Kim Spencer

2021 College Application Cycle

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There were many long-held educational processes and procedures that were upended during the past year. Completing college applications and essays and submitting them to your chosen schools can be stressful in the best of times. As schools moved to virtual models and scheduled standardized testing dates were canceled, students, parents, counselors, and admissions officers had to adapt to navigate the constantly changing landscape with the ensuing consequences.

With students unable to take the SAT or ACT,  many colleges shifted to a test-optional or test-blind admission policy. If a college is test-optional, students may still submit scores for review, whereas test-blind colleges do not look at the scores at all. This is a lingering result going into the 2021 college application cycle with many colleges keeping this policy in place. Many anticipate that the role of standardized test scores in the college admission decision will be forever changed.

The traditional end of semester AP testing schedule also had to be modified, as students moved to taking the tests at home. In addition to the expected hiccups with a test of this size moving to a virtual format so quickly, it also raised questions of fairness and equality to those students who may not have reliable technology at home and for those with disabilities who require assistance or modifications in the testing environment. 

Students had to prepare for these tests and try to maintain GPAs while suddenly adapting to an online environment with many teachers who had not received extensive training in virtual learning. Dropping into your guidance counselor’s office to ask questions was no longer an option; counselors began meeting students virtually. Students could not even participate in the tradition of visiting campuses, as colleges and universities called a halt to in-person tours. It isn’t surprising that there was a record number of students in last year’s cycle electing to take a gap year with so many changes and uncertainty. Would campuses even be open in the fall?

So how is this affecting the current application cycle? With vaccines rolling out across the country as we slowly return to normal, there is hope and expectation that campuses will be fully open in the fall and will start to resemble the traditional picture of college life we know so well. No one has a crystal ball and there are many differing predictions for what the application numbers are going to look like after last year. The students I’m working with now have all had time to adjust to various levels of online learning. They are invested in completing the application package and are excited about attending college in the fall. Some schools are resuming college campus tours, and traditional standardized testing procedures are being put back in place. With so many schools remaining test-optional, the application essay takes on increased importance. Even for schools that are still requiring test scores in the application package, the essay is more important than ever after the past year in a holistic review of the applicant. Admissions officers look to the essay to pull the student’s package together and to get to know the student. The essay really is the student’s voice speaking to the admissions officer, and appropriate topic selection is key. It is not about producing a beautifully well-written essay; it is finding that topic that will help a student stand out from the crowd and make an impression.

Students beginning the process now need to remember that they have just gone through a crucial year of high school during very extraordinary times. They should work to put together an application package that really illustrates who they are and what matters to them. When building the list of colleges to apply to, it is important to look at changes and trends in their applications and admissions. This will help them determine realistically which schools are safety, target, and reach. When this group of students transitions to college life after high school, they will do so with the knowledge that they are capable of persevering in unprecedented times. That is a quality that will help them succeed in college and beyond.

 

COVID19 Florida -April 2020

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Neptune Beach, FL

It has been 16 days since my initial COVID19 post when our way of life was changing so rapidly, it was difficult to capture every aspect as it felt like it was happening at lightning speed. We have all learned that proper COVID19 testing procedures and the length of time to get results are a major component of successfully getting control of the situation as well as accurately reporting the numbers. Leaving aside theories of deceptive reporting tactics from other countries and arguments about the best source to obtain the truest numbers, the data reported from the CDC and The FL Dept. of Health show a dramatic increase:

  March 20, 2020 April 5, 2020
Florida Cases 520 12,151
Duval County Cases 15 414
FL Deaths 10 218
U.S. Cases 16,638 331,2345
U.S. Deaths 216 9,441
Global Cases 259,215 1,263,976
Global Deaths 11,268 68,413

This is such an extraordinarily strange event to be processing, it seems as if it would be a unifying force. We in the United States have not been so unified lately, and I initially thought this would be the thing to bring us to the desired middle place where we all seem to truly want to be, but the reality is puzzling. The divides are not dissolving, but rather there is a disturbing undercurrent of deepening conviction. We all want to meet in the middle, but it takes consistent steps on both sides, even minuscule, to realistically ever get there. I, like so many of our country’s citizens, have strong opinions about this topic. How can we harness this passion to start making that move to the middle? Of course, we are not all going to be arm-in-arm singing Kumbaya, happily driving down the road. The conflicts, the disagreements, and the fundamentally different way of looking at things will always be there, but surely we can elevate the discourse. This event is going to leave us in a place where we all need to work together; it will be such a nicer work environment if we reestablish a basic standard of civility.

I can be both an activist and a peacekeeper

I can demonstrate my pride and gratitude for having the great fortune to be born and raised in the United States while still being an engaged, responsible global citizen

COVID19 has upended our everyday. The lives lost, the jobs lost, the utterly bewildering way this enemy crept up on us…. But now we see it, and I have faith we can emerge from the fight stronger as a unit and prepared to rebuild.

