While the pandemic forced us to reevaluate how we think about many previously mundane things in our lives, it has also forced us to change how we experience less ordinary things, such as college applications. Much has changed since the start of the pandemic and—as the Class of ‘22 has experienced—the process of college applications is no exception. In the two years of college applications since the pandemic began, there has been a rise in both college applications submitted and applicants that were either deferred, waitlisted, or entirely rejected. 

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we all lived our lives nearly two years ago, colleges and universities also had to adjust how they operated. As a result of fewer students being able to take the SAT or ACT, many schools have changed their testing policies, switching to being test optional. This allows for students to apply without submitting their standardized test scores. This new policy has seen more students applying to more selective schools than in years prior, as for many applicants, low SAT or ACT scores have been the restricting factor for many students, and now that these colleges no longer require applicants to submit scores, students are more inclined to take the risk of applying. As more students apply without test scores, the data from this year’s early decision and early action admissions differs vastly from that of previous years. 

Alongside the rise of test optional schools, this year has seen many more applicants overall, with a 22% increase in total applicants from 2020 to 2021, which has caused the results of this year’s early decision and early applications to differ from past data even further. Since the beginning of the pandemic, many students of the class of 2021  have taken a gap year, hopeful that conditions would have improved enough by the end of that gap year for them to have a “normal” college experience. Although it is unlikely that we will see a complete return to what was previously considered “normal,” many of the students that took a gap year are applying this admissions cycle nonetheless. This influx of applicants across the board has caused college admissions to differ this year from any prior patterns and data. 

When asked about these changes, Ms. Strauss, Bryn Mawr’s Director of College Counseling noted that “the test-optional movement was underway at a slow and steady pace pre-pandemic. However, it was catapulted forward by the pandemic out of necessity.” Due to the rise of test optional schools, there were far more applicants to highly selective schools. “Admit rates dropped drastically over the last two years due to the wide adoption of test optional admissions policies. So many more students chose to ‘shoot their shot’ at the highly selectives, as testing was no longer an issue.” When it comes to how students will experience the college application process in the future, Ms. Strauss notes that, “Some college counselors around the country say that rigor has become a proxy for test scores…helping students build high school course programs that are challenging, and in which they perform well—without sacrificing mental/physical health—is a nuanced part of how the college counselors guide students in the college process.”

Although much is still uncertain about the future of the college application process, some comfort can be gained from the support offered by Bryn Mawr’s college counseling team.