The University of California System (“UC”) announced that they reached a settlement with applicants and enrolled students to drop the SAT or ACT from the application review process for Fall 2021 and beyond.

This all-or-nothing perspective on the college admissions process has spurred individuals to take extreme measures in the pursuit of getting into brand-name colleges.

Many students are keenly aware that participating in extracurricular activities such as internships, community service, and school clubs are great ways to build their academic resume in preparation for college, but part-time work is sometimes passed over as an interruption from the business of earning admission to a selective school.

There are several ways that an applicant can convey their value to the university community outside of cut-and-dry grading or scoring data, and letters of recommendation from teachers are an excellent measure to highlight a student’s strengths through what colleges consider an objective assessment of the applicant.