The Pilgrim College Guidance Blog
News, trends, insights, and the occasional self-indulgent fluff piece
Photo credit: Jen Jordan Photography
Is it Possible to “Game The System?”
I’ve been getting asked a lot recently, “So how did this year go?” I know the real question is “Where did students get in?” And the real question is “Did students get into ‘good’ schools?” Without getting too much into specifics, I was pretty pleased with what I saw directly, despite another crazy, record-breaking application season. I also understand the overall sentiment. When something is hard to get, it just makes it that much more appealing, despite what the personal reality may be. But with the chase comes the feeling of doing whatever it takes to get that thing. I’ve seen it from students trying to write the perfect essay or being involved in some activities for the wrong reasons. I’ve found over the years that this has extended into the application process itself, as if there was an edge or angle wait to be utilized. It comes up often, even more so this year for some reason, so I’ll go ahead and address it.
Should You Apply Early?
It was the first few days of September when I began to work on this post. I almost immediately began to question if it was too early to address this topic. On the one hand, I had already made reference to it as one aspect of college admission that will never change and also as a sign of demonstrated interest, so maybe the deeper dive could’ve waited. But after considering my options for future posts, and in the spirit of making an early commitment, here we are.
8 Things About College Admissions That Will Never Change
With the start of the school year, there’s been a lot of talk about changes in the college admissions process—that the post-COVID landscape may never be the same. We’ve already seen SAT subject exams go away and the UC system going test-blind, but we’ll have to wait to see what else happens over the next few years. But no matter how much the college admissions world evolves, there are some essential truths that have emerged in my mind throughout my time on both the college and high school side. Some things will never change. And in no particular order...except maybe the last one, here they are.
Demonstrated Interest in a Post-COVID Landscape
I have to admit I had some hesitations about this post. I hesitated using the term “post-COVID” given everything that’s been in the news recently. This upcoming application season should still be considered a COVID application year in terms of policies anyway. My other hesitation was addressing demonstrated interest to begin with. The topic is covered well enough online, though the idea can still be a little misleading, as if it’s solely a strategic endeavor that students must master in order to gain a competitive advantage. But given that campus tours (a very direct way to demonstrate interest) are starting up again as the Washington Post recently reported, I figured it was better to address the topic head on.