@AlwaysMoving lol well, that’s what S19 did even before Covid but I get your point. Will students be able to make decisions before ED deadline less often than usual? I’m guessing yes. But, on the flip side, ED might be even more useful in terms of being admitted. Those who visited schools before Covid would have an advantage on trying to decide early. ED deadlines are mostly 11/1 so there might be a chance to visit schools this fall and see how things are going before then. Of course waiting until April would give the best chance to evaluate like it usually does.
We aren’t sure what’s happening here yet. Need to see how schools are welcoming prospective students in the fall and maybe make some travel plans to see some. Of the three schools we were supposed to see during spring break, two have confirmed that they will have tours this fall. We understand that they will not be the same, likely without an info session and definitely without class visits and overnights, but it would still be important to get D on campus before she uses ED.
Hi! I’m a longtime lurker on these forums and new to posting so excuse my incorrect shortcuts. My S21 is a bright kid but coming from a Boston area independent school with many other super bright/hooked kids (he is not hooked). He was always hoping to use ED as a strategy as his top schools have much higher admit rates in ED than regular. Northwestern, WashU, Vandy and Rice top his list but he’s only seen Northwestern as our spring break trips were cancelled. I’m so eager to get to the campuses once students are back, even if there are limitations. Online tours/info sessions have not been helpful for him - hard to “feel” the difference of these places.
I’m looking foreword to being a more frequent poster!
I hope it’s okay if I reply here as a 2021 applicant. For me personally, I’ll be looking at how schools are balancing a good education and experience with public health. As someone who is immune compromised, I would also look at flexibility for students and faculty in special circumstances such as higher risk for COVID. I agree with @homerdog that communication will be important. I am also eager to see how schools on my list that I didn’t get a chance to visit yet come up with a safe way to do campus tours. I am also interested to see how some of the smaller schools on my list handle the fall, since they may be hurt more economically if they do an online or hybrid approach. There may be more of an incentive to open up even if the public health data shows that it isn’t the best idea, which would definitely influence my decision. It’s still too early to see what happens though. It will be an interesting application cycle for sure!
I disagree. I think wealthier colleges will do everything in their power to get the undergraduates back on campus (which is the life blood of their college) and with at least some in-person classes. They have the resources to handle any safety precautions needed combined with a smaller population of students. Contrast that with the CA CSUs who shutdown on-campus housing and classes for the next academic year and they decided this in early May! I don’t know any “wealthy” colleges that will be doing what the CSUs are doing in the fall.
Aside from adding financial solvency to our list of “must haves” in our college selection lists, I don’t see any changes to our criteria. Academics may now include online capabilities, and covid related issues need to be know. Strangely. I don’t see much impact on the current list at all. This is for our D22.
@socaldad2002 CSU’s have a large percentage of communting students so lose less by going online. Harvard just closed 6 grad school programs. They haven’t decided on undergrad but looks like it will be hybrid.
I really don’t understand how COVID would change anyone’s list. If the virus is still causing restrictions for 4-5 years, there will be issues at all schools and with residential education in general.
Schools that have a great experience on campus won’t be able to offer that.
@compmom One example for how our S21’s school list has changed bc of COVID: He’s no longer looking at St. Andrew’s, or at W&M (they have a 2 year joint program with St. A’s he was interested in until COVID.)
Also, when the stock market plunged in April we began considering instate options (where S21 would likely have minimal costs) more seriously. (We will be full pay.)
Now, even though the market has improved significantly (which still surprises me but we are pleased), we will continue to compare schools to our instate options and no longer just go with an OOS just bc S21 much prefers OOS.
Edited to add: our local university is also much more a draw given that he could easily live at home if need be if dorms are in need of space, or if campuses closed down again and returned to online only (assuming they open in the fall).
So for us at least, we are definitely shifting our list and how it’s prioritized.
Also, we are increasing number of reach schools bc if schools are indeed looking for more full pay students, then we have nothing to lose by applying (minus the $$ app fee). Bc again, if he doesn’t get into a reach, not a problem; state flagship (or other) will be fine for UG. And we’ll have more $ ready for law or grad school, or to help him with housing if he starts working immediately after UG.
