• Bethany Salter (A-G)
• Jessica Koltz (H-Q)
• Cathy McClintock (R-Z)

• To request an electronic copy of your transcript, please enter your request via Parchment.
• Click HERE for the School Profile.
• Many schools utilize The Common Application. To get started on your applications, please visit The Common Application First-Year Student Guide. Scroll on the page to view a short video that will give you step-by-step instructions on how to apply using The Common Application.
• Need help with the Common Application? Visit the application guide and video tutorials for step-by-step instructions. Students may also contact their Applicant Solutions Center at any time. They are available 24/7 to answer any questions.

• National SAT Test Dates can be found HERE
• SAT Prep Opportunities: 
• Free SAT Prep via Khan Academy/CollegeBoard
• Princeton Review
• Kaplan Test Prep (SAT)
• Huntington Learning Center: SAT Prep
• National ACT Dates can be found HERE
• ACT Prep Opportunities: 
• McGraw Hill ACT Prep
• Princeton Review
• ACT prep by ACT
• Kaplan Test Prep
• Huntington Learning Center: Premier ACT Prep
• Tutors Across America $149
• Enter Coupon Code: ACTPREPCAMP

With almost all Early Action and Early Decision applications in and Regular Decision deadlines not far off, the cycle for the Class of 2021 is in full swing. This admissions cycle will be unlike any before. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SAT^© and ACT^© test dates were entirely cancelled last spring, and students continue to have problems simply sitting for the test. Those cancellations have caused an unprecedented number of schools to adopt test-optional admissions policies.

The test-optional admissions concept is nothing new. Bowdoin College in Maine has been test-optional since 1969, and a growing test-optional movement has taken hold over the last two decades. Plenty of admissions officers have evaluated applications without test scores before 2020. There may even be admissions officers with long careers who have never worked in an environment where students were required to submit test scores.

Test-optional policies have been studied at length, to gauge how the admissions process plays out and how institutions' long-term goals are achieved. Roughly 75% of students applying to test-optional schools still submitted SAT or ACT scores with their application. Submitters also tended to have higher average test scores and a higher average GPA. Yet test-optional policies also achieved real objectives for schools who adopted them. Test-optional schools saw an increase in applications and enrollments from underrepresented minorities and first-generation college students. Most tellingly, the adoption of test-optional policies led to schools becoming more selective.

There is no guarantee those trends will hold this year. While dozens of selective schools were test-optional before this year, there are now hundreds. The schools that had been test-optional previously also tended to be smaller, private schools. Large, public universities had been the most reliant on test scores. Additionally, extremely selective schools were not test-optional, with the notable exception of the University of Chicago. In fact, UChicago’s adoption of a test-optional policy was remarked on for being unusual for a highly selective college.

Interestingly, extremely selective colleges might be able to shift to test-optional admissions more easily. Last year, Students for Fair Admission sued Harvard University and its Undergraduate Admission Office, alleging discrimination against Asian-American students. Their case failed in court, but it did allow for a public examination of Harvard’s admissions process. For the Class of 2019, Harvard aimed to admit about 2,000 students. Among its 35,000 applicants, Harvard had 2,700 students with a perfect SAT Verbal score, 3,400 with a perfect SAT Math score, and 8,000 with a perfect GPA. Obviously, Harvard was already unable to rely strictly on test scores to make admissions decisions.

The vast majority of schools do not have the luxury of selecting only from students with the highest test scores. Just 150 of the schools in our Best 386 Colleges have admission rates below 50%, and only 66 have rates below 25%. Most college admissions offices need as much data as possible to make decisions. Test optional admissions makes all other aspects of students' applications more important in the evaluation process.

This is exactly the point for many schools that do not require standardized test scores. Grades, essays, letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, and personal fit are what really show how a student will perform in college, these schools argue. That has worked quite well for plenty of colleges already. Now we will see how it will work for nearly every four-year institution. Come March, admission decisions will arrive and reveal how schools are handling their new test-optional process. Fortunately, there is no need to wait until March to figure out how test-optional admissions has worked.

• University of Nevada, Reno, December 4 at 3:30. Learn more about Housing and Admissions. Click HERE. Meeting ID: 838 5413 5032 and Passcode: 842966

• Summer Session, students take two full-length Carnegie Mellon courses in a variety of disciplines, ranging from Computer Science, History to Music Technology.
• Summer Academy for Math and Science, provides students from underrepresented communities the opportunity to achieve skills to pursue and complete majors in STEM fields.
• Computer Science Scholars, provides students who are from traditionally underrepresented communities in the field of computer science an opportunity to receive exposure to computing and additional computer science pre-requisites. 
• AI4All @ Carnegie Mellon, provides opportunities for students from underrepresented communities to study artificial intelligence with full-time faculty, staff and researchers who are leaders in the field.
• National High School Game Academy, for students who want to learn about modern video game development through a unique blend of left- and right-brain college-level work.
• Computational Biology, a three-week program for students looking to learn more about the intersection of the two disciplines.
• Unique programs in the Fine Arts - Architecture, Art, Design, Drama, or Music – in which the students experience developing their skills in a conservatory or studio setting.
• Writing & Culture, guided by the mentorship and instruction of our highly distinguished, permanent faculty members, students will improve their ability to analyze complex, ever-changing problems through astute investigations of culture and society.