#flattenthecurve #CoronaVirus #COVID19 #WeAreAB

 

 

 

 

COVID19 Florida

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Atlantic Beach, FL

If I could have seen the way the world looks now 18 days ago, I would have started journaling the events then. March 2, 2020 was the first mention of COVID19 in our family group text. We’d all been hearing about COVID19 since December when it was reported in China and took note when the first case was reported in the U.S. in Washington on January 20th.  It was Troy who mentioned it in our family text the day after the first two cases were reported in Florida in Hillsborough and Manatee Counties. At the time, Matt was traveling to Hillsborough County for work. I hadn’t conducted any research on COVID19 and really had no understanding of the implications, but there was enough of an awareness and intuition that I called Matt and told him to humor me and lay off the handshaking. When he laughed, I insisted and said he could tease me, etc., but yes, please don’t shake hands this trip. When he left for his work trip the next week, I had Clorox wipes and a can of Lysol on the kitchen island with his files to take with him. This time, there was a firm directive to use these supplies and to again, not shake any hands.

Now 18 days after that first group text mention, we are seeing changes to our daily lives that have happened at such breakneck speed, it’s difficult to accurately report them after the fact. Today our mayor, Lenny Curry, closed all of our area beaches at 5:00 p.m. with fines for trespassing imposed if you are on the beach after that time. Also today, Governor DeSantis announced the closure of all restaurants while still allowing for take-out. This following the decree earlier this week closing all bars and nightclubs and limiting occupancy in restaurants to 50 including employees. Everyone knew it was a matter of time until the dining rooms were completely closed based on what we’re seeing in other states. The governor of IL announced today a statewide order for all residents to shelter in place following the lockdown of major cities in CA and NY. According to The Center for Disease Control (CDC),  Florida is currently 6th in the country for number of COVID19 cases.

This event has suddenly and profoundly affected every aspect of our lives. We are all experiencing a whiplash of sorts trying to process needing to adjust major life plans on a moment’s notice. In our family, our third daughter’s college graduation ceremony was canceled, and our son’s college spring break trip was truncated when all the ski slopes were closed shortly after his arrival to CO. He is now finishing his spring semester online at home as is every other Florida university student, all Florida K-12 students, and countless other students in every state in our nation. Our second daughter is traveling through South America, and I’d sure sleep better at night if I could somehow blink her under this roof.

All of these personal disappointments and alterations to our lives, as extreme as they are, don’t compare to the magnitude of the resulting blow to our economy and way of life. It will take a unified effort and could result in the most cooperative global community we’ve ever seen.  

#FlattenTheCurve

College Acceptance and Rejection

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College campus tours are finished, applications are complete, essays are written, reviewed, rewritten, and polished.  College lists are created and modified. Standardized test scores are submitted, transcripts are sent, and letters of recommendation have been requested. 

And now you wait.  As explained in an earlier post on the college application process, it is now multi-layered with many moving parts and can be very time-consuming. Many times, students are honestly just happy to have the task complete to turn their attention to their schoolwork and senior year activities. It is very common initially to not give any attention to the next event in the timeline. The next event in this timeline, of course, is receiving the college acceptance or rejection notifications.

As a college consultant who has been working in Florida for the past four years, I know preparing and planning for a possible rejection from your first-choice school is also a necessary step in this process.  The two biggest state schools in Florida, UF and FSU, have both made US News & World Report’s list of 20 public schools with low acceptance rates. Both schools received over 60,000 applications last year which was over an 8% increase from the year prior which saw a similar jump from the year prior. With this increase in numbers, it obviously has become that much more competitive with the average 50% of students accepted demonstrating outstanding academic achievements:

           UF         FSU
GPA: 4.3 – 4.6 GPA: 4.1- 4.5
SAT: 1330 – 1460 SAT: 1290 – 1410
ACT: 29 – 33  ACT: 29 – 32

When working with a student, I look at the student’s application as a whole and the acceptance rates at the schools the student expresses interest in attending.  I advise applying to a minimum of five schools: two safety, two target, and a reach.  All acceptance rates are publicly published and easily attained.  Students and parents should always look at those rates when starting the college application process to ensure realistic conversations. After watching such hard work for so many years, it can feel disheartening to see a student disappointed but as we all know, disappointments are a part of life, and not getting into the first-choice school is not the end of the world. The internet is loaded with success stories by people who were rejected from their first choice school. Huffington Post listed five reasons why the rejection may actually be a blessing in disguise.

Colleges are aware there are many more very qualified students applying these days than available spots, and many are creating alternative pathways to enrollment to combat this trend. FSU has created their Pathways Program, and UF has both the Innovation Academy as well as the PaCe Program. Similar programs are rolling out at colleges across the country.

When waiting for college acceptance and rejection notifications to arrive, everyone hopes for that “fat envelope” which is now computer screen confetti, but obviously, everyone is not going to receive it.  Parents and guardians can help prepare students by monitoring their own emotions and expectations. When students receive disappointing news, it is important they have the ability to put it in perspective. The focus should continue to be a celebration of all they’ve accomplished thus far and excitement over this next big life milestone.

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