High schools need to give students more personal attention to prepare them for college, especially with test optional admissions. Many schools lack enough staff and mentors, leaving students without the support they need during this critical time.

An expert in higher education can support the entire family through what could otherwise become an overwhelming transition. This engagement develops naturally. Students are surprisingly mature intellectually and emotionally on one level, but on another, many feel like frightened children.

Studies have been conducted lately showing that up to 40% of high school girls experience depression, and up to 30% of high school boys experience high levels of anxiety. These feelings are below the surface; most teens don’t want to discuss them. Our mentoring relationship ensures a healthy and successful transition.

What to do about Test Optional

College applicants are often confused about the real meaning of “Test Optional.” Before the pandemic, most schools required students to take the ACT or SAT. However, during COVID-19, it became apparent that lower-income students had more incredible difficulty accessing standardized tests.

That is when “Test Optional” policies became the norm rather than the outlier. Unfortunately, many mid- and upper-income students took this message literally and avoided the extra work and stress involved in tackling the SAT or ACT test.

Even now, these test-optional policies at colleges and universities differ dramatically. Unless you score at the tippee top on your test, it’s essential to recognize that each separate application now requires its own strategy.

The first step is identifying how your scores (or lack thereof) will impact your admission to your dream schools.

Private vs Public School Policies

Public and private test-optional policies have changed and can feel like a moving target. Public schools are usually dependent on each state’s governmental influence and charter.

While most state schools nationwide are now “test optional,”  California has taken the concept to the extreme and is now “test blind.” This means that even if an applicant places their score somewhere on the application, the computer system will erase it.

Advice for Applicants

If you’re aiming high, your first step should be to take the test.

Competitive private schools may say that tests are optional, but they often expect scores. In most cases, providing the best score you can achieve will help you get accepted.

Unless you can show a bevy of Advanced Placement test scores at the top of the range (4s or 5s), you should try for your personal best.

Unless your family is in the lowest income bracket, the lack of a score causes Admissions Readers to think that your scores were deficient or, worse, that you are lazy.  They may snap-judge you and avoid “rigor.”

Use test-optional policies to your advantage!

Many college students struggle to pick their college major and enter college undecided. This indecision can waste time and money on classes outside their chosen major. Without a concrete plan, confidence levels are lowered as students enter the job market late.

Students take classes across multiple subjects and departments without knowing the best-fit major. No one enjoys hanging out in the purgatory of indecision, especially when one’s future is questioned.

Three Easy Steps to Deciding the College Major

Step 1: Assess Career Interests and Preferences

The first step is to assess what types of careers will lead to the greatest happiness and success. Once you know which career theme or combination of themes fits, you can begin to review various career options within that theme.

The six broad areas of choice include Realistic, Artistic, Investigative, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.

Most majors and careers include aspects of two or three of these areas.  Once you know which areas fit your child best, you can help your child to view themselves and their preferences more clearly.

Step 2: Have Open and Meaningful Conversations

After the assessment phase, the second best practice step is holding conversations with your child. Take notes as to which factors are most important to your child.

Questions to ask range from the importance of hot technologies and emerging occupations to job families and individual competencies.

Try not to get caught up in holding the “right” kind of conversation. Instead, you can ask open-ended questions related to the assessment results.

There are resources online that can help you determine skills needed for the various job families and skills needed to bring focus and a concrete educational plan.

Step 3: Research College Majors and Career Options

The third step is to help your child reflect on their options by researching college majors and careers that match their results. There are some excellent free resources such as O’net.

These resources will allow you and your child to drill down and review the options to determine everything from starting salaries to the expected outlook of any particular major over the next several years beyond college.

Using AI can also help your family to predict emerging occupations related to your child’s preferences.

Start the Journey Toward the Right College Major Today

The most important thing is to get started!

Even if your child seems to have decided, the topic must be brought up, and career choices should be vetted as soon as possible. Going to college can be a beautiful journey or rocky and confusing.

They say, “Knowledge is power,” and this kind of knowledge will impact your child far into the future.

If you’d like personalized guidance, CollegePrep Consulting is here to help! Call 415-385-7778 to book a consultation today.

Sincerely,

Rachel