statement<\/a> written by members of Harvard\u2019s Graduate School of Education and co-signed by more than 300 college admissions deans across the United States underscores their intention to display empathy when reviewing applicants and offers insight into what admissions departments will value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWe hope this document will relieve some of the stress that students and families are experiencing,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cAnd we hope it will get us closer to a college admissions process that is saner and more equitable and that encourages young people to both care for themselves and to build a healthier, more humane, and just world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First and foremost, the deans encourage applicants to engage in self-care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe recognize that many students, economically struggling and facing losses and hardships of countless kinds, are simply seeking to get by,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cWe also recognize that this time is stressful and demanding for a wide range of students for many different reasons. We encourage all students to be gentle with themselves during this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, the deans explain that they\u2019re aware that applicants may have faced many barriers to their academic work. So, they fully intend to assess students\u2019 academic achievements in the context of these barriers. Notably, academic achievements will be assessed mainly based on applicants\u2019 performance before and after the pandemic, according to the statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo student will be disadvantaged because of a change in commitments or a change in plans because of this outbreak, their school\u2019s decisions about transcripts, the absence of AP or IB tests, their lack of access to standardized tests \u2026 or their inability to visit campus,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cWe will also view students in the context of the curriculum, academic resources,and supports available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirdly, the deans express that they value acts of service and contribution by those who are in a position to help others in their communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis pandemic has created a huge array of needs, whether for tutoring, contact tracing, support for senior citizens, or assistance with food delivery,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cWe view responding to these needs as one valuable way that students can spend their time during this pandemic.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the deans explain that admissions departments will continue to value forms of contribution that are unrelated to the pandemic, such as working to protect the environment, combat racial injustice and inequities, register voters or stop online harassment, among other things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the statement makes it clear that admissions officers don\u2019t want to see a \u201cpublic service Olympics,\u201d but instead authentic and meaningful contributions of service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourthly, the deans explain that they understand that some applicants may have seen their expected family contributions increase over the course of the pandemic. Some, for example, may now be supervising younger siblings, caring for sick relatives or working jobs to help provide for the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe view substantial family contributions as very important, and we encourage students to report them in their applications,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cIt will only positively impact the review of their application.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lastly, the deans convey that \u201cno student will be disadvantaged for not engaging in extracurricular activities during this time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, applicants shouldn\u2019t worry about losing their summer internships, jobs, camps, or other meaningful extracurricular activities or engagements canceled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deans suggest that applicants should describe, in their applications, how they\u2019ve been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. If a lack of internet access, not having a quiet place to study or any other barriers have impacted their academic performance, for example, they encourage students to write about those experiences. The Common Application and the Coalition for College application both currently offer sections for applicants to explain how they\u2019ve been impacted by the pandemic. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. college applicants who are concerned about their applications being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may find comfort in the fact that the country\u2019s college admissions deans sympathize with what they\u2019re going through. A newly released statement written by members of Harvard\u2019s Graduate School of Education and co-signed by more than 300 college admissions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":47066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[647,662,685,726,6,230,229],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic","category-ace-high-school","category-college-admissions","category-college-essay","category-student-advocacy","category-news","category-lead-stories"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library.jpg",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library-224x144.jpg",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library-300x193.jpg",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library.jpg",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library.jpg",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library.jpg",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library.jpg",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Jackson Schroeder","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/jackson-schroeder\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"U.S. college applicants who are concerned about their applications being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may find comfort in the fact that the country\u2019s college admissions deans sympathize with what they\u2019re going through. A newly released statement written by members of Harvard\u2019s Graduate School of Education and co-signed by more than 300 college admissions…","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/library.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}