Choosing a College During Coronavirus

COVID-19 has made everything more challenging, including applying to college. Spring lockdowns meant many students missed the opportunity to take college entrance exams, and some high schools moved to a pass/fail system during virtual classes — which means that college admissions directors must take a more holistic approach this year.

This means more emphasis on essays, and a new Common App question about how students are coping with the pandemic adds a new wrinkle to the process. And the economic downturn has impacted the finances of both families and colleges, making financial aid packages more important than ever.

Maggie Christ of New York told Mom.com that the pandemic has spurred her daughter to think more locally.

“She’s applying to five colleges that she’s never visited, and several others where we were only able to visit unofficially — just a walk around campus.” she said. “Additionally, she’s applying to more schools in NY than she might have if all things were normal.

California mom Nicole Pelton worried a bit about sending her son off to college in another state this year, but ultimately agreed with his choice. “Maybe I'm biased, but as an engineering school we saw a pretty systematic and scientific response to the outbreak — with bi-weekly testing and very strict rules and lots of communication, and a state that took precautions even without having the highest numbers,” she told Mom.com.

Kimberly Kauer’s daughter is a freshman at Vanderbilt University, living on campus and attending one class in person, four classes on Zoom, and rotating into a lab class that would meet weekly if not for the pandemic. The northern California mother of two told Mom.com that the summer was a period of uncertainty for the family, while the university was working out their covid response plan.

“We didn't know if the dorms would open, partially because it was dependent on state rules, if she would have a roommate, how meal plans would work without cafeteria-style dining, or how meeting classmates would happen with restrictions on students mixing,” Kimberly said.

Her daughter opted to live on campus and so far, it’s going well. But it’s not without some challenges.

“This semester, the school cut out all breaks and long weekends to keep kids on campus and to make up for closing the campus for the semester just before Thanksgiving. That makes sense, but exhaustion is setting in. Between a demanding course load and extracurricular activities, my daughter is starting to get a little burnt out and says she wants a day to catch up on sleep,” Kimberly said.

A lot can happen between now and the start of the 2021 college year — and even more by the time your student graduates in 2025. Institutions that scrambled to implement coronavirus policies this year will have a better idea of what works on their campus (and what does not). Better COVID treatments and the approval of a safe vaccine can greatly diminish the danger of contracting the virus. High school seniors should take advantage of the same counseling, research tools, and college databases their older siblings used pre-pandemic, and evaluate their choices using the same criteria: academic philosophy, campus culture, size, location, costs, etc.

The difference now is that applicants should make additional evaluations based on how their prospective choices have responded to COVID — and whether or not it makes sense to stay close to home, or go to community college for a couple of years before transferring to a four-year institution.

“Admissions officers are getting creative — they're doing virtual tours and allowing prospective students to tune into the online learning experiences they're offering. The University of Virginia actually had all of its campus tour guides make TikToks,” education reporter Elissa Nadworny wrote on NPR.org.

At a recent panel of college admissions directors, Brenna Heinz of Swarthmore College noted, “If your school has decided to go pass/fail, and they have never done that before, we will never penalize you for that. That’s how we will look at grades in particular.”

At that same panel, UC San Diego Taylor Pondy, advised high school seniors to “take rigorous courses and if you feel comfortable taking an AP course, even if you can’t take the exam, that is something that we would still love to see because it shows dedication.”

In the end, NPR’s Nadworny reminds students to remember to ask for help. “I think you've got to just take a deep breath and remember that you're not alone in this," she said. "Your guidance counselor and the folks at your school are still working. The admissions offices and financial aid offices are still working, too. So you can reach out and ask questions. You are not alone in this.”