It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. I had a conversation about that with my dental hygienist this morning. After marveling over how quickly time seems to have passed, she said, “But a lot of living has happened since then.” And then I got to thinking that, for current high school students, ALL their living has happened since then! Everything pre-2001 is history to them — the way things were before they were born.

And that includes college admissions. Most parents of teens remember the way things were in the 1980’s or early 90’s, when the number of students enrolled in college was roughly two-thirds of what it is today and most students applied to two or three schools, versus six to 10 (or even 15 or 20). We remember a time when a 1250 on the SAT could get you into Stanford and being president of a club or captain of a sports team was the pinnacle of high school success. A time when the cost of college for one child was not equal to a full year’s wages and when hardly anyone studied for the SAT because we thought you knew it, or you didn’t.

Today, highly ranked universities, including a few in Texas, have become significantly more competitive due to a combination of regional population growth, international recruitment, sophisticated marketing, and a societal narrative telling students they must attend certain colleges to achieve success. And, yes, college costs have risen, as well. (The factors behind that are for another blog).

So, naturally, students’ approach to finding and applying to college has to change with the times. Former fallback institutions are now, in some cases, “reach” schools, valedictorians with perfect SATs need a strategy beyond simply filling out an application to get into Ivy Leagues, and almost all students are considering a wider range of schools than they would have three decades ago. College application essays are no longer reserved for private schools with low admission rates, standardized test prep is pretty much the standard, and paying for college often involves investing in savings plans, seeking out the best college discounts, and taking out loans.

This is the state of American college admissions in 2021. Like so many other areas of our children’s world, it is more complicated than it was for us. But it is navigable. And navigating this new landscape is what I do. If you would like a someone to guide you through it, reach out. I currently am accepting clients from the Classes of 2023 to 2026.