• Trustee Scholarship: Boston University's most prestigious full-tuition scholarship recognizes extraordinary academic performance and leadership ability. Students must submit one additional essay with their application for admission.

• Presidential Scholarship: This four-year, $25,000 scholarship is awarded to students with exceptional academic achievements. No additional application materials are required—all students need to do to be considered is apply for admission by the scholarship deadline.

• TMCC’s Nevada Promise Scholarship application is now available
• The Nevada Promise Scholarship provides students a last-dollar scholarship to cover registration and mandatory fees not covered by gift aid. Please visit our website for more information. 
• The Nevada Promise Checklist provides detailed information about each required step to earn a Nevada Promise Scholarship. 

• Nevada Promise Application Tutorial 
• We are virtually available to help! Please share this application tutorial with students to assist them in applying to the Nevada Promise Scholarship.

• Nevada Promise Program Training is now available 
• Students have two virtual options to complete their mandatory training. 
• Training Option #1: Students can register to attend one of our virtual webinars.
• Training Option #2: Students with TMCC usernames/passwords can login to their TMCC Canvas account and complete the self paced online training. A username and password is provided to students 3-5 business days after they complete a TMCC Admission Application.

• Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships 
• Provider: Stop Hunger Foundation
• Amount: $5,000
• # of winners: 25
• Rockefeller Foundation Food System Vision Prize 
• Provider: The Rockefeller Foundation
• Amount: $200,000
• # of winners: 10
• Make the U / Haz La U Hispanic Scholarship Fund 
• Provider: The Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Colgate-Palmolive
• Amount: $1,000
• # of winners: 100
• Burger King James W. McLamore Whopper Scholarship Award 
• Provider: BURGER KING℠ McLamore Foundation
• Amount: $50,000
• # of winners: 18
• AQHF Youth Scholarship 
• Provider: American Quarter Horse Foundation
• Amount: $50,000
• # of winners: Varies
• Dell Scholars Program 
• Provider: Equitable
• Amount: $20,000
• # of winners: 500
• Teen Changemakers Essay Contest 
• Provider: International Bipolar Foundation
• Amount: $1,000
• # of winners: 3
• Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards 
• Provider: Hispanic Heritage Foundation
• Amount: $3,500
• # of winners: Varies
• The NHS Scholarship 
• Provider: National Honor Society
• Amount: $25,000
• # of winners: 600
• Be The Change Minority Nursing Scholarship (2020) 
• Provider: Family & Friends of Lauren Douglass
• Amount: $1,000
• # of winners: 5
• Mola Foods Culinary Scholarship (2020)
• Provider: Mola Foods, Inc
• Amount: $500
• # of winners: 1
• Bryan Cameron Education Foundation Scholarship
• Provider: Bryan Cameron Education Foundation
• Amount: $50,000
• # of winners: 15
• The Gates Scholarship
• Provider: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Amount: Varies
• # of winners: 300
• Cameron Impact Scholarship
• Provider: Bryce Cameron Education Foundation
• Amount: Varies
• # of winners: Varies
• Ayn Rand "Atlas Shrugged" Essay Contest
• Provider: The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI)
• Amount: $25,000
• # of winners: 59
• Nicholas Braswell Strong Roots Scholarship
• Provider: Richmond Defense Group
• Amount: $500
• # of winners: Varies
• Out-of-the-Box Thinking Scholarship
• Provider: Automated Pet Care Products
• Amount: $1,250
• # of winners: 3
• Cirilo McSween Scholarship
• Provider: PUSH Excel
• Amount: $5,000
• # of winners: Varies
• Environmental Awareness Scholarship Essay
• Provider: ReuseThisBag
• Amount: $1,000
• # of winners: 2
• Beldon Scholarship
• Provider: Beldon
• Amount: $1,000
• # of winners: 2

• Haz La U Program
• Provider: The Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Colgate-Palmolive
• Amount: Varies
• # of winners: Varies

• Horatio Alger National Scholarship
• Provider: The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc.
• Amount: $25,000
• # of winners: 106

• Horatio Alger State Scholarships
• Provider: The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc.
• Amount: $10,000
• # of winners: Varies

• Horatio Alger Career & Technical Scholarships
• Provider: The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc.
• Amount: $2,500
• # of winners: 1020

• The Cooke College Scholarship Program
• Provider: The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
• Amount: $40,000
• # of winners: 150

• Save a Life Scholarship (2020)
• Provider: American Academy of CPR & First Aid, Inc.
• Amount: $1,500
• # of winners: 1

• YoungArts' National Arts Competition
• Provider: National YoungArts Foundation
• Amount: $10,000
• # of winners: Varies

• All American $1000 Car Review/Essay Scholarship
• Provider: CarHP
• Amount: $1,000
• # of winners: 1

• Montem Health and Wellness Scholarship
• Provider: Montem Outdoor Gear
• Amount: $1,500
• # of winners: Varies

• Don't Text and Drive Scholarship
• Provider: Digital Responsibility
• Amount $1,000
• # of winners: 1