Axios PM: COVID's college nail-biter

Plus: Top evangelical leader leaves Southern Baptist church | Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Comcast   Axios PM By Mike Allen ·Mar 10, 2021 Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 436 words, a 2-minute read.     1 big thing: COVID's elite admissions boom Harvard students enjoy the summer of 2020 in Cambridge. Photo: Anik Rahman via Getty Images   COVID-19 is creating a "nail-biter" for admissions officers at elite colleges, while their less prestigious cousins face a plunge in interest. The big picture: "The wait lists are going to be obnoxious this year," Georgia Tech's Rick Clark told The Wall Street Journal. "I think it will be a nail-biter," said NYU's MJ Knoll-Finn. By the numbers: High-performing students are taking advantage of relaxed admissions rules to apply to more schools. "Applications submitted via the Common App, which is used by more than 900 schools, rose by 11% nationwide through March 1." "But the number of applicants increased by just 2.4%, meaning nearly the same number of students are casting a wider net." At the same time, admissions officers face unprecedented uncertainties. International students may be slow to return to U.S. campuses, vaccine or not. Many schools have yet to confirm whether they'll have in-person classes in the fall. Between the lines: Some elite schools that suspended standardized testing requirements got big bumps in non-white applicants, the N.Y. Times reports. Cal-Berkeley "received 38 percent more applications from Black, Latino and Native American hopefuls than in 2019." NYU "saw 22 percent more applications from both Black and Latino students." The bottom line: The vast majority of college students don't go to selective schools, and the universities they attend are suffering badly during the pandemic.     2. 🎧 Adam Silver's 11th-hour choice Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photo: Franck Fife/Getty Images   NBA commissioner Adam Silver said his decision to suspend all NBA games in March of 2020 came without input from the board, the benefit of guidance from major health organizations, or public understanding of the coronavirus. Why it matters: Silver told Dan Primack on Axios Re:Cap that he remembers staring down the barrel of an 11th-hour choice — made well before the dire reality of the pandemic had taken root — that would impact the livelihoods of 55,000 people and millions of fans around the world. Axios is looking back at the week of March 9, 2020 — the week high-profile leaders were forced to make consequential choices that upended our lives and society. Subscribe to Axios Re:Cap here.     A message from Comcast Connecting over four million students to the internet     COVID-19 has highlighted the need for digital equity and Internet adoption programs. Since 2011, Comcast's Internet Essentials program has connected over four million students from low income families to low-cost, high speed internet, so students can be ready for anything. Learn more.     3. Catch up quick Speaker Pelosi gives a thumbs-up ahead of final passage of the COVID stimulus bill. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters   The House passed the $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill. (Go deeper on what's in the bill.) The Senate confirmed Merrick Garland to run the Justice Department and Marcia Fudge to lead Housing and Urban Development. New research: Energy-intensive indoor marijuana growth has become a sizable source of greenhouse gas emissions. Go deeper. Author, speaker and Bible teacher Beth Moore said she is "no longer a Southern Baptist" over her "staggering" disorientation from seeing her denomination's leaders support former President Trump, she told Religion News Service.     4. 1 smile to go: Win for press freedom Photo: Kelsey Kremer/Des Moines Register   Press freedom advocates are celebrating a decision by jurors in Iowa to acquit Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri of all charges that she incurred while covering a Black Lives Matter protest last May. Why it matters: The verdict sets a critical precedent for journalists covering protests and political movements moving forward, Axios media trends expert Sara Fischer and Axios Des Moines reporters Linh Ta and Jason Clayworth report.     A message from Comcast Connecting over four million students to the internet     COVID-19 has highlighted the need for digital equity and Internet adoption programs. Since 2011, Comcast's Internet Essentials program has connected over four million students from low income families to low-cost, high speed internet, so students can be ready for anything. Learn more.     Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: