Doubtful. Many plants have rescinded all co-op offers (and/or let go all contractors).
I wonder if anyone k-12 is considering a gap year of sorts…definitely not my situation, but if classes were online and someone had a student who did not do well in online setting and maybe interested in sports who would not get to be involved in football/cross country etc. Legally kids are required to be in school, but some could just take a grade twice-one year online…return for the same grade the following year? Reset to get the whole hs experience…Again, this is not my case. My kids do ok online, although D definitely prefers in person classes. I think my kids would prefer to stick with their peers.
The “all other things being equal” assumption is a big one, but it is still the smallest one you can make when evaluating opportunity costs of delaying graduation by a year.
And it does not rely on one staying in the same role.
I disagree. For the vast majority of college students, there should be in no rush to graduate quickly. Working for 35+ years is overrated. Enjoy your youth while you are young. If you want to take a gap semester or gap year after spending 12 consecutive years in school, then you should do it. It’s not really going to be a financial difference maker and might just re-charge your batteries for when you do go back to school. You know, the journey is just as important as the destination…
It’s not just about the money. In some fields (particularly in STEM) youth is your prime learning years (hence the reason we do not subscribe to the “your undergraduate institution doesn’t matter if you go to grad school” mantra).
Not a consideration for everyone though.
Based on your logic, why not take a few more years off when you’re young and productive? For every year you take off when you’re young and productive, you need to work many more years when you’re older to build the same nest egg. It isn’t a good trade-off for most people.
I would think, given the economy, that delaying graduation and entry into the workplace would be a benefit. I don’t know why kids would want to have to job hunt at a time of 20%+ unemployment.
During times of economic downturn lots of students pursue grad level degrees that they had not previously considered. Better to be pursuing a grad degree vs. facing unemployment for months on end.
So true. 2 years ago my daughter took a gap semester and traveled in South East Asia. It was the best decision she has made. She really needed to recharge and it turned into giving her skills and a language she will use the rest of her life. I know this fall is different but after working like 32 years, I wish I could take a gap year like NOW.
I think that’s called retirement. You should try it — niiiiice.
This is not allowed in every state. Also, most states only allow high school sports for 4 years, so if you repeat a grade you are losing a year of eligibility. If sports is the reason for the repeated year, you may be out of luck.
I have some kids I’m working with. The very rich district where 2 of the kids are gave every kid a chrome book, hold classes for 2-4 hours every day. Those kids have a very involved and qualified adult helping them. They still aren’t making progress at the same rate even though one child has extra tutoring and speech therapy. Their sister, in a bigger but poorer district, has no school at all - no computer, no worksheets, nothing. She’s only in K, but will be sent to first grade unable to read or write. She speaks English, but several of the adults in her home do not.
I agree with a lot of what has been said about taking a year off. Yes, there is a financial trade-off and it’s not just one year of salary. And yes, money isn’t everything.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that it is often difficult to return to school after taking time off. Knowledge has faded, motivation is down, whatever. Many people have a hard time going back to school after taking some time off.
And, while I’ll likely let my D’s make their own decisions on Fall 2020, there is something to be said for perseverance in the face of challenges. Life isn’t always fair. Sometimes you just have to keep plugging along, in spite of the challenges that come along. Builds grit!
@Socaldad2002 and @knowsstuff are correct. Early 20’s youth is a once in a lifetime period. YOU CAN NEVER GET IT BACK, but you can always make more money later in life. Money, promotions, career ladder are all secondary to having an extra year in one’s youth, for FOR THOSE WHO SEEK/WANT IT. One can always work harder, work longer and make more money. Time is hard to buy.
Get an employable degree in something you like from the best school you can and try to study abroad, see the world, take a gap year, have as much carefree fun as you can in your 20s. Because once you enter the corporate world, buy real estate, get married and take on debt, it is very difficult to get off the hamster wheel even for the majority of “successful” people.
You may not think you are on the hamster wheel, but you likely are.
Life is short, enjoy the ride!
Nobody signed up for online learning. We signed up for an on-campus experience at a LAC with wonderful facilities. As a Studio Art major with an emphasis in Ceramics my D is unable to do much of anything from home. Painting class is now with oil pastels on small pieces of paper, aka crayons on xerox paper. Music majors can’t perform in ensembles, Theater arts majors can’t stage a play or act, science majors need labs, etc. Distance learning is not the same for all students and disciplines. For some it is absolutely useless.
In addition, many students are in home environments not conducive to college learning for a variety of reasons from internet access to family dynamics.
This semester was an immediate answer to a crisis and people have accepted it but made clear that they do not want further online learning. Now schools have a lot of runway to know what’s going on and plan for appropriate learning environments, even if that means deferring or delaying. The onus is on the schools to provide this, not on the families to accept a sub-par product.
D goes to a school in upstate NY (Hamilton), and if the school opens in the Fall there is an extremely likely chance that the Governor will declare schools must close if there is a resurgence. He has been very quick to act and made it clear that he will shut down the state again in a heartbeat. The school could not prove that they did not see mandatory closures coming and my guess is those bringing the lawsuits will argue they should have assumed that it was a strong possibility. If a school is in the middle of a rural state with no outbreak that might not be the case, but for some schools there is enough public information to posit that the schools would have known the great likelihood of opening then needing to move to remote.
I can tell you my D is not doing another Credit/NoCredit or Remote semester, she is ready to defer. Shes even said she is willing to take a year off and if not allowed back then she will transfer and she absolutely adores her school! Its that bad.
If schools do not let students defer there will be a massive amount of lawsuits, already several are being formed at many schools. It will be an absolute bloodbath as there are many wealthy parents who will not stand by as their kids lose their college experience or have sub-par academics. Future gifts will be non-existant. The colleges will spend a ton of money defending themselves. If they are smart they will let whoever wants to defer for whatever reason, for financial and PR reasons.
Personally I think we should all realize that this is not going away anytime soon. Even January might be to early to re-open. A full year delay is a very likely solution for some schools.
How do you enjoy life when travel is restricted, when many parts of the world are still quasi-locked down, or when congregation is discouraged or even banned? Study abroad? Where?
Money sure isn’t everything. But isn’t the reason some parents want their kids to take a gap year because of money?
Actually I think the “Hot Spot” students are the ones you want on campus. Studies are showing up to 50% have the covid antibodies while a very small portion actually had symptoms. So 50% of the students from the hot spot locations will not get sick and can not transmit the virus. 3+ more months for additional students in those locations to gain the immunity.
If you can afford it, sure. When my husband was a university dean, he laughed that recessions were great for enrollments.
It seems highly unlikely the situation will be appreciably different in 14 months, so that gap year may need to turn into 2-3 gap years if you wish to wait and hope for a vaccine
While I agree, these are NOT options college kids can take advantage of today, and possibly not for a long time to come. Many international travel experts believe it may be 12 to 18 months before travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. If it ever does. There is also speculation that America’s slow response to corona virus will make it harder for Americans to travel. We’re the diseased third-world-health-care types, these days. 
Yes it does. I think we may have to accept that the traditional “college experience” so many Americans are willing to spend a fortune on may be an unsustainable thing of the past. At least for some time to come.