College parents...fall semester?

[JimMIA]

I think a lot of college kids are going to end up taking a gap year, or an off year, if they can find work or do something meaningful at home.

I'm sure that idea has occurred to many families, but once you start researching it a lot of folks find out it's a terrible idea for them.

Gap years or gap semesters are great if there is some worthwhile substitute for on-campus study. But that's a big "if." With travel restrictions, minimal internships and meaningful jobs, loss of acceptance status, loss of scholarships, etc, etc, gap years don't work for many families. Plus, some universities simply don't allow them.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We need to take people from the travel industry and let them work CCC type jobs from the Depression era. Our infrastructure needs a lot of work.

Good idea - fix roads and bridges and things while fewer people are using them anyway.

 

[okeydokey]

Big Ten and ACC are going to cancel all non-conference football games. My son is in College Marching Band and they are planning on having band this fall. He got his move in dates etc. in an email yesterday.

 

[Kae]

I'm sure that idea has occurred to many families, but once you start researching it a lot of folks find out it's a terrible idea for them.

Gap years or gap semesters are great if there is some worthwhile substitute for on-campus study. But that's a big "if." With travel restrictions, minimal internships and meaningful jobs, loss of acceptance status, loss of scholarships, etc, etc, gap years don't work for many families. Plus, some universities simply don't allow them.

And in most cases the student will have to reapply and their spot will not be held

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

And in most cases the student will have to reapply and their spot will not be held

Citation for that? I'm pretty sure most schools allow you to come back.

 

[cmp3400]

Citation for that? I'm pretty sure most schools allow you to come back.

Deferring

Colleges and universities have different policies regarding deferrals and some schools have been, or will be, adapting these policies as a result of COVID-19, especially if there is an increase in requests. Many colleges require that a student first submit an enrollment deposit before considering a deferral request, others simply don’t allow students to defer or might cap the number of students permitted to take this path. If a college prohibits deferrals, a student would have to decide whether to attend, or take a year off and reapply for admission next year with no guarantee of being readmitted.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brenna...uld-you-start-college-this-fall/#3da8c9e35a9e

 

[barkley]

Good idea - fix roads and bridges and things while fewer people are using them anyway.

the largest city near us took at look at their roads and projects budgets for the current and next couple of fiscal years. they opted to shift future projects to fast track them while there's less traffic/usage of public parks and such. they figured it was easier to do repairs and upgrades absent major road closure AND it enabled them to create additional jobs. i think the county may have decided to do something similar b/c i've never seen our rural roads with so many of the potholes marked for repair in a single year.

 

[JimMIA]

Citation for that? I'm pretty sure most schools allow you to come back.

Nope. Very wide variance from school to school. Some schools encourage gap years, some permit gap years, and some have you apply all over again.

There are thousands of colleges and universities in the US. No one answer applies to all...for ANY question.

 

[JimMIA]

Not terribly funny story...

Yesterday DW was talking to the mom of DD's BFF since pre-k 3. Our DD is going to UCF in Orlando and the friend is going to USF in Tampa. Our football team is scheduled to beat theirs in Tampa Thanksgiving weekend, and we've been pondering a joint trip to witness the slaughter.

The mom told her, "We're counting on you guys telling your DD she can't go away to college-- so we can tell our DD your BFF's not going, so you shouldn't go either!"

Unfortunately she wasn't joking. Hard to believe the gall of people some times...smh.

DD and I had a good laugh over it.

 

[JimMIA]

DD came across a good podcast about credit card basics that might be helpful for some of our kids

It's called "She Made Points" and it's by a young woman named Alyssa Cerchiai. DD started following her because she used to write articles on sightseeing for teenagers while she was still in high school. Those articles were written for the credit card guru website The Points Guy.

(I've actually read some of the articles about cities I know well, and learned a few things in each one.)

Anyway, "She Made Points" might be very helpful for young folks just starting out with credit cards. The most recent podcast discusses credit card basics with an editor from Business Insider, and gives a LOT of really good fundamental information about credit card usage with an emphasis on people just starting out.

I'm not going to post a link, but you can Google it if you want to learn more.

