value you bring to the incoming class.

Focus on your academics for the time being and keep up your marks and activities. If you are waitlisted in late March to one of your top contenders, you will once again be writing a letter similar to this LOCI, updating the university with your new accomplishments. In other words, work hard to have accomplishments to show at that time. Don’t dwell on what’s done and out of your control. Instead, focus on the work at hand. Cheer up, tomorrow is a new day with many new opportunities for you to excel.

First off, congratulations. You have been admitted to your first-choice university/college. You must be proud of all the time and effort you have put into your years of high school. However, it is not over yet, you must keep up the good work or you may risk being rescinded at your early admission university. All admissions are conditional until your final transcripts are received and processed by your university. What else should you be doing?

First, it is time for a celebration at which time you must thank all the people who have supported you, including your parents, teachers, and school counselor. Given that this offer is binding, you must officially accept the offer and pay the deposit by the deadline the university has shared with you. Read their letter of admission or go to their admission portal for instructions on how to do this.

Next, you are required withdraw your application from any other institutions to which you might have applied by writing a short message to the admissions office in order to withdraw those applications. Do not forget to do this. You have what you wanted in hand and you must give the opportunity to other students who will have to wait till February or March for their acceptances. Don’t be selfish and take up a spot at a university you will not attend just to be able to say that you were admitted to x number of institutions.

Inform your school counselor of your outcome as they will be sending in a mid-year school report and a final report card in summer. Check your emails regularly for communication from your university about events which may have deadlines. If your university allows credit for any AP or IB courses you might have taken for which you want credit, make sure you send official score reports to them.

You may want to join a Facebook group for the new class entering your university. If possible, it is a good idea to attend on-campus April events for admitted students to get a better feel for the campus vibe and meet other incoming students. You could even open a local bank account at that time and have a credit card or VISA/Debit card sent to you in preparation for the fall. As well, be sure to attend all orientation events at the start of the school year. Some of these might be outdoor adventure expeditions or service trips to encourage bonding amongst freshmen. If you’re an international student, attend the international student orientation as well to learn about visa renewals, work authorization, support systems and other services you might wish to take advantage of.

Best of all is that your early admission will give you peace of mind and the opportunity for a relaxed winter break. Congratulations!

The process of university admission has undergone more tectonic shifts over the past two years than any time in recent memory. The test-optional policy of U.S. universities brought about by the COVID pandemic has resulted in a shift in how students are judged in the absence of SAT and ACT results from many applicants. There is an accelerated trend toward more holistic admission where universities are looking at the whole student with an emphasis on non-cognitive strength and soft skills. They want to see character and authenticity. As such, their focus has shifted to student’s essays, activities, letters of recommendation and the interview with good grades being a given for all applicants. Admissions officers are trying to decipher the following characteristics in students they admit:

• social justice and inclusion
• sustainability and stewardship
• growth and kindness
• openness to differences
• resiliency and grit
• intellectual curiosity
• community impact

U.S. acceptance rates for selective and highly selective universities are down. More students are being deferred or waitlisted, and admission is more competitive than it has ever been. Hence, students are advised to take advantage of applying in the early rounds (ED, EA, ED2), where available, and demonstrating the above characteristics through their activities and engagements and eventually through the pieces being shared in applications with universities. In other words, students should make every effort to get to know their school counselor and the 2 teachers who they will ask for recommendations from so that they can comment on their community involvement and growth mindset, in addition to their intellectual vitality, in  reference letters they write.

Students are advised not to fall in love with one single college/university; instead, they must see the process as a consumer decision and not an emotional one. At Select College Admissions, we’ll work on choosing a student’s best fit campuses, making sure every student has some safeties where we know they WILL be admitted.

With the start of new academic year, many teens are worried about balancing their life, their academics and their extracurricular activities. Juggling all of one’s school responsibilities with one’s athletic schedule, volunteering commitments along with one’s family and social life is not going to be easy.  However, it can be manageable when students set goals, establish priorities, and are intentional about their use of time.

The first step is for the student to establish some goals for the year – this could include both short-term goals (such as the grades they wish to obtain by the end of the term) and long-term goals relating to university and a career. Next, the student can put together a list of their commitments and gauge the value of each. Activities which have been sustained over a longer period of time, where the student has leadership or potential to gain leadership and have impact, activities where the student has shown initiative, are ones to hold onto. Other activities where a student is a casual member, which have been less meaningful to the student, can be dropped. Your time is limited and you have to be mindful of how you spend it.

It is important to determine what your values are and make sure that activities you engage in reflect those values, pointing you in the direction you wish to be headed – including your community service engagement/s.  My advice to students is to choose activities they know they will enjoy, activities that will challenge and intrigue them instead of choosing activities that give them no joy but could look impressive to university admissions officers. Many times, when students make an effort to find initiatives and experiences which stimulate their creativity and leadership, they will find more enjoyment in that activity, and it will feel less of a chore. As well, having activities that reduce stress, such as playing a musical instrument, engaging in an artistic endeavor, or participating in a sport or yoga/meditation are a must to help young people maintain their emotional well-being.

Academics are always a top priority and students should set aside a block of time daily to spend on their schoolwork. Social media is a great distraction for this generation of teens and putting away one’s phone so that one is not constantly interrupted by messages is the best way to tackle the issue of time. Setting up a daily routine and having some strategies that work for you are important. As well, getting enough sleep is essential, allowing your mind and body to recharge.

