How to Address COVID's Impact on Your High School Record in College Applications
By Admissions Narrative · · MIT Alumni Admissions Interviewer
Key Takeaways
Address COVID impact briefly and factually — not melodramatically — if it genuinely affected your record
Focus on what you did during that time, not only on what was taken away
Grade drops during 2020–2022 coinciding with documented school closures are viewed with genuine context
Don't use COVID as a universal excuse — admissions officers have read thousands of these
The Additional Information section is the right place for a brief, factual explanation if warranted
Address COVID's impact in the Additional Information section briefly and factually if it genuinely affected your record — grade changes during school closures, lost activity opportunities, or significant family hardship. Focus more on what you did during that time than on what was taken from you. Avoid making COVID a universal excuse for every limitation; admissions officers have read thousands of these explanations.
COVID-19 disrupted high school for millions of students in meaningfully different ways. Here is how to address that disruption effectively.
When to Address COVID Impact
Address it if it genuinely and specifically affected your record: grade changes directly coinciding with school closures or remote learning periods, loss of specific extracurricular opportunities that were cancelled and never resumed, documented family hardship (job loss, illness, caregiving obligations) during the pandemic, or significant educational disruption. Don't address it if your grades were stable and activities continued reasonably well.
How to Address It Effectively
Keep it brief and factual — 2–4 sentences in Additional Information. Framework: describe the specific impact specifically, acknowledge it as a contributor to your record, and show what happened afterward — evidence the disruption was temporary. Example: 'During spring 2020, [specific thing happened]. This contributed to the grade dip visible in my sophomore record. Since [date when circumstances stabilized], my academic performance has [describe recovery].'
What to Avoid
Vague references ('the pandemic affected my junior year') that apply to everyone. Melodrama focused primarily on suffering without forward momentum. Using COVID to explain every weakness without specificity — admissions officers recognize when it's being deployed as a blanket excuse versus when it genuinely explains a specific outcome.
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Do colleges still consider COVID impact in 2025–2026 applications?
The 2025–2026 applicants were freshmen during 2021–22, when many schools had returned to some form of in-person learning. COVID's acute disruption was most severe for older current applicants. That said, if specific circumstances genuinely affected your early high school years, brief and factual explanation remains appropriate.