College Enrollment Crisis due to Covid-19?

[JimMIA]

My daughter is a freshman now and things are up in the air at her school as well. First all the housing for fall filled up before her time slot to choose. So she had one option...a suite style room with kids she doesn’t know. That of course, means she can’t room with who she wants. This happened because all the upper classmen grabbed dorm rooms since they don’t want to sign leases for off campus housing if the school stays online only. The girls she wanted to room with were not able to get any housing at all.

At this point, she is thinking of just doing online classes and commute for fall and then reassessing things for Spring term. This would save a ton of money as well.
The problem is that her school requires students live on campus for the first two years if you live over 60 miles away. We live about 58 miles away so she should be ok as far as that goes, but we just don’t know at this point or how it might affect her scholarships.

‘Right now they can’t tell us anything so I told her to just register for her classes when it opens but we will just wait until the final payment date to pay anything and make a decision.
It just stinks all around. She was thriving at school and having so much fun. I’m sad for her, but she is handling it all great.
And we are still waiting for the refund on her meal plan and room and board for this semester.

Wow, that is a mess. Good luck!

We have a dorm confirmation for the entire year, including Summer 2021, so we're good there. But I can see that upperclassmen grab thing happening in a lot of places. Families feel much more confident about the colleges refunding dorm payments than off-campus apartments, so back to the dorms for the juniors and seniors. It might not be what they'd prefer, but it sure beats getting stuck on a lease!

Unfortunately a lot of students are gonna get yanked out of the idyllic world of college into the real world because of Covid-19. Graduates are going to find jobs few and far between, students may have to radically change their plans because of family finances -- or in some cases, college finances. Some of them are going to get a harsh wake-up call.

 

[JimMIA]

Unfortunately kids on scholarships might not even have that as an option. And it's hard to get answers right now.

Right. It's not that simple; many, many factors to consider.

 

[mjkacmom]

My daughter is a freshman now and things are up in the air at her school as well. First all the housing for fall filled up before her time slot to choose. So she had one option...a suite style room with kids she doesn’t know. That of course, means she can’t room with who she wants. This happened because all the upper classmen grabbed dorm rooms since they don’t want to sign leases for off campus housing if the school stays online only. The girls she wanted to room with were not able to get any housing at all.

At this point, she is thinking of just doing online classes and commute for fall and then reassessing things for Spring term. This would save a ton of money as well.
The problem is that her school requires students live on campus for the first two years if you live over 60 miles away. We live about 58 miles away so she should be ok as far as that goes, but we just don’t know at this point or how it might affect her scholarships.

‘Right now they can’t tell us anything so I told her to just register for her classes when it opens but we will just wait until the final payment date to pay anything and make a decision.
It just stinks all around. She was thriving at school and having so much fun. I’m sad for her, but she is handling it all great.
And we are still waiting for the refund on her meal plan and room and board for this semester.

We are the opposite, off campus housing is very popular (and nice), leases are signed in the fall. My daughter is a freshman and signed a lease with 5 friends, so they are locked in. I doubt classes will be held in person. The upside is that they plan on staying in the townhouse anyway, no matter what.

 

[RangerPooh]

I work at a branch campus that is part of the flagship university for my state. My campus serves health profession programs (medical, dental, nursing, PT, OT, etc) and we have noticed that commitments for the fall semester has decreased. There are too many unknowns. Not all programs can be completed online, as labs require hand on components.

 

[Nox]

I know I, personally, would benefit from more classes being offered online for my degree. I work full-time, and if more courses were available online I would certainly be able to take more at a time because I can't physically go to the campus multiple times a week.

But I also understand how stressful online course are and that this isn't ideal for most.

 

[JimMIA]

We are the opposite, off campus housing is very popular (and nice), leases are signed in the fall. My daughter is a freshman and signed a lease with 5 friends, so they are locked in. I doubt classes will be held in person. The upside is that they plan on staying in the townhouse anyway, no matter what.

That's what our next door neighbor's son did. They just stayed in their apartment when things went all-online, and they're just as happy. Unfortunately, he's an engineering major, so he's missing a lot of hands on stuff.

 

[godisney14]

It’s been a while since my college days, and my kids aren’t due for college for a long time...

If you decide to take a gap year, do colleges keep your spot open for the next academic year? Or do you have to reapply with the next class?

 

[justafigment27]

My DD is a HS senior. The thing that sucks is that she’s already missing out on all of the senior year stuff. And for a lot of kids, my daughter included, they consoled themselves over the loss of senior year traditions with thoughts of heading to college in the fall.

But now? That dream that kept them going is slowly being ripped away as well. They aren’t going to prom, they aren’t having senior picnics, final sports seasons or graduation ceremonies. And now they aren’t even sure that they have the traditional freshman college experience to look forward to ... there is no dorm room shopping, no move in day circled in the calendar, no orientation excitement ... it’s all just uncertainty.

 

[JimMIA]

It’s been a while since my college days, and my kids aren’t due for college for a long time...

If you decide to take a gap year, do colleges keep your spot open for the next academic year? Or do you have to reapply with the next class?

I'm sure that varies all over the ballpark, but if you are taking a gap year that's zero revenue for the school. It seems like the more competitive the school is for admissions, the less likely they'd be to hold a spot.

