College application process starting earlier than ever before with test-optional growing

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — As the first day of school approaches, many high school students and their parents are already looking ahead to college and what it will take to get there.

Independent college coach Beth O’Connor attributes an explosion in applications to the Common App and the move to test-optional submissions.

UCLA continues to be the most sought-after four-year university in the country, with more than 146,000 students applying for less than 7,000 spots in this fall’s freshman class.

O’Connor says grades continue to be the first criterion colleges weigh, followed by class rigor and activities.

After lifting the requirement to submit ACT or SAT scores, she sees universities such as Purdue, Tennessee and MIT bringing them back to help sort through stacks of applications.

Most of O’Connor’s clients are sophomores but she’s working with some who are younger.

“In casual conversation, people ask me all the time but the earliest approach to officially start with someone is in seventh grade.”

She explains that when students need specific academic paths, like for those who hope to study pre-med in college, they should take calculus in high school, which means they need to have algebra and geometry in middle school.

That early focus is rolling into admissions. O’Connor says she’s seen highly selective schools offer two early decision options or, like at the University of Michigan, have students start taking classes in the summer or at alternative campuses.

Whether it’s due to lingering concerns about COVID or not, O’Connor says many of her clients don’t go more than a car ride away from their homes in Chicago and the North Shore.

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