KEY FACTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

By: Belinda Gonzalez-Leon, Ed. D., MBA

Premier Educational Consulting, LLC

Email: bleon@bleon-pec.com

Ph: (305) 494-9389

 

• The Florida Department of Education has stated that “all public state colleges, and private college and campuses and buildings are closed for the remainder of the spring semester.

Colleges should be prepared to extend their educational calendars through June 30, 2020, to the extent feasible and necessary.”

• All public and private K-12 and career and technical center campuses are closed through April 15, 2020. School districts should be prepared to extend their educational calendars through June 30, 2020, to the extent feasible and necessary.
• All remaining assessments for school readiness, voluntary prekindergarten, and K-12 assessments are cancelled for the 2019-2020 school year. Requirements for graduation and promotion, and final course grades will be evaluated as though those assessments which were cancelled did not exist.
• Eligibility for Florida Bright Futures scholarships shall be based on available data and results. Tests that were not available to be taken shall not be counted.

(http://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-news/florida-department-of-education-announces-additional-guidance-for-the-2019-20-school-year.stml?fbclid=IwAR2e1Yvr_JRtWWqA44syaOQ6vZDrb5rn6y6sODClEfJcpHi7oaOlq4E6zhs)

 

SAT ACT AND AP TESTING

• The SAT on May 2^nd is cancelled. The SAT Makeup Test date of March 28^th is cancelled.
• The College Board is working to refund students who registered for exams that are now cancelled.
• The SAT for June 6^th is still scheduled to be administered.
• The ACT on April 4^th has been rescheduled to June 13^th.
• Both the SAT and ACT will be offering new and more testing dates to students, but that is undetermined right now. (https://pages.collegeboard.org/natural-disasters)

• The College Board is working on how to administer the Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. They have stated:

“All AP students and teachers will be able to draw on the free online resources that were provided to every AP classroom this fall. Additional resources will be made easily accessible to AP students and teachers through mobile phones and other devices. These include free online AP lessons and review sessions from some of the top AP teachers in the country. “

• The AP Program is considering “AP exam options that would allow students to test at home.”
• Details on the AP Program are expected to be announced March 20^th. (https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update )

 

COLLEGE BOUND STUDENTS

• Very few if any colleges are open. If you were planning to tour a college in order to make your decision of which one to attend, you may have to virtual tour via videos that colleges post. If you can speak. What else can you do?
  • Ask the college if you can do a video call with a student or an alumnus (many are local to you) or a faculty member to learn about the college.
  • If the college cannot accommodate, ask everyone you know if they know someone who is a student, graduate, or employee of the college you want to attend. Get a hold of this person and ask them a million questions. This should help you get a “feel” for the college.
• ANY question you have, contact the college immediately. It will be difficult to get a hold of someone there right now but keep trying. Try calling, emailing, or even chatting. Read the website carefully to see what the best way is to get a hold of someone or to find the answer to your questions.
  • I always tell my students to find a contact person in Admissions in the college as soon as they start the application process and to maintain contact with that person the whole time. NOW is when that relationship you have built becomes vital.
• Despite the closings, colleges are still sending out acceptance (and rejection, sorry) notices. Keep checking your email and read all messages from your college.
• If you have a deadline to respond to a college and need more time, contact them NOW. Many colleges have already moved deadlines but confirm what the new deadline is.
• If you were deferred or are appealing your rejection, make sure you send them all your materials they requested in order to process the decision. Because of this crisis, students may change their mind about what college to attend and this is your opportunity to be next in line.