But it's not just that. As others have noted, a student might have a nice package of financial aid, and they'd almost certainly have to apply all over again for that.

 

[mjkacmom]

It’s been a while since my college days, and my kids aren’t due for college for a long time...

If you decide to take a gap year, do colleges keep your spot open for the next academic year? Or do you have to reapply with the next class?

You have to re-apply, I believe.

 

[pxidst119]

We have been thinking long and hard about this the last few weeks as the deposit date is quickly approaching and decided to stick to the plan. It’s not great timing for a gap year because they can’t travel and jobs may be hard to come by so why not get some classes done. Plus losing her merit money will make the college unaffordable in the years following the virus. It’s definitely not ideal at all. I’m mentally prepared for her doing online classes but now I’m a little worried about them actually going in the fall and cramming all those kids in to the dorms. There’s still a lot of time for things to change but it doesn’t seem like social distancing will be going away any time soon.

 

[Nvrgrowup]

My ds will be a junior this year. We moved him home mid March. It was so crazy!! He has found it very difficult to do the online courses feels like there is no real class schedule. It's been tough too because he has adhd and there has not been a routine.

We are suppose to get a credit/refund for housing and food. Nothing yet. He shared with me that he and friends have talked about the possibility of not being able to return to campus in August and having to do on line again.
He has 2 scholarships so heading someplace locally for a semester is not an option for us. The college is wonderful and he has done well.
It also has been tough because he plays
lacrosse so he is missing his teammates .
I due worry about about him heading back not knowing what this virus plans on doing and that he is asthmatic living in close quarters etc.
I feel so for all the kids graduating from high school ,going off to college, finding work or graduating from college so many more unknowns .

 

[pryncess527]

It’s been a while since my college days, and my kids aren’t due for college for a long time...

If you decide to take a gap year, do colleges keep your spot open for the next academic year? Or do you have to reapply with the next class?

It depends on the school & in some cases the student. Many will allow students to defer ebrollment for a year but an agreement must be reached with admissions or a reapplication would be needed

 

[okeydokey]

I wonder if grad school enrollment in general is up so students can delay entering the employment world in such a bad market.

This is generally what we see when the economy is tough.

A lot of parents are already on the hook for off campus apartments for fall, as they start the hard pressure to renew in the Fall for the next academic year. At this point, it may be July before we know for sure what University will look like for Fall.

 

[okeydokey]

It’s been a while since my college days, and my kids aren’t due for college for a long time...

If you decide to take a gap year, do colleges keep your spot open for the next academic year? Or do you have to reapply with the next class?

Most will let you defer a year. Especially in these circumstances, I believe there will be a lot of flexibility.

 

[a1tinkfans]

A gap year typically is to add to the students resume/portfolio? What jobs will they get? What internships? It was tough before and tougher now. I’m aware first hand that Many grad internships have been revoked.
I don’t see it getting better In the near future.

 

[Lake183]

Sadly, none of this is simple.

My kid is currently a freshman. His college is 1,100 miles from our home. This has been a TOUGH transition. The freedom he had just started to appreciate and exercise was ripped out from underneath him--he was sent back home and thrown into a lockdown with his parents and younger sibling. Taken away from the new friends, the new environment, and the classes he loved.

His art school courses are extremely specialized and sequential. He cannot transfer in classes from a community school. We made the decision that he would get an apartment off campus next year so that he is in some type of college environment while continuing his studies, online or in person. As a design student, work environment makes a huge impact on your development as an artist. Being immersed with like-minded students cannot be replicated at home. (We have discovered this during the past 6 weeks, even though his school and professors have been phenomenal.) I love having him around, but I love doing what's best for his future more.

These circumstances are extremely difficult and everyone has to make decisions for/with their kids with very little information regarding what's to come. I wish everyone and their kids good luck going forward.

 

[mom2rtk]

I love having him around, but I love doing what's best for his future more.

 

[mnrose]

My kids will be entering their third year at school, my son as a senior (he actually could graduate after fall semester 2020), and my daughter as a junior plus. Both are planning on going to school in the fall, even if it's "on line." Fortunately, tuition is not a huge expense for us (the advantage of modestly priced state schools), and their experience with on line for this spring has been pretty decent. Sure, there are kinks and some things have been a struggle, but the alternative is to disrupt their progress for another entire year, and that's not an attractive option for either of them. OTOH, I've totally encouraged my son to plan to spend AT LEAST the next 18 months or so in academia. The job market is going to suck for while, and I don't want him coming out when he will struggle with finding a job through no fault of his own. There's no rush. And, if the whole thing still sucks after he finishes his degree, I'd encourage grad school. He's kind of thinking that way anyway. My daughter has 3 semesters left, plus student teaching (so about two years). I think by then things will have become more stable. I hope.

 

[Darcy03231]

Smart kid. Not the best time for a gap year, either, imo because who knows what they can do during that year. Might not even be able to work. I think online schooling and knocking out the basic courses is a good idea, as long as they ensure they will transfer to their college of choice.

She plans on going to a state school and in their state the state colleges are required to take the community college credits that are earned in their state. They actually have transfer programs where some students do the first two years at the community college and the second two at the university.