 

[Southernmiss]

Daughter and I went shopping at Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond for her dorm yesterday.

It was obvious that people had already been shopping and common items were already being picked up.

We saw several shoppers in the aisles getting their items, too, including a friend of hers.

I was little surprised at how much shopping it looked like people had already done.

 

[FigmentSpark]

My DS just got his room assignment... for next April. I don't know if that was a mistake or if they really aren't having the dorms open this fall and winter? They are supposed to be online only for the fall session, but I'm surprised that it's been decided for the winter session.

Or, is this a case of him not actually getting in to the residence and we should be looking for an apartment for him? He won't even be 18 until Dec, so I can't see anyone renting to him while he's still under age.

 

[mjkacmom]

Not terribly funny story...

Yesterday DW was talking to the mom of DD's BFF since pre-k 3. Our DD is going to UCF in Orlando and the friend is going to USF in Tampa. Our football team is scheduled to beat theirs in Tampa Thanksgiving weekend, and we've been pondering a joint trip to witness the slaughter.

The mom told her, "We're counting on you guys telling your DD she can't go away to college-- so we can tell our DD your BFF's not going, so you shouldn't go either!"

Unfortunately she wasn't joking. Hard to believe the gall of people some times...smh.

DD and I had a good laugh over it.

The University of Delaware has cancelled fall sports, D1.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

D1 sports (any sports) are not going to be a thing this year.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Update... DS read his email wrong. He has the room in the fall and winter, but only UNTIL April, after finals. Phew! He will probably still live at home for the first while, since all his classes are on line, but if we are paying for the room, we will be picking up the keys, for sure.

 

[JimMIA]

Update... DS read his email wrong. He has the room in the fall and winter, but only UNTIL April, after finals. Phew! He will probably still live at home for the first while, since all his classes are on line, but if we are paying for the room, we will be picking up the keys, for sure.

Yeah, you better be very familiar with your university's policy on dorm check-in. And the policies vary a LOT.

One of the options we thought we might have was just to pay for the dorm, but stay home. Nope -- not at DD's school (UCF). If you don't check in, they declare you a no-show, cancel your contract with a penalty ($1,000 I think), and give your room to someone else for the remainder of the contract.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Yeah, you better be very familiar with your university's policy on dorm check-in. And the policies vary a LOT.

One of the options we thought we might have was just to pay for the dorm, but stay home. Nope -- not at DD's school (UCF). If you don't check in, they declare you a no-show, cancel your contract with a penalty ($1,000 I think), and give your room to someone else for the remainder of the contract.

Excellent point. I am only hoping they will waive the required meal plan, or at least make it optional.

 

[aprilchem]

Citation for that? I'm pretty sure most schools allow you to come back.

My institution is allowing a small number of incoming freshmen to take a gap year, but not many. Our capacity is limited, our enrollments for this fall are currently up, and they don't want to take up spots from the class of 2025. So far I've seen just a few gap year approvals on our enrollment portal.

Current students cannot take a gap year; they need to withdraw and then reapply for admission at the institution.

 

[soccerdad72]

Son's college has come out today with their reopening plan. Biggest takeaway for us is that all students need a negative test within two weeks of arrival on campus (he's moving in on Aug. 17th) and, coming from a 'hot spot' area, he'll need a second test once arriving on campus, in order to start classes. As mentioned a number of times before, the classes are being offered either all-online or some form of blended format. Some blended classes sound like most instruction will be online, but with small group meetings in person. I assume this is to allow the students to have a chance to ask questions on the material or get clarifications. The other blended form is to create two groups of students, alternating between in-person and online instruction.

Sounds like they will be offering a lot more outdoor activities than normal, because many indoor facilities will remain closed (or will be utilized as temporary classrooms in the interim).

The rest of the plan is common sense stuff - 50% occupancy in dining establishments with a lot more grab-and-go options, less occupancy in locations in general. Masks required, etc.

 

[okeydokey]

My concern about in person classes on campus is this, if someone test positive during the semester, I assume they go into quarantine for a certain number of days. Do the people who shared classroom space also go into quarantine? I feel like all students would be in quarantine at one point or another. I have the same fear for K-12. People will test positive and that will effect the rest of the class.