2020 Early Application SURGE - What happened and What Students should do NOW.
December 21, 2020 - Early Application decisions arrived last week, leaving students, parents, and college counselors shaking their heads. Like most of 2020, the process and outcome looked nothing like we anticipated. The chatter among those in the Academic world is plentiful and there are stats galore to help us understand why the competition was so brutal. A number of factors combined to create the surge that resulted in dramatically low admit rates. While this ‘fact’ provides little comfort to the college students not admitted to their top choice schools, it does provide a glimpse into the process and insights about how the REGULAR decision pool might be affected.
Why so many applicants? High school students and colleges alike were able to PIVOT during COVID. Colleges ramped up their virtual presence, providing students the opportunity to gather information, learn about institutions and apply, via the comfort of their own home. Additionally, two-thirds of colleges in the U. S. became test-optional for the 2021 admit cycle, reducing the barrier-to-entry for a large number of students. Students saw this as an opportunity to REACH, and REACH they did! Unfortunately, the influx of applications resulted in increased competition. Despite projections of fewer applicants due to COVID and the inability to engage in the traditional college search, the reverse occurred; colleges across the country received an unprecedented number of applications.
What Now? It’s anticipated that the Regular admission cycle will be similar, larger and more competitive. Students should take the time to review their college list, and make sure that it is balanced. Too many reach school in the mix? It’s time to rethink and add more ‘TARGET’ and ‘LIKELY’. If you have any questions or would like to review your list, reach out to us for a complementary list review.
For additional information and detail regarding trends in the 2020 application cycle, Josh Stephen’s article provides some helpful insights. 2020 Early Application Numbers Defy Expectations