As we celebrate the extraordinary college and university choices of the Class of 2021, now it’s time to focus on this year’s senior class. Testing, the vagaries of college admission, its cost, and its impact on students continues to make the college application process complex.
The start of another school year, and it begins with optimism and pride. Our optimism going forward is a reflection not only of our ability to tame the impact of the pandemic even as it continues to affect all of us, but also our pride in knowing that our community remains strong and resilient. There is no better example than the Class of 2021, who demonstrated unwavering commitment to making their high school experience matter even in the face of incredible challenges. Our students excelled in class (thanks to their amazing, dedicated teachers), connected with one another in school-sponsored activities and gave back to their greater New York community through service to others. All of those experiences assured their success beyond the Lycée walls, including admission to outstanding higher education programs around the world.
Approximately 50% of our students, as usual, will study in the U.S. Their destinations range from Harvard to Rollins College in Florida, from the University of Chicago to Middlebury, from the University of Pennsylvania to SUNY-Albany, from George Washington to Emory, and Washington University to Amherst College– just to name a handful of choices.
Other students will join the University of Southern California/Hong Kong University/Bocconi World Bachelor in Business program, attend University College London and King’s College in the UK, and will enroll at Sciences Po campuses as well as Lycée Louis Le Grand and ESPOL in France. McGill continues its popularity with 10 members of the class heading to Montreal. We are enormously proud of the Class of 2021, and look forward to following their continued success in university. A complete list of the Class of 2021 matriculations is available here.
The evolving role of SAT and ACTs
But now, it’s time to focus on the Class of 2022. Replete once again with outstanding students, we are already working to refine their college lists and prepare their applications. Like last year, this admission cycle will be marked by unique features. Standardized testing requirements continue to be optional at more than 1400 colleges and universities in the US. My team and I will help students decide about whether or not to submit scores as part of their applications. Pre-pandemic, the impact of scores on admissions decisions was already waning. As colleges and universities evaluate their ability to make selections sans scores, I predict that optional submission will continue for most, if not all, colleges and universities, notwithstanding influential schools like Georgetown’s decision to require testing.
Many parents have asked me how these highly selective colleges make their ultimate decisions without SAT or ACT scores. Remember: they were never definitive markers. What has always mattered the most is a student’s transcript: grades, classes, rigor and the challenge that a student has taken on academically. Our students, whose French baccalaureate-driven curriculum is one of the most rigorous diploma programs globally, excel in this area.
So what else matters?
One’s ability to write, and do so well is crucial, as is one’s co-curricular profile. Teachers support the process with their letters of recommendation, and the college counseling team weaves all of this together in our letters advocating for the admission of the student. But let me reiterate that the American admission process is arbitrary. Brilliant students like ours are not guaranteed admission anywhere. In this crazy, competitive arena where the number of seats in a first-year class is limited, supply and demand prevail. Universities that accept less than 5% of applicants make it impossible to predict decision outcomes. But lest you lose heart, remember that there are outstanding options across the U.S. and around the world. We will help every student identify the best option for them, so that their higher education years will be fulfilling and enriching.
Testing, the vagaries of college admission, its cost, and its impact on students continues to make the role of the College Counseling Office complex. We look forward to working with our high school students at all levels this year, preparing our ninth and tenth-grade students as they begin their journeys, welcoming our 11th grade students in January 2022 to begin their searches, and supporting our seniors as they launch their applications and await their results. It is an exciting time indeed, and a hopeful sign as our world returns to a more normal rhythm.
About the Author :
Gail Berson comes to the Lycée with more than 35 years of experience in college admission and counseling. A magna cum laude graduate of Bowdoin College, she earned her master’s degree at Emerson College. She served as Vice President for Enrollment/Dean of Admission at Mount Holyoke and Wheaton Colleges, as Director of Admission at Mills College (CA), interim college counselor at Rocky Hill School (RI), and has consulted widely at a variety of colleges and independent schools. Gail, who has been a frequent speaker on college admission, is a former trustee of the College Board and currently volunteers for the World Leading Schools Association (WLSA) where she presented sessions at their summer programs in Shanghai, Jeju Island, Seoul and Prague. She also served as a past president of the Bowdoin Alumni Council. During vacations, she enjoys spending time with family and friends at her home on Nantucket.