Class of 2025 Acceptances

This has been the biggest year in We Go To College's history. Between volunteering, contract work, and private clients, I worked with almost 20 students (and a School Counselor) after school and on the weekends. When I first envisioned We Go To College's mission while living in St. Louis, I had the goal of focusing on serving students who looked like me and were growing up in conditions similar to what I endured. I've worked with some amazing students over the years through the company, but this is the first year I felt that the mission was being fully realized: "We Go To College, LLC's purpose is to equip historically disadvantaged college-aspiring students and communities with the college access knowledge to create sustainable pathways toward upward mobility and disrupt the college admissions landscape."

The mission started to come together when I began working with Upward Bound Programs in St. Louis. The work expanded on a grander scale when I got the opportunity to help Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC design their college access program. This year, I was honored to work with a public high school in the South Bronx called Longwood Preparatory Academy. Years ago, I worked full-time for a community-based organization where I was stationed at Longwood. I have always loved the school's community and leadership and wanted to work with them again. This year, I provided the School Counselor with tools her students could use, guidance on writing recommendations, financial aid, and submitting documents, including a School Profile I created for them. In addition, I got to work with some students at the top of the senior class. Here is the acceptance list and current scholarship total of those students:

While I grew up in Brooklyn's East New York, a perilous neighborhood where I hope to do some work someday, I have a special place in my heart for the South Bronx because there are students who want to rise above the poorest congressional district in the nation. Last year, I worked at a charter school in the area. Before I left, I had begun working with a few juniors at the top of the class. While I would've loved to continue working with all the students, I didn't have the time. After evaluating my capacity, I decided to keep working with two of those students (and advised another when he had questions or was looking for quick feedback). Here is their acceptance list and total scholarship amounts:

While my private client numbers are small (and hyperfocused on middle-income families of color and students who aren't "competitive" for "highly selective" college), the results this year were very fruitful:

Last year, I volunteered for College Essay Guy's Matchlighters Program and was matched with a Dominican girl from Florida who attends a large public school. I worked with her on the Questbridge application and she was successful:

Huge thanks to everyone who was involved with these efforts this year. I'm glad that at least three students will be able to graduate from a selective college debt-free, just as I did. A few others will graduate with debt far below the maximum Federal Student Loan amount of $27,000 after four years. While looking forward to whatever work I have in store next year, I can't wait to see where this year's South Bronx students end up. I know some of them are hoping to get off the waitlist at selective colleges that provide full financial need. I'm praying for them. Getting off the waitlist would give them the greatest chance to leave the Bronx alive and hopefully go back to improve it.

Test Optional is Key to Making Colleges Reflect America

Now that the COVID pandemic is "over" and a few selective colleges are reintroducing exam requirements, I wanted to write a new blog post about test-optional/free admissions.

Selective colleges returning to requiring exams under the guise of "diversity" efforts and "finding diamonds in the rough" is very disingenuous considering the white supremacist origins of the SAT that still has effects today:

The SAT isn't alone in racial disparities. The ACT isn't any better:

People would argue that a student's education plays a role in their success on exams. When we consider where schools are located, it's no secret that income plays a role in testing success, as shown by College Board with the SAT:

Students who live in wealthier zip codes are more likely to attend well-resourced public and private schools and have access to test prep and testing sites. Since College Board switched the SAT to a digital exam, students still struggle to find a sit for a Saturday administration. For example, there was only one test center site open in New York City a month out before the registration deadline for the October SAT, which is the last SAT seniors who are applying Early Decision/Action could take. I've seen countless stories from counselors talking about their students traveling GREAT distances to find a seat for the August SAT. I personally know a student who did that. The digital SAT has created a college access issue since low-income students are more likely not to have a computer, public schools are less likely to have reliable open wifi (I know this from personal experience), and can't afford to travel long distances to a testing site.

Simply put, Test Optional (or Free) is the way to go.

FairTest reports that over 90% of four-year colleges and universities are test-optional/free. Test-optional admissions have been around since 1969, starting with Bowdoin College. However, the sigma of testing as a measurement of a student's potential and success in college still promotes falsehood decades later.

Test-optional isn't a trick. Test-optional does not mean "less than." Before the virus outbreak, many excellent schools, like Trinity College, were test-optional. I was happy when my alma mater, Skidmore College, went test-optional in 2016. Now, more students like me have a better chance of a life-changing education.

Students need to understand that a test score on a single day doesn't define their ability and potential. I scored around 900 on the SAT. The Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) allowed me to attend Skidmore. I was third in my high school class and took half the APs at my under-resourced high school in Downtown Brooklyn. My SAT score didn't speak to my love of education. From the perspective of testing propaganda, I wouldn't have graduated from college on time because of my score, where I went to school, my neighborhood, and because I am first-generation.

Speaking of Skidmore, admissions told me that since the school made testing optional almost a decade ago, there have been no significant differences in success between test submitters and non-submitters.

Bates College has been test-optional for over 25 years. The school reported a .03 difference in GPA between test-submitters and non-submitters.

In 2022, Wake Forest cited a 0.13 difference in the first year to .03 by graduation.

In 2014, an extensive study on students at test-optional colleges comparing those who did and did not submit SAT or ACT scores found "virtually no difference in academic performance" between them. 

A 2018 study of 28 colleges cited a .10 to .18 difference and that nonsubmitters graduated at a higher rate.

As a college counselor who has worked in under-resourced schools, it always hurts to witness a bright student not given a chance to go away to college because of their test score. Testing robs these students of the opportunity to focus on school to become the best versions of themselves. It's time for this cycle to come to an end. I'm hopeful that colleges that have gone test-optional during the COVID pandemic will realize test scores prevented them from attaining a campus that genuinely reflects our world.

To the students worried about colleges that still require test scores for admissions and scholarships, you must question whether those colleges value you and your life experiences. Focus on researching colleges, writing your college essays, outside scholarships, especially the full-ride ones, and finishing your senior year strong. Destiny will also determine where you will be. Any college would be blessed to have you. As a student, put your health first. You are more significant than your test scores.

Founder Danny Tejada on NewsNation's "Morning in America with Hena Doba"

Our Founder, Danny Tejada, joins Canisius University's James Nowak to discuss the impact of FAFSA delays on college enrollment.