For more than two years, disruptions caused by the Covid19 pandemic have been driving changes in higher education, economy, a variety of professions and walks of life as society struggles to deal with the aftermath of the global pandemic. Universities throughout the world have had to adapt to transferring their programmes online, training staff to offer course content in new ways, handling overseas students, and developing a whole new educational experience.
The most difficult hurdle, however, has been the admissions process. Universities have made significant changes in order to ensure efficiency in admissions as the global higher education environment shifts in reaction to the Covid-19 epidemic.
To assist students looking forward to studying abroad post the pandemic, we have listed the ways in which colleges are changing their admission process for international students.
Acceptance Rates
With some universities switching to test-optional or test-blind admissions for Fall 2022, most colleges’ acceptance rates have declined, making it an even lower number for overseas students, who are competing for fewer spots this year.
Another thing to note is that many accepted students opted to defer their admissions for a year, because most institutions offered online rather than in-person education. As a result, the number of seats available for students in the current year has been significantly reduced. According to US News, 16 percent of applicants accepted in 2020 considered taking a gap year and delaying their acceptance to 2021.
For some institutes, the number was substantially higher; for example, out of 350 slots at Yale, only 200 were filled in two years. When it comes to Harvard University, the early action acceptance rate sank to 7.4% from 13.9%, while the number of total applicants hit a record high.
Testing Policies
According to experts, the biggest shift in college admissions over the past couple of years has been the transition to test-optional or test-blind rules. Access to formalised tests was difficult in the initial months of the pandemic, with many testing sessions cancelled or delayed due to safety concerns. Due to limited access to these examinations, institutions suspended and rethought testing criteria.Test-blind policies were previously uncommon in US universities. Previously, the US News and World Report did not consider test blind schools in its ranking methodology, but they are now aiming to include them in their approach. As a result, an increasing number of schools are investigating test-blind procedures, as they no longer fear being disqualified by the US News & World Report ranking system.
The good news is that many tier 1 and tier 2 universities have waived the SAT score requirement, including prominent schools like Harvard and Cornell. Even the University of California plans to discontinue its use of the SAT. For fall admissions in 2023 and 2024, they will go test blind. As a result, the overall quality of your application has never been more important. Another significant change in the future would be that the SAT will be converted to a digital format from 2024. The test will be 2 hours long, as compared to the existing SAT’s 3 hours.
Extracurricular Activities
Some extracurricular activities have been put on hold because of the pandemic’s continuous interruptions. Competitions may still be suspended, sports competitions may have been delayed or cancelled, and even volunteer programmes may be affected. Extracurricular activities are definitely a way to explore your interests, and universities are interested in seeing what students do outside the classroom.
Keep in mind that every student is currently experiencing interruption. Admissions authorities are aware of this, and will ensure that these hindrances in their normal activities will not be used against them. Over 300 schools and institutions in the United States issued a statement ensuring students that any activities or summer experiences cut short or cancelled would not be used against them when applying to college this autumn. Both the Common App and the Coalition App offer a space in the application for students to provide further information about how the coronavirus affected them and how they chose to spend time in the pandemic. This makes the hobbies picked up by students in the pandemic significant.
Letter of Recommendation
Most institutions usually want a letter of recommendation from a teacher to be highly detailed, describing not only the student’s achievement but also his or her learning style and skills. However, teachers may not gain as much insight into a student as they did when they attended school in person because classes have been conducted online. In this situation, teachers can represent the student as a learner in an online setting when writing recommendation letters. Universities will give due consideration to the special efforts made by a student to cope with the online setting.
Fortunately, even before the pandemic, there was a movement among college admissions officers to begin to consider factors like empathy and persistence, which we might notice in the hours a student devotes to the school, or a teacher’s testimony to working well with classmates, or perhaps as seen in an essay. This is fantastic news for students because it indicates that admissions authorities value qualities other than academics and extracurricular activities.
Tuition Fees
There have been proposals for universities to lower or even waive tuition fees, which has sparked heated debate among students and college administrators. Students and parents have expressed reservations about paying full tuition for remote learning since colleges began offering online programmes during the pandemic-affected times.
As a result of these events, many colleges have changed their tuition costs in some way. This is most likely owing to institutions suspending annual tuition hikes or lowering fees in recognition of a drastically reduced – or perhaps non-existent – on-campus experience. For example, Williams College and Princeton University both cut tuition by 10% for the coming academic year, while Duke University cancelled a scheduled rise.
How can Rostrum help?
Due to the multitude of changes in the applications landscape, college admissions post pandemic can be extremely overwhelming for students. At Rostrum, our team of expert mentors will help you every stop along the way. Over 1000 students have benefited from Rostrum Education’s services, from college selection to the submission of college applications. Make an appointment for a free consultation now to get started on your goal to get into the best colleges in us.
Make an appointment for a free consultation now to get started on your goal to get into the best colleges in us.
