Twelve months ago, as the pandemic took hold around the world, students were graduating from high school into an uncertain situation. For many, the pandemic changed the world from what they had expected and for those preparing to start their university years, rather than leaving home and starting a new life abroad it has meant a year of online classes and spending hours in bedrooms at home. As a new cohort of students prepare to graduate, what will the new academic year bring?

At the start of January this year I wrote a piece for this blog where I looked at what had happened in the early round of college applications for the class of 2025. Since the start of April colleges have been releasing statistical information for the whole application round, including the numbers of applications they have received and the all important admit rate. From this information, we are able to gain a better understanding of what has turned out to be a truly unique year.