@123Mom123 but how is that state school option when it comes to budget cuts? I would dive deep into the finances on those. While I totally understand the proximity and the cost, I’d be careful about what that experience is going to be like during and post-Covid.
Good reminder, @homerdog. I don’t know off hand. What to look for specifically? TIA.
Others here might know more since neither of our kids looked much at the publics but I would definitely follow each school’s paper. Most (all?) are online. Also I think colleges’ end of year is June 30 so we should all soon be able to see what’s up with their financials. I bet a lot of schools will also be releasing reports about what changes are coming because of Covid - faculty layoffs etc.
I am encouraging my kid to apply to a variety of different kinds of schools to hedge her bets. By the time next May rolls around, we will have a lot more information than we do now about what strategies succeeded or failed and how flexible schools responded to contingencies. Obviously, “wait and see” doesn’t work with ED but that was never an option for our family because we will have to compare costs.
While a number of schools have announced temporary pay cuts and/or furloughs, I doubt permanent layoffs will happen, at least not among the tenure track faculty. However, it’s quite likely that people who retire won’t be replaced in a timely fashion, thereby resulting in some reduction of teaching staff.
I think that public universities may end up faring economically better than we think. Folks who aren’t willing to pay a premium for an elite residential experience that is not fully residential may decide that the local option is a better value. Or their financial situation may push them towards a less expensive alternative. In down economies, college enrollments overall also tend to rise. Publics may have more flexibility with housing - kids can commute from home or live off campus.
I think public schools will fare better too.
I’m not sure if public schools will fare better if they are dependent on state dollars. State budgets have been hit really hard and tax revenues are down. They might fare better in terms of enrollment but I would guess that the top schools will also not have enrollment problems.
I wrote earlier in the thread that state schools are already suffering. For the reasons mentioned by @ultimom- hard hit state budgets with lower tax revenues. They have had to reimburse room and board like all schools, but the longer term impact of recession is going to continue.
@123Mom123 – if you’ve got a kid starting school in a year I’d take your college $$ and put it in a money market. When my kids were in middle school, we saw a finance guy who works with clients on figuring out which assets to tap and when to pay for college and that’s what he recommended. Or, if it’s in a 529 it should automatically be mostly in something less volatile than stocks once the student is a year out from college…
This could still be a rocky ride, yet, so be glad for the rebound but I wouldn’t chance it again.
I appreciate the joy of pondering the future, especially now. However, I think there are very few solid data points at the moment, and pretending otherwise is wishful thinking.
I’m not sure how the plans for the upcoming academic year could be a predictor of what is going to happen 15 months from now, when so much depends on things we have no control over, like vaccine/treatment development, politics, the timing of next spikes.
Our D21’s plans remain pretty much unchanged, only the trimming of the college list will be somewhat less vigorous… With the decision deadline at least 11 months from now, we try to make sure she’ll have solid choices under different scenarios, that’s all.
For graduate and professional students, the emphasis is typically more about academic content and/or prestige. The college experience, beyond whatever is necessary for academic purposes, tends to take a lower priority compared to the importance that many posters here give it for undergraduate study.
Many parents in this thread are willing to pay a premium for their kids’ college experience. This college experience is apparently more important than academic content or prestige (including perception of alumni network, employer recruiting, etc.) for many parents and students.
If COVID-19 causes colleges to become less differentiated in the college experience (e.g. mostly or fully online classes, limitations on social activities and communal dining, etc.), then such willingness of parents to pay for a luxury-class college experience is likely to be lower. Obviously, the students may not think it is worth it either.
So expensive colleges which sell themselves mainly on a luxury-class experience but do not have as much to sell in terms of academic content or prestige may have the greatest difficulty getting applicants and matriculants.
In terms of the title question “How will you judge how colleges do this fall?”, which do you think will be most desirable?
A. Primary goal is to limit the spread of the virus, at the cost of the college experience. The most extreme version would be fully online except for classes or class components that require in-person participation (e.g. labs and arts) which would have to be modified to reduce risk of virus spread.
B. Primary goal is to restore the college experience, at the cost of increased risk of outbreaks. The most extreme version would be going fully back to the previous way of doing things (within what local health orders and the like allow) and dealing with any COVID-19 infections like any other medical condition that a student, faculty, or staff member has.
C. Somewhere in between. Describe your ideal.