When it comes to college admissions, the reign of standardized testing is over, or if not over, then in a state of crisis. Last year, many elite universities made SAT and ACT scores optional, and will likely do the same for this year—while the University of California is phasing them out entirely. Now, the College Board has announced that it will no longer offer SAT subject tests or the optional SAT Essay. For high achieving students who would use stellar test scores to differentiate themselves from the pack, this forgiving policy comes as a blow. With just grades and coursework to rely on, many students worry their applications will look identical to their classmates’, especially if they attend a rigorous high school. How can you build a strong college application without standardized test scores?
First, lean into your AP exams. In its announcement of the policy change, the College Board indicated that the increasing popularity of AP exams has made their own subject tests extraneous. While APs have always been used as an indication of students’ ability to excel in demanding, college-level classes, going forward, high scores will be even more important in helping applicants show their strengths.
Aside from studying for your APs, use the time you would have spent preparing for other standardized tests to work on a self-directed project. Nobody enjoys spending their Saturday afternoons on timed practice tests or staying up late to drill flashcards. If you have an idea of what you’d rather be working on—whether it’s developing an app or directing a short film—put your energy into that. Being able to design and execute a complex project is a much better indication of whether a student will succeed in the open environment of a university than their ability to take a standardized test. More importantly, your choice of project tells the admissions committee who you are, which makes for a strong college application.
Independent projects will give admissions officers greater insight into your character, especially if you have an artistic inclination. Spend your senior year honing your talent by doing enrichment activities. Many of the extracurriculars students would normally participate in have not been possible, but you can always play the piano or sketch the view outside your window. Applications with fine art portfolios, concert footage, and short films—even to schools where the arts are not the focus—round out your application and distinguish you from other students. Creative projects also more directly reflect your personality, and they make for great material when it comes time to write your Common App essay and supplements.
If you’re not the artistic type, consider opportunities in science, math, engineering, or business. These can be more structured, like participating in online summer courses offered through universities, like Columbia’s SHAPE program, or more open-ended, like creating and managing an investment portfolio. Even without access to a laboratory, young scientists can collaborate with other students from not just their school, but around the world to develop and implement advanced research projects. Johns Hopkins has put together a very thorough list of high school science competitions that can help build a strong college application (especially if you win!)
Lastly, if you want to build a strong college application, consider volunteering. Many high school students are required to complete some kind of volunteer work in order to graduate. However, the reality is that these activities are often rushed, and admissions officers can spot the difference between box-ticking and genuine commitment. The point of volunteer work is to serve a community you’re a member of or help a cause you care about. Long-term work at local animal shelters and food pantries, or with national groups, like Habitat for Humanity, tell admissions officers not just how you like to spend your free time—but how you aim to make the world a better place. During the era of COVID, there are even more opportunities for young people to help and to gain experience in the medical professions.
For students who have always been excellent test-takers, all of these announcements may come as a shock, but for others, the new admissions policies will be a welcome change. Your grades and AP exam scores will take on greater importance, but you will also have more freedom in how you want to individualize and build a strong college application. Instead of focusing on extra tests, use this time to think about what you really want to do—in college and beyond—and then try doing it!
The process of applying to colleges is an arduous one. Standardized tests, campus visits, alumni interviews, and navigating the complexities of Naviance all add up to hours of work, on top of the time students must spend actually doing their schoolwork. The biggest task, however, is writing the many essays universities require for admission – not just the Common App, but the countless supplemental essays and short answers, each with their own twists on “Why us?” Most students, when faced with the yawning chasm of work and the high stakes of completing it “perfectly,” choose to put off this part of the college admissions process until the fall of their senior year, or the summer before it. This is a mistake. Start your college essays early.
Intentional vocabulary development for secondary aged students contributes to school success and establishes the foundation for the best possible future. The emphasis on reading proficiency by fourth grade often means that students who still need support get little attention thereafter. Sometimes students who did fine with elementary reading begin to show strain as reading expectations increase at the secondary level. Fun activities, using online software programs, can help grow vocabulary. The best way to help students become good readers isn’t to focus exclusively on academic reading. In addition, expanding reading to cover the multiple areas of interest in their lives increases their funds of knowledge and reveals the real contribution that reading can make to a full life.
One of the most awe-inspiring processes to watch unfold is the vocabulary development of a young child. From the first utterance of “ball,” “mama,” or “more,” children are off and running, word wise. They are literal vocabulary sponges, growing their word bank exponentially in their first five years of life, typically using over 2,000 words in their everyday conversation by the time they walk through the doors of a school building. Not only that, but children understand that much more than they are able to express and have a receptive vocabulary ten times as large as their expressive word bank. A young child’s vocabulary just continues to grow through their school age years, as they acquire vocabulary through new experiences, interactions, and content. When asked how children have changed since starting school, parents often boast about their student’s vocabulary development, amazed at their ability to articulate ideas and express feelings with clarity and specificity.
While SAT and ACT scores demonstrate comparisons of a student’s skills in reading comprehension, English language, and math, the