Fall season means college preparation season, and San Luis Obispo High School seniors are busy working on their applications to send out to colleges. How has the process been a different experience for the SLOHS class of 2021 in the world of COVID-19?

Expressions set out to find out where seniors are applying and how this year’s applications have been in the new reality we are faced with.

  “I am applying to ten colleges in state and one out of state! Out of all the colleges I am applying to, my top choice is probably University of Southern California. It would mean a lot to me since I have had eight family members go there and am already comfortable with Los Angeles,” said senior Katie Fricks.

   While many schools remain SAT and ACT test-optional, some have always been test-blind. It is difficult for seniors this year to even find testing sites available due to COVID-19.

  “Without necessary SAT scores, it definitely creates more pressure for high GPAs and many extracurricular activities. What’s rough is the majority of us students got our SATs cancelled at the end of our junior years and beginning of this year, yet whoever has done the test prior can submit their scores to possibly have a better advantage of getting into the college because of this extra bonus information provided,” said Fricks.

  For some students, not having to submit an ACT or SAT score is a blessing, but for others, that is a vital part of their application that was going to stand out to admissions offices.

  “More kids are going to apply to schools that they might not have before because they didn’t have a high enough test score. As the students applying, we have to try even harder to stand out amongst all the other qualified applicants. It makes the whole process more of a lottery than it already was in past years,” said senior Ellery Yasumoto.

  In past years, choosing which colleges to apply to was much easier when you had the chance to visit and do an in person tour of the campus. With virtual tours, that picture looks very different from a screen.

 “It has definitely been difficult not being able to visit the colleges as much as I had planned, but the application process has been pretty easy. I had opted out of sending in SAT/ACT scores because of COVID-19 and that took a lot of stress off since colleges normally look at scores so much,” said senior Quinn Williams.

  We wish all of our seniors the best of luck with their applications and encourage them to reach out to a counselor or check the SLOHS Counseling website for more college information!