“In the spring, Hannah Wolff, a former college counselor at Langley High School, a top-ranked high school in the wealthy suburbs of Washington, D.C., heard from admissions counselors at several public universities that a few Langley seniors who were rejected might have been admitted if they had not submitted their SAT scores, which were in the 1350 range. While a 1350 would have been considered a good score in the past at those schools, now, when the only applicants submittin

As I build lists for my 2024 grads, I’ve been for waiting for the verdict on test score requirements, particularly from colleges that did three year pilot programs beginning in 2020. While most colleges are test optional and likely will remain that way, we don’t know for sure when the policy isn’t stated on their websites. It’s likely that colleges will not reveal policies until the new year. That throws yet another stressful “unknown” into list building. I have a few student

Two weeks ago, my blogpost focused on how the critical thinking skills honed by reading and other forms of media are crucial for student–and human–development. I am quoting below from a college president who shares my views about the point of education. College is not, and has never been, merely vocational in nature. “The rhetoric emanating from political and corporate sectors is that we should be more about jobs and less about ideas — that we need fewer great thinkers and mo

Angel Pérez, President of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, supports affirmative action: “Admission officers are often criticized for not doing more to admit low-income, first-generation students of color. And now, they face the possibility that the Court will remove their ability to use race in the holistic review of a candidate. To do so would be a leap backward. It threatens to impose blinders on American colleges and universities to the abundant r