Cast of Characters
- James Miller: Director of Admission, Seattle University
- Kim Thomas: Equity facilitator, freelance college admissions consultant (First of Her Name)
- Carinna Lee Tarvin: AP World History Teacher, Lincoln High School
The Covid-19 outbreak has impacted us all. In the US, at least 89,932 people (as of 5/18) have lost their lives. Millions of people are out of work. Teachers across the nation are working with cobbled together online systems with varied (at best) results.
But one population who we don’t hear much about are high school seniors. For many members of the Class of 2020, school closed right in the midst of their planning for next year. Imagine facing this dilemma: you worked hard for 13 years, got into your dream school, and now you don’t even know if the school is going to be open in the fall. Now, imagine navigating that as a low-income student with limited access to your school counselors, mentors, and advisers.
In addition, millions of other students are currently being dealt a brutal hand by the College Board, the multi-million dollar not-for-private that administers AP Exams, the SAT, and the PSAT, who has decided to administer this year’s high-stakes AP exams online.
Questions We Tackle:
- University tuition is expensive, is it worth paying full price for your dream school if you’re likely to be online? Are you better or going to a community college?
- Is it possible to have an equitable online standardized test during a pandemic (spoiler: hell no, it’s not).
It’s a rough time to be a high school senior and this episode is for them and the people that love them.
The Socials
Coming Up
- Next Nerd Farm Reads: Know My Name by Chanel Miller
- Watch: How to Fix a Drug Scandal
Going Further
- Open Letter to the College Board in the Washington Post (Nate is a signatory)
- Kaleigh Brendle, the visually impaired student who challenged the College Board on equity grounds
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