Starks College Connection

07/02/2023

Sounds like the initial feedback on the Digital SAT is positive.

You’ve likely heard that College Board is shifting the SAT to a digital format, and the transition has already begun. But questions abound: When the digital SAT will be fully available? How have the first international tests fared? What will the change mean to future test-takers?College Board

04/17/2022

It will be very interesting to see if the Test-Optional trend will continue. I'm hoping, for most schools, that it continues so that more deserving students apply
because their test scores are not an obstacle.

“It has been really illuminating and instructive to be frankly kind of forced into this policy,” one Ivy League admissions director said.

04/04/2022

The same old story this year of a record number of applicants and record-low acceptance rates.

The most competitive colleges and universities in the country got more competitive. But most institutions are still trying to fill their classes.

06/11/2021

To test or not to test, that is the question? With so many schools going test-optional last year due to the pandemic, it will be interesting to see how many schools will keep that policy and how many revert back to requiring test scores again some time in the future.

The pandemic accelerated the trend, upending conventions of postsecondary admissions going forward.

05/22/2021

A monumental decision by the University of California schools to no longer require or use SAT and ACT scores for applicants. This may have a huge impact on admissions moving forward.

The university system has reached a settlement with students to scrap even optional testing from admissions and scholarship decisions.

05/06/2021

It would be wonderful if college admissions could be reimagined to be student-centric rather than centered around only institutional goals.

Angel B. Pérez writes that the pressures for measurable success are driving people from the profession.

03/01/2021

It looks like many schools will continue their test-optional policies at least for the 2022 admissions year and quite possibly beyond as well.

The testing organization says the switch in admissions policies was "abrupt rather than deliberate" but that the policies are here to stay.

03/01/2021

It will be interesting to see if more colleges move their deposit date back from the traditional May 1st deadline.

May 1? Not so crucial anymore in the pandemic era, if it ever was.

02/25/2021

How can colleges market themselves more honestly and help to positively impact student mental health?

One subject rarely broached in debates about student mental health is the hypercompetitive atmosphere that colleges and universities foster through their marketing, argues Caleb Wellum.

02/21/2021

Over 1700 colleges went test-optional this year. Consequently, applications were way up at many ultra-selective institutions and way down at less-selective ones.

Waiving standardized test requirements during the pandemic brought more hopefuls to the Ivy League and large state schools, while less-selective colleges face an alarming drop.

12/29/2020

Submitting applications via Zoom with proud mom watching! Way to go Jason!

12/14/2020

Some excellent thoughts on what might replace or be more meaningful should standardized testing take on a lesser role in the future for college admissions.

From efforts to recruit students to rankings, the impact is immense, write Bill Conley and Bob Massa.