JRA Educational Consulting Blog

Early on in the pandemic, as college students fled home, the forecast for the future of universities turned to gloom and doom. A year later, such talk of their demise proved premature. Not only are many colleges surviving, but larger, more competitive, and Ivy League colleges saw application numbers skyrocket in 2020; on the other hand, selective and smaller institutions saw declines.

Topics: College Counseling, Coronavirus

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It’s a new school year that brings us a completely unanticipated college application environment: for one thing, more and more colleges are temporarily test-optional in the face of Covid-19; for another, it’s impossible to demonstrate your interest in a college by visiting its campus for a tour and information session. According to NACAC’s 2019 State of College Admission report, almost 83% of all colleges surveyed last year indicated that test scores were of considerable or moderate importance in making admission decisions. Additionally, 40% of the surveyed colleges said that demonstrated interest (a visit is part of demonstrated interest) was of considerable or moderate importance. That the pandemic has affected these two key factors, among others, and so has changed college admissions would be quite the understatement! The health crisis has upended the admissions evaluation process, redistributing the weight associated with the most important factors that have always been considered in admissions.

Topics: College Admission, College Application, College Counseling, Coronavirus

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Topics: College Admission, UF, FSU, UCF, Coronavirus

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In an interview posted on Kusi.com, under the title “Navigating college admissions amid Coronavirus pandemic,” Robert Massa, who teaches about higher education at the University of Southern California and is a former admissions dean from Johns Hopkins University and Dickinson College, offered these thoughts, among others, on how the COVID-19 pandemic could affect a student’s quest to attend the school of their choice.

Topics: College Admission, Test-Prep, College Counseling, College Planning, Coronavirus

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Now, with mandated social distancing in our lives for the foreseeable future, all schools, big and small, are faced with the very same issue. While Skype or Zoom-based interviews are likely to increase in popularity and number, it’s also certain that letters of recommendation (LORs) will grow in importance to admission officers when they evaluate applicants. On top of that, a number of colleges will be test-optional next year, so in the absence of SAT or ACT scores, emphasis on LORs, among other factors, will increase.

Topics: College Application, Letter of Recommendation, Going to College, Coronavirus

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Every college or university has, or is in development of, some sort of virtual connection for admitted and prospective students and their families. All of them have campus visit pages on their websites, which is where you can find this information.

Topics: College Planning, College Visits, Coronavirus

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Today, we’ll share tips and pointers that we picked up from recent college counseling conferences (prior to the Coronavirus hiatus). Additionally, we have updates regarding changes to testing, both national and international. Here we go!

Topics: Going to College, APUSH, Coronavirus, STEM Courses

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Summer vacation came in the spring this year, brought to us by the Coronavirus and its attendant bumper crop of lemons. And when you’re given lemons….

Topics: AP Exams, Study Tips, ACT/SAT, Virtual, Coronavirus

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The College Board just announced its plan for the 2020 AP exams on their AP website:

Topics: AP Exams, Coronavirus

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