High School Students: Don’t Fall Behind!
Take Control of the College Admissions Process Amid COVID Challenges
Over the last three months, as a member of NACAC and IECA, I have been actively involved in virtual meetings and roundtable discussions surrounding COVID-19 and higher education. The cancellation of standardized tests, the transition to virtual learning, and the move to pass/fail grades spring semester has created anxiety for parents and students as well as uncertainty for 2021 university admissions requirements. There is no question that college admissions officers will have to dig deeper into a student’s application to gain a better understanding of whether he or she will be a good fit for their school.
“Everything in 2020 will have a big asterisk for admissions officers,” says Irena Smith, a former Stanford Admissions Officer, referring to the impact that COVID will have on the upcoming college process and the way admissions officers will evaluate potential candidates. Smith’s words seem to echo the sentiments of many higher education counselors. As Susan Davidson of Rye County Day School discussed in a Summit Educational Group webinar last week, “I think the best thing for students to do is to focus on what they can control, which is presenting themselves in the best light to make connections with institutions.” Kelly Bellavance, Associate Director of Admissions at Boston College, agreed, advising “Students, think about this as part of a process and really take control of it.”
Given the uncertainty surrounding the college application process and the absence of on-site guidance counselors, Performance Prep & College Admissions LLC is launching its COLLEGE PREP SUMMER SERIES 2020. Join Tara Carter, Chair of the New Haven Cornell Alumni Admissions Network, and myself, Eileen Sullivan Studdert, owner of Performance Prep, as we share essential tips and strategies about how to successfully navigate college admissions with a strong emphasis on the impact from COVID-19. This series of workshops will be a more comprehensive and extensive examination of topics we touched on last June in our popular “Top Action Items Students can do this Summer to be College-Ready this Fall” presentation.
With a powerful combination of video chat, interactive tools, and collaborative workspaces, these virtual and interactive 90-minute workshops promise to be just as engaging and more hands-on than last year’s seminar-style sessions. Each workshop will be tailored to specific grades and timelines, but the goal will be the same: to inform high school students at every level how to use their time, interests, and energy to capture and present their unique strengths and skills.
Students will leave each workshop with a grade-specific roadmap, a college criteria checklist, a four-year timeline, a passion project outline, a personal essay draft, and/or a jump-start on the Common Application.
Workshops begin the week of June 29th. Click here to learn more about the College Prep Summer Series 2020 Individual Workshops as well as register.
Questions? Contact Eileen Sullivan Studdert at eileen@studdertcollegeprep.com, text, or call her at #203-313-2739, message her on Facebook, or contact her via her website.
STAY INFORMED ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

Eileen Studdert and Tara Carter sharing their college expertise with several DTX AAU basketball team players and their parents at Insports/DTX in Monroe, Connecticut!
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