For many reasons, 2020 was unlike any other year, and the admissions season did not escape the effects of COVID-19. More than 600 schools went test optional (the SAT or ACT was no longer required for admission), and students applied to a record number of schools. According to “The Future of College Admissions: What Changes from This Year Will Stick?” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Application volume rose by 10 percent, according to the Common Application, although the number of unique applications didn’t. . . . UCLA received more than 160,000 applications, a jump of 25 percent over last year . . . Harvard, 42 percent.” It wasn’t underrepresented or first-generation students accounting for the jump. Students who normally would have shied away from applying to many reach schools thought that there was less risk without standardized test scores in the mix and applied to more schools than they would have otherwise. It’s too soon to tell if this trend will continue, but what is clear is that with test scores out, admissions committees are going to be considering the other parts of the application carefully. So there is even more reason to focus on your essays and use them to make yourself stand out.