Washington International School
3100 Macomb St. NW Washington, DC 20008
June 9, 2021
www.wisdateline.org Left: WIS Class of 2021 College Locations. Right: Intended Majors.
6%
Other
13% Undecided
28% 21%
Economics/ Business
Social Sciences
32% STEM
GRAPHICS BY MAIA NEHME; DATA COURTESY OF @WISCLASSOF2021
Barnard College, Boston College, Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Colby College, College of William & Mary, Colorado College, Columbia-Sciences Po, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dickinson College, Gap Year Travellers, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Hamilton College, Harvard University, Haverford College, Instituto de Empresa University, la Salle Ramon Llull University, Lewis & Clark College, Massachuasetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Occidental College
AND THEY’RE OFF! The Class of 2021 heads to college after an unprecedented senior year
Pitzer College, Pomona College, Rice University, Sewanee University, Spelman College, Stanford University, Tufts University, University of British Columbia, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Chicago, University of Maryland, University of Miami, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania, University of Toronto, University of Vermont, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, Wellesley College, Yale University
The pandemic process: The Class of 2021 reflects on college applications
T
By MAIA NEHME, 2023
he college application process has indisputably become far more difficult over the last few decades, according to the Atlantic. However, current WIS seniors faced an especially tough year due to the pandemic, which led to a record high number of applications and an increased fixation on the college application process, according to the Wall Street Journal. Three WIS seniors attending schools in the US, Canada, or taking a gap year, reflect on their unique college process and what they have learned from it. Hank Harris plans to take a gap year. Harris will return to his hometown of
Queanbeyan, Australia and work for the remainder of 2021. He will then apply to study Acting and Performance Art at an Australian university starting in 2022. Despite choosing to take a gap year, Harris applied to three American colleges in order to learn about the application process for acting. “I applied here to simulate what the experience would be like in Australia and to have experience filming self auditions so that I could hit the ground running,” he said. Because of the pandemic, the normally in-person auditions and performances took place over Zoom. This added a layer of confusion to an already highly stressful process. “It’s not the ideal circumstance under which to apply for a performance course,” Harris said. Clementine Rotsaert applied to 11 colleges in the UK, US, and Canada. Rotsaert will study Human Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Toronto and hopes to attend medical school after graduating. Rotsaert pointed out another stressor brought about by COVID-19: the test-optional policy adopted by the majority of US colleges. According to US News, most American universities made submitting standardized test scores optional since many students’ exams were canceled due to the pandemic. “You’re like, ‘great, I can apply to all these schools… I don’t have this barrier [of
inside look
The race for the vaccine: Immunity versus morality? Students debate the ethics of early COVID-19 vaccination special report page 6
A tribute to Ana Andura Students and faculty reflect on the beloved Spanish teacher’s impact on WIS
tribute page 2
“I think that a lot of people have felt ashamed by their schools this year because of the fact that we have a WIS Class of 2021 Instagram. But people need to keep in mind that [even if] your school doesn’t ‘look good’ on the Instagram, you’re still going to do amazing things,” Rotsaert said. “Passion is better than [college] rankings when it comes to succeeding in whatever you want to do in your life.”
WIS News Global News Features Arts Opinion Sports Food Back Page Special Report
© 2021 International Dateline
@wisdateline @wisdateline
online content
The Myanmar Coup, through the eyes of my aunt A firsthand account from a branded traitor global news page 4
having to earn high test scores] in the way anymore.’ But that made it so much more competitive because of the [increased] number of applicants that top schools got,” she said. Kanitta Cheah applied to seven American universities as a film major. She will attend Colorado College in the fall to study Film and Media Studies. Cheah noticed that the pandemic exacerbated her stress, which meant she spent less time learning about the college application process. “Going through it was stressful just because I didn’t know what was going on most of the time, so I had to rely on my college counselor a lot more,” she said. Another challenge that the Class of 2021 faced due to the pandemic was not being able to visit any universities. This made it much more difficult for Rotsaert to choose her future school once she received all of her application results. “The ultimate decision making was very hard because I’d never been to half of the places that I applied to… It’s scary thinking that you’re going to move to a place that you have no idea about,” she said. The three hope that despite these many obstacles, fellow students feel positively about their overall application experience and are proud of the schools they will be attending next year.