Hott off the Press

A blog about college insights and more.


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Admissions in the Time of Covid, Class of 2021

By Karen Hott, September 2020
Jeff Selingo is the smartest guy I know of when it comes to college admissions, and you can be sure that his advice is as up-to-date and well-researched as it gets. Here’s what he wrote after the release this September of his book Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions: Over the last month, I’ve led more than
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Check out this video: Navigating Your College Search

By Karen Hott, August 2020
Helpful hint: It’s a 50-minute video, but if you go to settings and change the playback speed to 1.5, you get through it in less time. Plus, it’s funny to hear them talking fast (hee hee hee).
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College Board Revises PSAT Test Dates

By Karen Hott, August 2020
The PSAT/NMSQT has traditionally been important for juniors who score high enough to merit scholarships. After all, “NMSQT” stands for National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.” Fortunately, the January administration of the PSAT–added only for this Covid-impacted year–will still be figured into the scholarship eligibility. Usually, the test occurs only in October. Revised Test Dates We have revised some of the
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Should seniors take SAT/ACT?

By Karen Hott, August 2020
This year more and more schools went test optional, at least for the class of 2021. With so many SAT and ACT tests getting canceled and with so few seats available in upcoming administrations, students haven’t had access to the tests. Some haven’t had even fr one shot, let alone three or more to get the highest super score possible.
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NCAA Announces Tests Not Required for Eligibility

By Karen Hott, August 2020
NCAA Eligibility Center announces flexibility in initial eligibility for 2021-22 Changes address uncertainty caused by COVID-19 August 17, 2020 11:00amMichelle Brutlag Hosick Students who initially enroll full time during the 2021-22 academic year and intend to play NCAA Division I or II athletics will not be required to take a standardized test to meet NCAA initial-eligibility requirements. ”Given the continuing
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UMD goes test optional

By Karen Hott, July 2020
The University of Maryland has joined more than 1300 other four-year universities and colleges–including Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and the University of California and Cal State systems–in making standardized test scores (ACT or SAT) optional for the class of 2021. UMD has entered this pool late, deciding to take this path just July 17, but it is perhaps inevitable as students
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Online classes to predominate this fall

By Karen Hott, July 2020
According to the July 7 journal Inside Higher Education, the University of Southern California, Harvard, Princeton, Rutgers, and Georgetown have announced that fall classes will be held primarily online, with a reduced number of students invited to be on campus. In related news, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that immigrant students will not be able to stay in
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Common App adds special COVID-19 essay question

By Karen Hott, May 2020
Common App essays have remained unchanged for a while now, but they just added an optional essay question that will give applicants a chance to explain how the pandemic has affected them. This will be in addition to the “Additional Information” optional essay covering circumstances not otherwise addressed in the application. Below is the question applicants will see: Community disruptions
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The Future of Higher Education

By Karen Hott, May 2020
Jeff Selingo: The Future of Higher Ed—and Admissions—During and After the Coronavirus May 13, 2020             Noted author, columnist, and higher education strategist Jeff Selingo spoke at a webinar today with Mark Sklarow of the Independent Educational Consultants Association about the future of higher education in light of the coronavirus pandemic.             “All of our crystal balls are bit cloudy
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ACT plans to offer summer testing dates, online options

By Karen Hott, April 2020
ACT, Inc. published this report on April 16, 2020. Check act.org for continuing updates. ACT’s test-at-home remote proctoring launches this fall/winter for students in the U.S. IOWA CITY, Iowa—In response to uncertainty and school cancellations due to COVID-19, ACT announced today it will offer a flexible schedule for summer 2020 test dates and test-at-home options for fall/winter 2020. “Our mission