PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — This year, colleges and universities had a record number of applications from a broader pool of students.
Many selective colleges have admitted more racially and economically diverse first-year classes this year.
"I think because for a lot of students, testing was out of the picture, it really did force some, in fact, highly selective colleges to look differently at the application and to value things differently," said Sara Harberson, author of "Soundbite: The Admissions Secret That Gets You Into College and Beyond."
Rather than requiring a high SAT or ACT score, straight As in the most challenging classes and school leadership roles, Harberson said the pandemic caused a shift where colleges are looking at the whole person behind the application.
Another reason for the changes, Harberson said, was the college admissions scandal that saw high-profile parents — including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman — jailed for using their wealth to falsify student records and bribe admissions officials.
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"The student who is committed to their family and doing a lot of chores, and they have a lot of responsibilities for their families," she explained. "Sometimes that's being valued for the first time."
She added, "Especially from the admissions scandal we’ve learned, going to a certain high school, having well-connected parents, having a lot of wealth and privilege sometimes can actually work against you in the college admissions process."
The increase in applicants also meant an increase in rejections. Many schools also had thousands of students waitlisted leaving those high school seniors in limbo.