How COVID-19 Is Helping Students Better Prepare for College

We’re 9 months into this pandemic, and all of the families I’m working with are wondering how this is all impacting college admissions.

Does test optional really, truly mean test optional?

What happens to a student’s GPA when classes are suddenly pass/fail?

What happens when sports are completely off the table? And science team? And debate team?

And ____________ (fill in the blank)?!*

In other words, if students can’t impress the colleges with all of the usual accomplishments, how do they actually stand out?

Well, in a word: pivot.

And when I say pivot, I mean with giddy excitement!

Because, as admissions expert Jeffrey Selingo says, “Success in college is about how you go, not just where you go.”

Which means that we’ve got to start looking a lot more about at the process of high school’s path to college, not just the end goal.

But HOW do students pivot? Where do they turn to jumpstart a new process?

Start by asking three critical questions:

• What am I interested in?
• What do I wish I could make better-or even better?
• Who is most in need of support right now?

Here are some ways students might find answers to these questions:

• What are you watching on YouTube, listening to on podcasts, searching for online?
• What gets you leaping out of bed early on Saturday morning?
• What’s bothering you?
• What bridge can you build between what you love and where you most see a need?

A few things students can try:

1. Partner with your teachers

Almost every one of my students tells me that their online classes are forcing them to learn all of the material on their own; that their teachers are using virtual class time to answer questions rather than to teach the material the way they would have in the traditional classroom.

So I coach my students to approach their teachers with curiosity and contribution. I tell them:

• Ask them what it’s like to suddenly teach online
• Find out what the greatest challenges are for them
• Share the challenges you’re facing with online learning (without complaining!)
• Possibly share some of the research on online learning/teaching you’ve done (because, of course, you’ve Googled this a bunch)
• Express an interest in partnering with your teachers to create an amazing online learning experience

2. Find a community most in need of support

Recently, two of my students were working hard to build mentoring programs for younger students in their communities. They’d done the hard work of figuring out what they wanted to offer and how they could deliver some amazing experiences to younger kids.

The problem?

No one was signing up for their programs, no matter how much outreach they did. Why? Because there wasn’t an urgent need. These students live in well-resourced communities, and the families there weren’t desperate for support.

So, I helped these students connect with a Congolese refugee community where the parents not only don’t speak English but they also never had the opportunity to learn to read and write. Many of the families are headed by widows with huge families of 5 to 10 children. And they often don’t have even the basics for their children: beds, soap, cleaning supplies. These families are absolutely in desperate need of support.

So, they’re creating 1:1 ESL & literacy classes through WhatsApp and about to launch a fundraiser.

And the response has been incredible! All because we found a community with urgent needs.

3. Share what you love

A few years ago, I was working with a junior who was sure he’d tried everything and would never be able to find anything new he was passionate about. We worked together for a few months, trying something new every few weeks.

One day, he happened to mention that he was interested in cooking. A ha! Now we had something to work with.

I helped him connect with a chef in his local area, and he began taking lessons. The two of them also started visiting the local farmer’s market where he started talking with the vendors.

Soon he became intrigued with the farm to table movement, and he began visiting a farm near his home to talk with the farmers and the chef.

All along the way, he began cooking more for his family and friends. Now every time we met, his face was full of hope and excitement. He was so happy to finally find a place to channel his joy.

And when it came time for him to apply as a premed major, he used his essay to show how his passion for cooking would help him become a gifted physician. He ended up getting into his top choice school, UC Berkeley, even though it was quite a reach for him.

Do you see? When you do what you love and make meaning of it in your college essays, it makes the colleges sit up and pay attention.

*To learn more about the answers to these questions, check out my article How COVID Has Changed College Admissions For Good.

Originally published at https://dreamschoolproject.com.