Greetings from our new normal. I have been socially isolating and adjusting to online work as well as settling my family into a new routine that a week ago would have been unimaginable. As we address, the pandemic, I have no doubt that each of you is taking steps to keep your families safe and preparing for what may come.

There have been small bits of information trickling out of the college admissions world. I realize that this is probably not a high-priority item right now, but I wanted to find an efficient way to share this with people and I am going to keep a running feed on this post, with the latest news that I am hearing. When I feel that there are changes or decisions being made that are reasonably informed, I am going to post them here. Keep in mind, this is a dynamic situation. I am going to use my best judgement to share the most accurate information that I can at the time that I have it.

Lastly, if you, or anyone you know, have questions or concerns and would like to address a specific question, please, please, please share my email with them. I am happy to answer any and all questions, simply as a community service; there is no obligation to use me as a paid consultant. My email is louiselarsenconsulting@gmail.com.

3/22/20-The International Baccalaureate has canceled May exams due to the global pandemic. There is an article explaining this in detail here.

3/20/20, 1:50-The College Board has announced a plan for online AP testing this spring. The information is here.

3/20/20, 12:30-I thought it would be great to post a daily update but yesterday it felt a little inauthentic-there is no point in manufacturing news. So I am going to commit to only posting when I feel there is something meaningful to share. The latest news for today is two-fold. More schools than I can list are opting for test-optional applications in the next admissions cycle. To give you some examples, two colleges that have announced this are Case Western and Virginia Tech. The other news is that MIT has announced that they will not require SAT Subject Tests. The link to the announcement is here. I would imagine that in these unprecedented times, we will see more colleges follow suit.

3/18/20- Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, (full disclosure, I did my graduate work there) has contacted seniors to let them know that they reopened their Common App for any students that have decided that they wish to stay closer to home and would like to apply. If there is a school that is closer to home and you would like them to consider an application from you, even thought the deadline has passed, it does not hurt to ask. In this new normal, they might consider this option.

3/17/20-As if there was not enough stress in the world right now, if you are the parent of a senior, we are entering the final stretch of admissions decisions. If you have a senior, the final (and often most selective) colleges are releasing their decisions in the next two weeks. As you cope with your new normal, try and make some space to soothe or celebrate your senior as they receive answers amidst the stress of a global pandemic.

3/16/20, 4:40 pm- The College Board is finalizing plans to allow students to take AP exams at home in May. There is more information here.

3/16/30, 4 pm-The ACT has rescheduled the April 4th test date to June 13th. If you are registered for the April test, you will receive an email about this change. There is more information here.

3/16/20, 1 pm-The College Board has cancelled the May SAT. You can read about it here.

3/15/20-As far as future test dates, if you are comfortable gambling with a fee to take the SAT or the ACT this spring, I would register now. There was so much confusion yesterday and so many test sites were closed, that I bet there will be a glut of college applicants that will need to reschedule. This is a dynamic situation, so stay tuned.

3/14/20-If you were signed up to take the SAT today and your test center was open, consider yourself lucky. What I am hearing for the rest of the world was that chaos ensued.

3/13/20-Good news for seniors, Oregon State University has moved their deposit deadline from May 1st to June 1st. More colleges are following suit and I think that for the 2020 cycle, this might be a trend.