Shellee Howard, founder of College Ready, shares how COVID-19 is affecting college admissions and testing. SAT, ACT, and AP exams are moving online, and seniors are still getting acceptances and deferrals. An upcoming webinar will cover testing timelines and practical guidance for students during the pandemic.
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Hello, my name is Shellee Howard and I am the founder of College Ready. I want to thank you for taking this time to look into what's going on in the world of admissions. I, like you, am faced with decisions every single day. I'm a mother of 4, a small business owner, and I live in California. There are a lot to consider, but I want to take a moment to share with you College admission is not stopping. We may want to get caught up in the media. We may want to get caught up in the fear and the unknown. I'm here to tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel. And if we don't realize it right now and take advantage, we will be left behind. I want to tell you a little bit about what's going on personally with me and my family. I have a son who is a third-year medical student, and he was just compromised because he was in a medical school class where the professor didn't know they had the virus, and now they're self-quarantined. But they are still having to take their tests sitting 6 feet apart. They're not stopping, nor is the rest of the college admissions process. My daughter, on the other hand, she's at CBU. They've called off all classes in person, but they are moving forward online. She has a job at Loma Linda University here in California, and tonight and tomorrow she will be on the front line helping little children who may be fighting the virus. So I'm with you. My heart aches. I do have concern. I do realize that this is a time we just want to draw back and hold close to our family. I'm with you on that. But I also know our kids are looking to us. And it's important for us to model not to shut down, try to be as optimistic, try to stay in a routine, try to lead the family into the future, because ultimately this will end. And ultimately, we will have to pick up where we left off. So I'm going to be having a webinar. In this webinar, not only am I going to address the zillions of questions that I get every day about how this will affect standardized testing— what happens? Uh, will I be able to take the SAT, the ACT, the Subject Twos? I just announced today on Facebook that yes, The APs will happen online. Super important that you stay in the know. You don't want to just assume nothing's happening, because in the world of college, we are moving forward fast. I love this time of year, usually my favorite time of year, because we're getting acceptances. Every day students are texting me, "I just got in! Thank you so much!" And it feels like I have been accepted to so many colleges all over the United States. And actually globally. So just know we are still moving forward. The seniors are still getting acceptances. They're getting waitlisted. They're getting deferrals. Everything in their world is still moving forward. They may not have a prom. They may not have a last, last softball game. But in their world, they will be leaving for college in the fall. So stay tuned. Stay stay with me and get informed. What can you be doing? If you wanna follow us on Facebook, we have a Facebook group, College Ready Debt Free. If you wanna follow our page, it's College Ready Plan. Every day I keep posting. If you'd like to join our email list, that's where I'm going to be sending out the great information about this webinar. So on Thursday of this upcoming week, We will be talking about not only the state of affairs, where we are with college admissions and testing and all of that wonderful news, but more importantly, what can you do right now? What can you do with your students right now? Can you teach them life skills like cooking, changing a tire? I just posted over 100 passion projects you can do from home without touching anybody. I am here for you. I am positive that this will be over soon, and we don't wanna be left behind. So please join us. Families welcome, friends welcome. This is out to our entire Community, and I look forward to seeing you there. Thank you.
