The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted nearly everything about higher education, from admissions and enrollment to study abroad to new faculty and staff hires. But one question looms larger than any other in the minds of college leaders right now: will we meet in person for the Fall 2020 semester?
The College Board and the ACT, which run the SAT and ACT tests, respectively, have struggled over the last few weeks, and their actions are affecting the larger college admissions landscape. Things are likely to change even more, but for now, here are the latest developments.
After years of threatening to drop its SAT/ACT requirement, the University of California finally pulled the plug. The immense disruptions to standardized testing created by COVID-19 shut-downs, combined with the apparent difficulty of registering for the limited test dates that remain, led the University of California to make fundamental changes to their testing requirements.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced schools to close their doors, summer programs to cancel, testing centers to close indefinitely, and campuses to end visits and tours. Grades, clubs, athletics, volunteer work, standardized tests—all of these elements of the high school experience are in complete disarray. In short, the normal metrics by which college admissions officers evaluate applicants are simply not the same this year. Right now, the million-dollar question is: what will replace them?
Finding a college where you'll feel safe, supported, and included is hugely important. Given the systemic barriers that gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, intersex, asexual, genderqueer, and other gender-diverse students face, additional obstacles to the college admissions process can arise, too. In honor of Pride Month, we want to take a moment to address some concerns specific to LGBTQIA+ college applicants.
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