Oh wow I hadn’t seen this last bit. I only saw the announcement and assumed it was day to day.
ETA: just checked, it’s optional for students to be remote or in-person
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Yes, thanks for clarifying: the remote instruction is not mandatory but does seem indicative of some pretty major disruptions on campus.
So his admitted day at WUSTL was interrupted by a protest. But, they rolled with it and I think he ended up not being concerned about what any of that will mean for him.
He does have a lot of Jewish friends, though, and I gather they are talking about all this a bit. As far as I know, though, the Jewish kids are not particularly concerned about WUSTL, and in fact we know a Jewish kid heading there. But I would not know what the Jewish kids think about other universities.
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This is true - but it is also the last week of classes before reading week and then finals. Columbia and Barnard only offer a few classes on Fridays, so it is limited # of classes that will have this remote/hybrid option.
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Excellent choice 
Now the next phase is picking a roommate, registering for courses, loving/hating the food choices in the new school and more…
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S25 was turned off by a protest that interrupted an info session that we attended over spring break. I think intimidated would be the right word, although we are also not Jewish. He decided not to apply.
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We are having that same issue. UTK was declined but they keep sending my son stuff as though he is coming.
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Let him wait if he wants. As a caution: many ask for the school chosen, or even for the student to list and rank schools they were accepted to . It might cause anxiety if he has not made a decision. D23 did 1-2 who didnt ask but saved the rest.
D21 did them as she went: she declined an EA safety immediately after getting her WMary postcard, and just put “william and mary” when the safety asked where going. WM got booted in March, by BC IIRC, so if they asked where she was headed, she put BC. She paused only when she had a tie for favorites , then only had to wait one more week anyway(to get into the dream after deferral). She had a basic ranking order, whereas D23 had multiple ties at the top from the start, and the final four were very close so it was hard to say bye to some(ahem WashU. Love that school. Totally biased but I hope your kid picks it).
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It seems D24 also is avoiding the portals. She is reluctant to decline or commit, though she narrowed her options to two schools and I suspect she’s made up her mind about where she will attend. She’s only declined one offer thus far, and that was because circumstances and common courtesy required that she respond to an email request from that college for a 1:1 chat with her this week. I’m looking forward to May 1.
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That’s a very good point, and I really do want him to have all the mental room he needs to be as happy as possible when he finally commits. So, I will volunteer no more on this to him (and it is not long now anyway).
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This was me too. I LOVE the research phase 
But I only looked at essays if asked and never knew any logins. My daughter made a spreadsheet because she loves spreadsheets.
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My daughter has decided on Fordham (Rose Hill campus in the Bronx, so not Manhattan). My husband is Jewish and my daughter self identifies herself as Jewish on forms, but it is definitely a cultural, not religious, identification. My husband and in-laws are pretty concerned about the protests. I am hoping things will be better by fall. We have had some conversations about safety in general that now include protests and how to talk about politics/religion/foreign affairs and frankly whether to say you are Jewish. I would hate for instruction to go remote!!! But we are not re-evaluating. It is clearly the best choice for D24.
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Hey, just curious, did you all end up at Emory?
It’s something that was a decision factor for D24, but it a factor more along the lines of “How much open dialogue & acceptance of all religions & cultures is actually welcomed here or is it just lip service and if you don’t align with a particular group, you’re an outcast?” She wanted a place that felt pretty ‘middle of the road’ because she has friends of all different religions and didn’t want to go to college at a place where Jewish students would feel afraid to speak up (we are not Jewish).
It wasn’t THE deciding factor, but it was a contributing factor. Some colleges never even made it to the application list because of this though (Evergreen State College or Reed College in WA, for example). She ended up picking a school that she felt is pretty accepting & nonjudgmental of all people, and open sharing of ideas amongst people who disagree with you seemed to be something that’s not a big deal (i.e., culture of mutual respect while disagreeing w/somebody). It’s hard to describe, but it’s something that we all just sort of ‘felt’ from visiting in person.
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The converted to hybrid class for the last week of instruction (the study period for finals starts next week). So most students still have the option to go in-person. For classrooms that don’t have the tech for a hybrid option, the professor has the option to go full remote or to accommodate students who don’t wish to be in person another way.
Yeah, this is driving parents on the parent forum absolutely bonkers on their kids behalves. This is the same class of students who mostly didn’t get to graduate high school and had to end their senior year year of high school and begin their first year of college remote, so it’s particularly raw. Lots of frustration with the protests and the administration.
The big fear right now is whether the school will hold graduation. They normally would be setting up chairs in the “occupied” lawn for it about now. They have literally stacked the crates of folded chairs around the encampment and are still in a stand off. Under the normal rules in place before the protests, all students must vacate their dorms and the campus by the day after their last formally scheduled final. The last finals are 5 days before the graduation. It seems likely this is where the rubber will hit the road. The school could clear students again and revoke their IDs and lock down the gates except for graduates with days to finish the setup (most of it will have been setup already in the unoccupied area).
In the original arrests of the first encampment last week, half of those arrested were Barnard students who vastly disproportionately made up the first protestors. Even easier for them to revoke access for them since they aren’t housed on the mail campus. This time there’s far more students since many not participating before have joined so less clear what the make up is.
It is difficult to get onto campus. A Columbia ID is required and sometimes even that is scrutinized since some protesters were offering their IDs to third parties. But once on campus, there has been zero disruption of campus buildings or access. The encampment and counter protests are fully contained on the lawns. Quite a few students were unimpacted by the protests until they started canceling classes after the arrests.
The vast majority of the protesters on the street next to campus (where most of the media and tiktok videos have been from) are not-affiliated with Columbia.
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Thanks for sharing these specifics - they tend not to make it into the media coverage, so it’s hard to get a full sense of the level of disruption as an outsider.
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Good news - our financial aid appeal was successful! (Still waiting for specifics, but the number was already good, so this is just icing on the cake.)
Looks like Mount Holyoke is the winner - I’m thrilled!
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Awesome! D23 is finishing up a great first year at Mount Holyoke
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We just got home from admitted students days at two different schools, and C24 is just about ready to commit! I’m so glad we went to both schools, because C had definite and strong reactions to each one. My husband has asked them to sleep on their decision for one more day, so I won’t name the schools yet, but I’m so happy to have this process almost finished. I’m also delighted that C found a school that, in their words, feels like home. As we traveled today, they just kept randomly mentioning things they’d liked.
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Congrats! Mount Holyoke is totally gorgeous and the students who attend are brilliant, kind, and going places. And they always seem happy. It’s not far from where we live and I’ve known many people from the community there over the years. I wish my D26 would consider it, but it’s too close to home.
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