California System May Go Test-Blind

The Washington Post: "University of California President Janet Napolitano is urging a suspension of admission testing requirements until 2024, setting up a showdown vote this month for the system’s governing board on the role of the SAT and ACT in the process of choosing a freshman class. The outcome is likely to reverberate nationwide because of the size and prestige of the UC system, which has undergraduate campuses in Berkeley, Los Angeles and seven other locations in the Golden State. In recent weeks, many public and private colleges have joined a movement to halt or end testing requirements. Some were spurred by the education crisis created by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Others said test scores were not as useful as grades and transcripts in rating applicants." "Under test-optional procedures, applicants can submit a score if they think it will help them. Napolitano also urged a more sweeping mandate to omit the SAT and ACT entirely from admission decisions in 2023 and 2024 for any student who attends a public or private high school in California. The language of the memo appears to indicate that this two-year “test blind” proposal would not apply to out-of-state applicants." "Napolitano also urged the board to jettison UC’s requirement for applicants to take a version of the admission tests that includes an essay exam. Most competitive schools have already dropped that mandate. The optional essay, which was introduced years ago with vocal support from UC, is a major chore for students who take either test. But it appears to be falling out of favor."

That's Boss: Bruce to Address BC Frosh

Boston.com: Bruce Springsteen "is slated to address Boston College’s Class of 2024 during the institution’s annual “First Year Academic Convocation” in Conte Forum. The event has been a formative experience for students at the college since its inception in 2004, giving an opportunity for freshmen to hear from award-winning authors as they begin their undergraduate years ... First-year students will receive an e-copy of Springsteen’s memoir this summer and “a reflection guide that will help them to examine the themes raised in Born to Run — family dynamics, personal relationships, addressing adversity, and setting and fulfilling aspirations – and how they might intersect with their own lives,” college officials said." "Though the convocation marks Springsteen’s first and only official visit to the school, he is no stranger to the college. Evan Springsteen, his son with wife Patti Scialfa, is a 2012 Boston College graduate, and the couple has been active in helping the school provide undergraduate scholarships in past years. Most recently, in November, the music icon played a set in Asbury Park, New Jersey to benefit financial aid services at the esteemed institution." First Year Experience Director Ali Bane comments: “For the Class of 2024, Born to Run is a wonderful introduction to the lifelong process of discernment that is so central to the philosophy of student formation at Boston College. Springsteen’s memoir includes countless examples of him paying close attention to his life experiences, reflecting upon their meaning, and living in a way that translates this meaning into action to create a better world."

Update on Emergency Financial Aid

US News: "For students across the country still waiting on emergency financial aid grants, the delay may be a result of colleges waiting on the funds to arrive or still formulating a process for determining each student's eligibility, need and award amount. Kim Cook, executive director of the National College Attainment Network, says many schools still don't have a policy for how to distribute the money, noting that as of late April, only about half of the eligible colleges and universities had started the application process to receive the federal funds." "Many colleges are prioritizing students who have already completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. For those who have not already filed a FAFSA and need emergency financial aid, colleges may require students to file the form to ensure they are eligible ... Iowa State University, for example, notes on its website that students must have filed the 2019-2020 FAFSA to be eligible for the emergency federal aid, and that those who have not done so may file it by June 28 to gain eligibility." "Colleges can approach the distribution of emergency funds either by pre-identifying students who are eligible without any action on the part of students, or by asking that students submit requests or applications for the funds ... Some colleges will give a set amount to each eligible student based on the number of credits he or she is taking or based on family income, while others will review each student's expenses and provide a commensurate amount, experts say ... Thus far, colleges are distributing money via direct deposit when possible, or check when necessary."