It’s not for the faint of heart, but my son is having an intense, but amazing experience volunteering for the local Rescue Squad.
His resume will will now reflect that, in a time when most of the World was sheltering in their homes, he was willingly volunteering to gear up in PPE and help his community during a pandemic. That’s NOT why he does it, he’s just wired to do things like this.
Today he’s working an 18 hour shift(1pm-7pm + 7pm-7am). As a “probationary” member he has a curriculum that includes 2 month/4 month/6 month benchmarks with hands-on practical experience requirements. Most often these probationary members are students like my son, but they’re volunteering during school so it takes a long time to fit trainings in while juggling class work. My son has been out of school for 2 weeks. He’s worked so many shifts that he’s almost completed the 4 month benchmark already. He plans to finish the 6 month benchmark before he comes home in June.
He’s responded to gated communities, assisted living facilities, a chicken processing plant and several trailer parks. He was disappointed that they delivered a baby during a shift he wasn’t working, and was beside himself that they responded to a multiple gunshot victim just after he finished a shift. The life lessons and interpersonal skills he’s absorbing are invaluable. The medical information he’s processing and retaining is impressive. He’s worked beside ex-Navy S.E.A.L.s, med school students awaiting their residency assignments, local SWAT medics and flight medics.
Last evening they responded to an elderly person’s home in response to an automated alarm from a bracelet that calls 911 in the event of a fall. Upon arrival they could hear the patient yelling in pain, but the house was locked up tight. His shift commander was just about to call the fire department to come breach the door when my son asked if they minded if he tried something. Less than a minute later he’d shown them how to open an exterior door with a credit card. A few minutes after that they helped him place the elderly patient on a backboard to check off one more of his practical components.
I can’t say enough about the experience he’s having. If nothing else, he’s getting real world training that reinforces best practices surrounding proper mask and glove protocols that will serve him well in his personal life going forward in the new normal.
@Rivet2000 In my experience, parents are freaking out, not the students.
My friend’s daughter cried and fought her parents but they wouldn’t change their mind. USC was her dream school and she was so proud to get accepted, committed, only to go to a different school now. It is sad.
I think state flagships are going to look increasingly attractive for the next couple of years. Closer to home, more affordable, and you can get an excellent eduction at pretty much any of them.
That said, the financial crisis will lead to budget cuts at publics that will get a lot of press and attention. It will be important to watch where those cuts are hitting colleges and how that impacts them.
My bad, sorry. I’ve just seen a lot of parents on the BC board take the $ at "Nova instead of paying sticker for BC. (Just assumed that most high stat kids got a money offer.)
I’m not at all sad to see acceptance decisions influenced by this pandemic. I can see several good reasons why parents might insist their children stay closer to home.
Money. We’re in a recession. Parents have lost jobs, they’ve lost savings. What previously looked affordable now may look out of reach.
Value. It’s clear that, whatever happens, the 2020-2021 will be very different than previous years. Parents might reasonably conclude that the more limited college experience they would be buying is no longer worth the stratospheric cost. I understand and agree that limitations are necessary, but a parent can decide the cost is too much for the value received.
Prudence/fear (whichever you want to call it). I can identify with this. I live in California. My son is hunkered down in his off-campus apartment in Michigan. He’s far from home. I can’t go get him without flying on (what are now, again) crowded airplanes if something happens. He can’t come here without flying on crowded airplanes. I’d be happier if he weren’t so far away. Other parents no doubt feel the same way.
RE Tuition insurance - my d’s university contracts with GradGuard to provide tuition insurance and they specifically exclude epidemics. Their COVID statement says they are not providing tuition refunds for COVID but they will provide “student assistance” - basically travel coverage to get your student home.
I had the feeling that the change was driven by covid directly and without details I’m not sure that enough thought was put into all the options (short of changing schools) that could have kept the student into their #1 choice. Gap year? Online for 1st year (or semester)?. I’m assuming that after a full year, classes will be closer to normal, and if not, then you could consider transfer closer to home. I can think of many possible scenarios.
DS20 was offered full tuition merit at Vanderbilt (which is a 3 hr drive from us), just as the lockdowns began.
His first choice is much farther away (not drivable in one day) and a lot more expensive, but despite the looming uncertainty we decided to stick to the plan.
If campuses are open for in-person classes with or without hybrid classes, students won’t have a choice not to take in-person classes at campuses. Those students in performing arts (music, dance and theater) are required to rehearse / perform in ensembles every single semester to graduate on time. That’s why my son’s conservatory is giving all students an option to take a gap year / leave of absence just for 2020-2021 due to any Covid-19 related problems (travel, financial, health, international, or a result of all online classes if a school cannot open a campus). And those students who choose a gap year / leave of absence won’t lose a year of talent scholarship. Most private music conservatories especially at higher level don’t give a gap year option in normal year (but they take a leave of absence request with certain health condition). So, if his school and state / county can open a campus / dorm safety in August, students just need to show up or take a year off (not a semester off because courses are designed for a year long). No one will make an easy decision in this pandemic. We all need to decide how much risk we should allow student to take. But a decision must be made by mid July by students so his school must come up with a decision / plan in June.
His school has much more “committed” incoming students than they expected (undergrad and grad who paid a deposit) for 2020-2021. I am not sure if they accepted more than normal years or not. About 35% are “international” students (tons of musicians coming to U.S. ever year). So if international traveling is still in trouble by July, many end up choosing a gap year. And some of them may reassess their plan while taking a gap year…This pandemic has impacted all people in the world and changed / changes many students’ future plan / path. However, those international students are in the most difficult position. And their decisions to attend or not will definitely impact U.S. colleges.
So even though the Ford plant had an exposure and then shut down then come back up, I think when students are found to be positive they will just isolate that one student. Not the whole dorm per se.
This is why a hybrid in the fall will happen. Now the student, with probably no symptoms can isolate but still do school work with online classes /prerecorded classes. Food can be delivered via the school. Box lunch /dinners etc. They can still participate in group activity with zoom/FaceTime (probably already doing this anyway. Can get help from learning services, professors, etc with Zoom. Can still take tests.
People are most infectious before they show symptoms. A school would be remiss if they attempted to control a potential outbreak just by isolating one student who tested positive, particularly if they found that student because he/she was showing symptoms and thus had already been potentially infecting others for days. They would need to isolate the close contacts of the person, which probably wouldn’t include the whole dorm, but might include a dozen students or even more. Roommates certainly, girlfriend/boyfriend, and potentially others.
RE: performing arts type majors, I definitely understand the desire to take a GAP year for 20/21, but…those are the majors that are hardest to see being possible at all until there is a vaccine, which could mean multiple GAP years.
@MBNC1755 _ I doubt schools will enforce the living on campus for freshmen this year, it really does not help them, if the piss off a family of a freshmen, they risk losing R&B and tuition , if that students stays home and does online they get the tuition and it makes it easier to have less kids in the dorms, easier to get someone in a single. Th other question I would have will schools put kids in singles if they can and charge more for it?