Dear Brookline High Classes of 2020 and 2021 Students and Families,
I hope you are all doing well, feeling good, and staying safe during this challenging time. As BHS counselors continue to await guidelines on our communications to students and families, it is important to share the following information and updates on college visits for juniors and accepted student opportunities now that more college acceptances are coming for seniors.
The BHS Counseling Department is sending this email specifically to address some college admissions items that have been impacted by the coronavirus. Those items are listed at the bottom of this email. We plan to continue updating you about things as we learn them, and will only share things that have been confirmed, with links to the sources of confirmation. This situation is changing hourly so we will always recommend that you double check the current status of any source we provide in case something specific changes since the time we shared it with you.
We also want to stress that there will be very few universal answers to the question “What should I do about X?” However, we can say that colleges and universities are very likely to be flexible and understanding about ALL aspects of the college admissions process during this time. That will undoubtedly look different for each individual institution, and we encourage you to check directly with the school’s admissions offices and/or webpages for their most up-to-date information about extensions of deadlines, changes in requirements, cancellations of events, and replacement activities or policies they may be instituting now. As you check individual college websites, please refer to this constantly evolving site for more information.
I hope you are all doing well, feeling good, and staying safe during this challenging time. As BHS counselors continue to await guidelines on our communications to students and families, it is important to share the following information and updates on college visits for juniors and accepted student opportunities now that more college acceptances are coming for seniors.
The BHS Counseling Department is sending this email specifically to address some college admissions items that have been impacted by the coronavirus. Those items are listed at the bottom of this email. We plan to continue updating you about things as we learn them, and will only share things that have been confirmed, with links to the sources of confirmation. This situation is changing hourly so we will always recommend that you double check the current status of any source we provide in case something specific changes since the time we shared it with you.
We also want to stress that there will be very few universal answers to the question “What should I do about X?” However, we can say that colleges and universities are very likely to be flexible and understanding about ALL aspects of the college admissions process during this time. That will undoubtedly look different for each individual institution, and we encourage you to check directly with the school’s admissions offices and/or webpages for their most up-to-date information about extensions of deadlines, changes in requirements, cancellations of events, and replacement activities or policies they may be instituting now. As you check individual college websites, please refer to this constantly evolving site for more information.
College Admissions Items Impacted by COVID-19
· The May SAT has been canceled. Students who were registered for the March or May SAT will receive refunds. At this time, the June SAT is still available.
· The April ACT has been “rescheduled” for June. Students registered for April will be able to change their test date without a change fee, or receive a full refund.
· Regarding AP Exams, from College Board: “The AP Program is developing resources to help schools support student learning during extended closures, as well as a solution that would allow students to test at home, depending on the situation in May. Additional information will be posted by March 20.” More to come as this situation is updated by both College Board and BHS administrators.
· More and more colleges have begun changing Deposit Deadlines beyond May 1 for admitted students. Please check EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL for any changes in deadlines and requirements. We will not be compiling a list as it would be vast and constantly changing.
· Many colleges are cancelling tours, open houses, and admitted student programs this spring. Please check EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL for any changes in programming. We will not be compiling a list as it would be vast and constantly changing. Suggestions for virtual campus touring and contacts for junior campus visits and senior accepted student opportunities - https://educatedquest.com/online-tools-you-can-use-when-you-cant-take-campus-visits/
· The BHS College Fair and the Boston NACAC College Fair have been cancelled at this time.
· Juniors: if you have time, please log in to Naviance, click on About Me in the Upper right-hand corner, then go to Surveys; Surveys Not Started; Self-Description Form v2. You start this form BUT DO NOT SUBMIT YET! This will help your counselor write your recommendation letter next year, but don’t submit since you will likely want to add more information to the questionnaire before we leave for the summer. If you need help logging in to Naviance, please email lenny_libenzon@psbma.org
PS - Thank you to Westborough HS for some of this script!
· The May SAT has been canceled. Students who were registered for the March or May SAT will receive refunds. At this time, the June SAT is still available.
· The April ACT has been “rescheduled” for June. Students registered for April will be able to change their test date without a change fee, or receive a full refund.
· Regarding AP Exams, from College Board: “The AP Program is developing resources to help schools support student learning during extended closures, as well as a solution that would allow students to test at home, depending on the situation in May. Additional information will be posted by March 20.” More to come as this situation is updated by both College Board and BHS administrators.
· More and more colleges have begun changing Deposit Deadlines beyond May 1 for admitted students. Please check EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL for any changes in deadlines and requirements. We will not be compiling a list as it would be vast and constantly changing.
· Many colleges are cancelling tours, open houses, and admitted student programs this spring. Please check EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL for any changes in programming. We will not be compiling a list as it would be vast and constantly changing. Suggestions for virtual campus touring and contacts for junior campus visits and senior accepted student opportunities - https://educatedquest.com/online-tools-you-can-use-when-you-cant-take-campus-visits/
· The BHS College Fair and the Boston NACAC College Fair have been cancelled at this time.
· Juniors: if you have time, please log in to Naviance, click on About Me in the Upper right-hand corner, then go to Surveys; Surveys Not Started; Self-Description Form v2. You start this form BUT DO NOT SUBMIT YET! This will help your counselor write your recommendation letter next year, but don’t submit since you will likely want to add more information to the questionnaire before we leave for the summer. If you need help logging in to Naviance, please email lenny_libenzon@psbma.org
PS - Thank you to Westborough HS for some of this script!