A Look Into The 2020 College Process

Mr. Ramstetter in front of alumni board.

Photo by Preston Kells

During the pandemic, a lot of 2020 seniors had no clue that their college prep would change drastically. The college process has been the same for so long yet due to COVID-19 that has all changed. After our return to school it is now time for the Class of 2021, your current Moeller seniors, to start this process, and since our return it has been a frenzy. With everyone flocking to virtual meetings and or physical college visits, it is certainly that time of year.

I sat down with Mr. Ramstetter, Eveslage House Counselor, to discuss some of the biggest questions surrounding the college process this year and for the coming classes.

Mr. Ramstetter went on to speak for several minutes on the things COVID has affected and what some of the big ones are. Mr. Ramstetter believes the COVID was beneficial to the college process, “Has affected the process in many ways and most are positive.”

This is because thanks to virtual visits and virtual college sessions, more students from around the country are gaining access to view colleges at a rate that they never could before.

Mr. Ramstetter assured that students aren’t losing any progress in their collegiate search as a result, “We met with all juniors last year during COVID, so most students are right where they should be compared to previous years.” This is due to the fact colleges have made it so easy to get in contact with them from anywhere. He said since COVID started, colleges have been forced in a sense to reform a lot of their technologies they use and that has allowed for remote visits to increase 10-fold. He has also said however that that this is a kind of double-edged sword, as students are getting to see more colleges, but without as many personal visits that show you the full campus and everything they have to offer. “The virtual visits just don’t have that same personal involvement that I believe a lot of students will benefit from with the in person visits,” said Ramstetter.

Collegiate map of America

Ever since we returned to school many rumors about the ACT and college essays were started. They range vastly from, “I heard we don’t need them at all” to “I heard we are going to have to write two essays” and so on. Prior to ending my interview with Mr. Ramstetter he said that you should most likely still need to try and get as high of an ACT score as possible, but yes, that colleges were stripping some ACT and essay requirements from the application process, and they are now optional. However, he also said it would never hurt to show them a high ACT score and a well written essay. Some colleges are still requiring them, however those schools do not make up a majority.

When asked about how should someone with minimal knowledge on college prep go about their applications, he said to do virtual visits to narrow down the selection and on campus trips for the schools you become more interested in. This concluded our interview, we bumped elbows and I returned to class, this left me with a better understanding of what my process would look like and how it will change in the coming months.