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A high school senior’s fall is 

typically marked by road trips 
to college campuses, waking up 
early on the weekends to take 
standardized tests and rushing 
to finish an endless stream of 
essays by Halloween. Throw in a 
global pandemic and everything 
changes.

The University of Michigan has 

made a number of key changes to 
the college application process this 
year. Most notably, the University 
has adopted a “test-flexible” policy 
and extended the early action 
deadline two weeks. Early action 
applications are now due Nov. 15 
as opposed to the traditional Nov. 
1 cutoff.

Because of the pandemic, this 

year’s application cycle will look 
different 
for 
both 
applicants 

and the admissions department. 
The Michigan Daily talked to 

high 
school 
seniors, 
college 

admissions counselors and U-M 
administrators 
to 
understand 

what it’s like to be a high school 
senior applying to the University 
of Michigan this year.

Test-flexible policy leaves 

some relieved, but others with 
questions

In 
July, 
the 
University 

announced it would transition 
to a “test-flexible” policy for 
the upcoming application cycle, 
which allows students to submit 
standardized test scores other 
than the ACT or SAT, such as 
the PSAT, PLAN or AP exams. 
The University will also accept 
self-reported scores given that 
students submit official scores by 
the end of the enrollment process.

The 
policy 
still 
strongly 

encourages applicants to submit a 
test score, but increases flexibility 
in the method of reporting and the 
type of exam. If a student is unable 
to take a test altogether, they can 
still be considered for admittance. 

Several high school seniors 

expressed relief in response to 
the more accommodating testing 
policy. Roy Huang, a senior at 
St. Andrews College in Ontario, 
Canada, will be applying early-
action without a test score. 
He said he felt relieved by the 
flexible policy after all Canadian 
Scholastic Aptitude Test dates 
were canceled.

“(The new policy) reduces a 

lot of the anxiety around getting 
a test date and needing to keep 
on studying for the SAT,” Huang 
said. “Now, I can focus more on 
supplements and writing the 
common app essay.” 

Not all seniors reacted as 

positively to the flexible policy. 
Catherine Hwang, a senior at 
Forest Hills Northern High School 
in Grand Rapids, Mich., said 
the University should consider 
adopting 
a 
“test-optional” 

policy 
instead. 
Test-optional 

policies, which do not require 
or encourage submitting test 

scores, are endorsed by other peer 
institutions, such as New York 
University.

“There’s definitely potential 

for (the University) to be test-
optional,” Hwang said. “I think 
that NYU and (the University) fall 
under the same competitiveness 
when you look at their acceptance 
rates, so (the University) could 
provide some other options for 
students.” 

Students 
and 
high 
school 

counselors expressed confusion 
about what exactly a “test-flexible” 
policy entails.

Laura 
Hollyer-Madis 
and 

Norman 
Hurns, 
high 
school 

counselors from the Bloomfield 
Hills, Mich., and Birmingham, 
Mich., school districts respectively, 
shared similar frustrations over 
the ambiguity of whether or not 
admissions officers will expect 
test scores. Hollyer-Madis equated 
the policy to a “moving target.” 

GEORGE WEYKAMP & 

RONI KANE
For The Daily 

Pandemic complicates college 
application process for seniors

Canceled ACTs, campus visits create new obstacles in navigating applying to U-M

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
2 — Wednesday, November 18, 2020 

Design by Cara Jhang

ADVERTISING

WMG-contact@umich.edu 

See APPLICATION, Page 3

 

 

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