Many universities are checking in to give guidance to students and families regarding plans for on-campus instruction in the fall of 2020. Because of the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak, nearly all American colleges and universities are currently delivering academics via virtual classes. Almost 99% of current American college students have returned to their homes and college campuses are mostly empty.

Of those who have reported, the majority have indicated that they are committed to delivering on-campus face-to-face instruction in the fall or have not yet committed, but are planning to do so. Top-choice universities like Harvard, the Claremont Colleges, Haveford, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have announced that they are committed to holding classes in person this fall. Among Texas colleges and universities, no commitments have been communicated as of yet (April 28, 2020). The University of Texas at Austin is expecting to announce fall 2020 plans at the end of June.

Be sure to watch this page for more updates as decisions are made. For selected universities, current status is available here.

Do you think that a computer science degree is a ticket to future financial and career security? You might want to watch the video below from @garyvee to hear some reasons why your thinking may be incorrect. This video contains salty language, you have been forewarned.

Gary explains that the high level of historical financial returns for computer science majors flows from the shortage of capable computer programmers in a past era. Now that record numbers of students are majoring in computer science worldwide, the financial returns to computer science will drop. The scarcity is gone and the supply of computer scientists and programmers is greater than the demand. Looking forward, Gary suggests that unless your focus is on a cutting edge area of technology with room for exponential growth, like 3D or virtual reality, today’s computer science students will be disappointed by their salaries in the long-term. Gary believes that programming and computer science skills have been commodified and will drop in value going forward.

Would love your 3min 8sec on this subject – and please leave your 2 cents #my2cents pic.twitter.com/r7mSLmsGOU

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) October 6, 2018

Do we at Shumsky Center agree? I think Gary brings a perspective that is absent from the minds of many parents and students. There are very few golden tickets that guarantee financial success and career stability. For the last several decades, computer science majors have earned very good salaries in the U.S. For example, estimates from Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute survey of the college class of 2017 show computer science majors with an average starting salary of around $58,000. Top earning graduates with computer science degrees from the college class of 2017 earned as much as $130,000. The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) Winter 2017 Salary Survey showed even better results for recent computer science graduates. NACE’s survey showed recent college graduates with computer science degrees earn an average starting salary of $65,500. Looking forward, there is reason to expect the financial return to drop as the field is flooded by new entrants. What are your thoughts?

1. Best Grades Ever: Every kid in America will hear from Mom and Dad about the need to do well in 11^th Take it from me, you need to come ready to play every day. Push your grades in 11^th grade to the best they’ve ever been.  That’s what admissions folks at top 150 colleges expect. If you need help, ask teachers for tutorials before or after school.  Get a tutor if you’re in danger of a C grade or lower.

 

2. Take Tough Courses, Especially in Areas of Interest: You do not need to take the entire AP curriculum, but you would be wise to challenge yourself with a tough, but not overwhelming set of courses.  Interested in STEM? Take that AP Physics or Calc offering.  Future social scientist? Push yourself with AP English and AP US History. Love Languages? Spanish IV, Chinese Honors, or IB French is a must.

 

3. Distinguish Yourself: Break from the pack of tens of thousands of applicants that all have good grades, SAT scores, and overstuffed resumes. Get started on a passion project now.  Write that independent study paper on the performance of small cap stocks in the 2008-2018 period.  Apply to be a research assistant at the local university Bio lab.  Plan a service trip to Tanzania with your classmates. Write and record the solo album for sax. Do what you love!

 

4. Take Time for Quiet Reflection on What’s Important to You: You’re going to be busy with school, activities, and SAT/ACTs. Mom, Dad, classmates, and school folks will keep the pressure up. But, you must remember that mental health is critical to your success.  Take some time to unwind, let down, and to appreciate what you have.  Think for a few minutes about your future plans and your dream career.  It’s your life, what do you want in it?!

 

5. Prep for SAT/ACT/Subject Tests: You want to be done with standardized testing by June of 11^th You probably need to take the standardized tests at least twice to hit your target score. Be cautious and plan that you’ll need three attempts to reach your desired score.  So, you probably need to take your first test this winter and will want to start prepping by mid-October.

 

6. Plan Your Summer Now: Summer before 12^th grade should be used productively towards your interests.  What would you like to spend 100 hours on this summer? A college course? Soccer skills? Travel, service, research? Don’t wait until spring; start planning now before the school year gets too crazy.

Essays are a critical element of the college application. If your son or daughter doesn’t catch the eye of admissions readers with an interesting essay, then their chance of acceptance plummets. Want to know the essay topics for 2018-2019 applications?  Look below.

All Topics Are Preliminary and Subject to Change

National Common App Topic Choices

The essay length will continue to be capped at 650 words.

2018-2019 Common Application Essay Prompts

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

UT-Austin Uses Apply Texas application with these requirements:

Required Essay Topic (for all applicants)

Essay Topic A

What was the environment in which you were raised? Describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person.

 
Short Answers (250 – 300 words each, all required)

• If you could have any career, what would it be? Why? Describe any activities you are involved in, life experiences you’ve had, or even classes you’ve taken that have helped you identify this professional path.
• Do you believe your academic record (transcript information and test scores) provide an accurate representation of you as a student? Why or why not?
• How do you show leadership in your life? How do you see yourself being a leader at UT Austin?

Art and Art History Majors Must Also Submit this Short Answer Question:

Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

Texas A&M Uses Apply Texas Application With These Requirements:

Essay A (Required)

What was the environment in which you were raised? Describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person.

Applicants to the College of Engineering Only!! Describe your academic and career goals in the broad field of engineering. What and/or who has influenced you either inside or outside the classroom that contributed to these goals?

University of California System Application (UCLA, UC-Berkeley, UC-San Diego, UC-Santa Barbara, etc.)

Instead of a personal statement essay, applicants will be asked to complete “personal insight questions.” Freshman applicants must respond to four of the eight questions, with each response at 350 words or less.

• Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.
• Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
• What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
• Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
• Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
• Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.
• What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
• What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?

Is your child ready for application season?

11th grade closes soon and college application season looms on the near horizon.  Your family will be making extremely important decisions over the next year and the best decisions are made when families are well-prepared.  Please do not join the ranks of stressed, rushed, and misguided families and students who create hasty college applications and are thus disappointed at college acceptance time.  Ask your son or daughter about the following and make an honest judgment about his or her college plans.  Is he or she prepared and on-schedule?

Has your son or daughter completed the following?

• Identified the final list of 6-10 colleges to apply to, with a minimum of two schools where the student is very likely to be admitted and two more where the student is in the median of who was accepted last year?
• Acquired the target score on the SAT or ACT?
• Received acknowledgments from a minimum of two teachers from core academic subjects regarding recommendation letters?
• Completed a final resume draft?
• Clarified the topics of main application essays which summarize the student’s key traits, experiences, and perspectives and catch the eye of admissions staff?
• Established Plans A, B, and C for prospective college majors and study paths?
• Planned summer activities which will stand out on the student’s application and increase the student’s chances of acceptance?
• Made visits and interview appointments with all colleges he or she will apply to?

If your child has not completed the above steps, then your child is not ready and needs immediate assistance.