We will need another hour-long webinar to even come close to covering all the developments in the world of testing and admissions. The impact of the Covid pandemic is ongoing and indeed will be echoing around the halls of learning for years to come. American Universities stopped requiring tests students couldn't take, and there was an ensuing flight to perceived quality among applicants. The direct result was a well-reported and alarming reduction in the acceptance rate of the most competitive schools as students no longer saw a (relatively) middling test score as a barrier to entry.
The universities opened their application doors up widely and have been enjoying an unprecedented surge in interest, applications, and application fees. What they haven't done is expanded any of the entering class size to any real degree with giants such the University of California system actually reducing the seats available to out-of-state applicants. The net result at UC is that only 2,442 international students were accepted for 2023, down 12.2% from last year. (What isn't reported is how many of these international admits were olympic or professional-caliber athletes...)
The net result is that universities that used to be very completive, are now absurdly competitive, and those that used to be a bit competitive, are now very competitive. Past historical data from your high school on admissions into universities X, Y, and Z are now no longer nearly as indicative as it used to be and students will need to look at the last couple admissions cycles instead. In many cases, a school that would have been a bit of a "reach" for a student in 2018 is now out of reach - even if GPA/IB results are outstanding and SAT scores are tip-top. For those of graduating in 2023, the key is to adjust your expectations and take to mind that the most competitive schools often aren't the best choice for your future.
Nearly all American schools are now some form of "Test Optional", and this will continue to be the new normal. Students will need to consider how their results on the SAT/ACT compare to the most recent data from the university on accepted students - check the Common Data Set rather than the university - just google "Common Data Set XXX" to get data on XXX University. Please also note that the last couple years of data will have inflated test scores from accepted students as only the students who scored high will submit their scores. Though data is still spotty, students who submit scores generally have a better chance of acceptance - though these same students are those that tend to be stronger academically, something the tests profess to measure.
Oh, we almost forgot to remind readers that the SAT is changing format in 2023 to a new digital format. That will present an entirely new array of variables and challenges to an already-Byzantine process. We'll circle back on this in subsequent editions of this newsletter...
