8 | news / the standard / oct. 2020
College As colleges change rules to combat coronavirus, high school seniors navigate on their own
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n a normal year, seniors would be staying up late cramming for their ACT tests, planning visits to scenic college campuses and learning how to apply to their dream school around this time of year. However, 2020 is not a normal year. The coronavirus pandemic has brought the college search process to a halt, leaving many seniors feeling helpless and lost. ACT tests, once a paramount test required for college acceptance, have been canceled and postponed. Senior Lauren Weber has had her ACT test canceled on three separate occasions. “I don’t know what to do, and I’ve emailed my counselors many times, and they always direct me to Naviance, but I don’t know how to work Naviance,” Weber said. “Not having my ACT scores or a transcript, I’m lost with what to do.” Weber is not alone, and counselor Kristi Dixon said this is always a stressful time for seniors, even without a global pandemic disrupting the process. “This is one of the biggest decisions that [seniors] will have to make so far in their lifetime, so it’s always a critical moment, and there’s a certain level of stress that comes with that every year,” Dixon said.
Dixon said students who feel lost or don’t know what to do should simplify the process and ask for help. “Let’s look at the schools that if it wasn’t for COVID, what was your plan, and we start there,” Dixon said. “Then let’s add COVID back into the mix and see how that impacts what your choices are, and we just put them together.” Senior Egan Li had his ACT test canceled once, but said he was able to join his brother at a different test location that was not canceled. “Normally, I would have to have a ticket to the testing center, which I didn’t have this time because they switched it at the last second, but they were only able to switch because I went with my brother,” Li said. “In most situations, people would just have their test canceled.” Li has since moved on to exploring his college choices through virtual tours, the newest tool colleges have used to attract prospective students. “I’ve been doing virtual visits because that’s what most colleges are offering at the moment,” Li said. “If I get accepted, I hope next year in the summer ... I could visit some college campuses.” To combat the ACT cancellations, many colleges are going test-optional, meaning
students don’t have to submit their scores to be considered. “I would really like to see more schools go test optional permanently,” Dixon said. “I would like to see more schools make that commitment to ‘I’m going to stop making decisions about the rest of your
“Colleges who are still having you pay the same amount for an in-person class when it’s online is an absolute scam.”
| seniorlaurenweber
life, because of what you spent three hours doing on a Saturday.’” Li said he also doesn’t mind the testoptional policies, but additional changes would be necessary to distinguish highachieving students. “I feel like some schools may need to adjust their policies for scholarships and
