“Early” College App Deadlines Rapidly Approaching

What greater holiday gift is there for a college bound student than to receive a fat acceptance letter, or a congratulatory email, from a college of choice? But in order to have a chance of getting such good news by the holidays, students typically need to submit their college applications by the “early” deadline of November 1st or, in some cases, November 15th.

Students can apply to as many colleges “early action” as they like and, if accepted, they are not required to attend. This differs from an “early decision” application which can only be submitted to one college and binds the student to attend, if accepted.

Aside from the obvious emotional advantage of hearing back from colleges earlier, there is another key advantage to filing early applications. Colleges are well aware that many students apply to eight or more colleges. It’s somewhat of a guessing game for college admissions officers to try to figure out which students, if accepted, would actually attend.  So many colleges, including some of the most competitive institutions, accept a substantially higher percentage of their early decision candidates knowing they will definitely enroll.  To a lesser extent, colleges also tend to favor early action students who have demonstrated a strong interest in their school.

Latest FAFSA Launched to Help Determine Financial Aid

Families of college-bound students can immediately find out how much the federal government thinks they can afford to contribute to their child’s college education.  The latest Free Application for Federal Student Aid, referred to as the FAFSA, is now live at www.FAFSA.gov This is the one form that all parents must file if they hope to get any federal money for college in the 2021-22 academic year. 

The newest FAFSA uses financial information from a family’s 2019 taxes.  Most people are able to make use of a “shortcut” offered on the FAFSA, which is the I.R.S. Data Retrieval Tool.  As long as you have already filed your 2019 taxes, you can check off that you want the FAFSA to link into your previously filed taxes and automatically fill in the numbers on all of the financial questions.

Applying Early Decision May Be Especially Helpful

Students who are anxiously filling out college applications may do well to consider applying Early Decision to their top college of choice.  Students who check off “early decision” on their college application and submit it by the application deadline (usually November 1st or November 15th) will typically hear back from the college prior to the December holiday break. Students are only allowed to apply early decision to one college, and they (and their parents) sign that they will definitely attend if accepted, unless they are not awarded their required financial aid.

According to Jeffrey Selingo, author of, “Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions,” colleges this coming year will likely fill more slots than ever before with early decision applicants.  In a series of interviews with the New York Times, Selingo, whose book was just released this month, compared our current economic climate with that of the Great Recession. He said that college admission officers, both then and now, are motivated to figure out as early as possible which students will be arriving on campus and how much financial aid they’ll need.

Latest Rankings Revealed in 2021 “Best Colleges”

The 2021 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” – often viewed as the bible to the college industry – is about to hit the newsstands.  New Jersey’s Princeton University is still in first place (for the 10th consecutive year) as the “Best National University.”  It’s followed by Harvard in second place, Columbia in third place, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Yale tied for fourth place.  Other universities in the top 10 include Stanford and University of Chicago which tied for 6th place, University of Pennsylvania in 8th place, and a three-way tie for 9th place among California Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins and Northwestern.

This issue marks the 36th annual edition of the guidebook which calculates its ranking based on six categories which are each weighed differently: student outcomes (40%), faculty resources (20%), expert opinion (20%), financial resources (10%), student excellence (7%), and alumni giving (3%).

Students Who Find Their Niche Will Be In Demand

Unprecedented times offer unprecedented opportunities.  College-bound students, in the past, had their work clearly delineated: score high on the SAT, have an impressive G.P.A., get involved in extracurricular activities, and be sure to devote time to volunteer work.  Now, however, the rules have changed.

 

SAT scores, while extremely important to many colleges, are no longer required by all universities.  Grade point averages are not what they used to be, as a number of high schools are grading on a pass/fail basis. Extracurricular activities have been greatly curtailed, as have volunteer opportunities.

 

All of this unprecedented turmoil has truly left students in the driver’s seat to determine what their particular niche will be. While the specific college admission requirements have gotten hazy, the fact will always remain that colleges will choose the most competitive and appealing students from their applicant pool.

Why A College Degree Is Still Worth the Cost

Many students, and their parents, are wondering whether college is still worth the price.  The high cost of college has not been reduced at many colleges nationwide, yet the college experience has been greatly curtailed. 

According to Money, “A weak economy makes paying for college harder, but it also puts a spotlight on one of the major benefits a college degree can deliver – security.” Money cited statistics from April 2020, the first full month of the COVID pandemic in the US, indicating that about eight percent of workers with a bachelor’s degree filed for unemployment benefits.  That was roughly half the rate of those with a high school diploma or only some college experience.  The conclusion drawn was that the higher one’s level of education, the more stable the paycheck.

Road Trip May Be Needed to Take Upcoming SAT Exams

Tens of thousands of students had planned to mark the end of summer by taking the SAT exam tomorrow.  Unfortunately, the majority of these students who live in New Jersey will have to retain, for a while, the knowledge and testing skills they had honed.  More than 70 New Jersey high schools, scheduled to host the August 29th SAT exam, cancelled their proctoring plans as COVID leaves schools in a state of flux. Included are many high schools in Central New Jersey: Bridgewater-Raritan, Edison Township, Franklin, Hillsborough, Montgomery, New Brunswick, Somerville, South Brunswick, West Windsor-Plainsboro South. 

Some students, who were alerted in time, were able to change their registration in order to take the August test at another site. Others were left scrambling to register for an upcoming SAT in the near future as tests are also scheduled for September 26th, October 3rd, November 7th and December 5th. 

In order to find a testing site with available seats, students need to expand their radius on Collegeboard.org, the registration site for the SAT. Even in previous years, some families would find themselves taking a road trip to Pennsylvania, Maryland, or even Washington D.C. in order to get a seat for the very popular August exam.  This year, with the massive closure of testing sites, even more families are hitting the road.