Finally, some students find room for many activities while others prefer to concentrate on just a few. In either case, it is important to know your personal limit and engage in activities that feel right for YOU, as well as to pay attention to both your physical and emotional well-being!

Congratulations 2022 Grads!

Once again, we are proud of our current year graduating students for their many accomplishments, continued hard work, perseverance and stellar results. Despite COVID and it being the most competitive and unpredictable application cycle with very many waitlists, our grads have put in extraordinary effort, time, and patience to reach their goals. We have watched them mature, and become better writers, gaining confidence throughout the process. These are the universities to which they have been admitted for next fall.  As we bid them farewell, we look forward to guiding our 2022-23 cohort through the cycle and making it as smooth a process as possible for them and their families.

Universities manage their enrollment by predicting how many students are likely to enroll and how many will turn down their acceptance offer. For enrollment management purposes, they will waitlist a number of their applicants while they wait to see how many admitted students will commit to them. They begin admitting students from the waitlist as spaces become available. Naturally, they want to admit students who will accept their offer to move from the waitlist to the new incoming class list. Here are some things you can do to improve your chances of being admitted off the waitlist:

1. 1. Pay a deposit to a university to which you have been accepted as your first course of action given that there is no guarantee that you might get off a waitlist. Some years a university might take 50+ students off their waitlist and another year that number might be zero.
   2. Send a Letter of Intent to the university to which you have been waitlisted or reply to their inquiry via their portal to let them know that yes, you do wish to remain on the waitlist.
   3. Create a list of your significant accomplishments since the time you sent in your application. These could relate to new SAT/ACT scores, improved grades, new research, awards won in competitions (whether academic, athletic, artistic or related to your community service). If you joined a new club or organization or initiated one in your senior year, be sure to include that.
   4. Write a Letter of Continued Interest clearly stating that you will enroll, if admitted while outlining the above accomplishments. Explain why this university is a good fit for you with as much specificity as possible in less than 300 words. Keep in mind that it is very rare to be offered any financial or merit aid along with being admitted off a waitlist.
   5. Consider sending in a positive letter of recommendation from someone who knows you well and can speak about your abilities, outstanding characteristics, and personality.
   6. Enlist the help of your high school guidance counselor to put in a phone call to the university and lobby on your behalf.
   7. Visit the campus in person, if you can. Stop by the office of admissions to meet your regional representative and tell him/her why you are a good fit for their campus as well as what particular features appeal to you about their university. Make sure you reiterate the fact that you will enroll, if admitted off the waitlist. Ask if the waitlist is ranked and if the response is yes, find out where you are on the list.
   8. Be ready to respond with a definitive yes or no if you are lucky enough to be called and told that the university is willing to take you off of their waitlist. However, do not hold your breath as the chance of coming off a waitlist is not very likely. If you are lucky and come off the waitlist, wait till your admission is confirmed, then you can notify the university whose offer you had initially accepted to let them know that you are giving up your spot so that it can be offered to another amazing student. Be sure to thank them and wish them the best with their incoming class.

It is a good idea to have your name removed from any waitlists where you know you will not be attending the university. You will be helping a peer who is waitlisted at that school and waiting for this opportunity.

Here are twelve ways you can take to transform your applications from qualified to compelling:

1. 1. Demonstrate rigor in your academics by taking the most challenging courses your school has to offer, whether these be in the IB or AP curriculum, while obtaining superb marks.
   2. Take part in competitions related to your areas of interest whether these be math, physics, history, philosophy, robotics, debating, writing or anything else that interests you or you are good at.
   3. Have a good array of activities, showing depth of engagement, initiative, and leadership in a few of them. If one or more of those few are relevant to your major, that would be even better.
   4. Community service that is sustained over a period of time and demonstrates initiative and the ‘kindness factor’ is an absolute must.
   5. Despite the fact that many universities are test-optional in the next few years due to the pandemic, prepare for the SAT or ACT, and obtain a high score.
   6. Have a ‘wow factor’ or a unique value proposition that differentiates you from all the other smart and talented students who are applying to your top choice universities. Make sure this comes through in your essays and interactions with the universities.
   7. Do not operate under the radar in school; make sure teachers and administrators are aware of your accomplishments in and outside of school as this may result in more opportunities coming your way and will make it easier to obtain stellar letters of recommendation for your applications.
   8. Demonstrate interest to universities by visiting their campus, doing extensive research on what they offer and why you are a good fit, and connect with students, professors, or admissions staff.
   9. Highlight any personal characteristics you might have that could contribute to the diversity of the campus community you wish to join.
   10. Put extra effort into doing a thorough job on your applications and in writing essays that are insightful and draw upon the extensive engagements you have had in and out of the classroom to showcase your authentic self, your values, and goals. Remember, this is an exercise in marketing and you are the product.
   11. If interviews are offered, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to show your personality and why you are a good fit with the university.
   12. Submit your application early and give yourself time to review and make sure every piece you are submitting is perfect.

An application that is prepared with strategy, one that reinforces the picture of who you are and what you have accomplished to the colleges and universities you are targeting, will be compelling and likely to increase your chances of admission.