With college near and coronavirus still here, high school seniors face big questions
The coronavirus pandemic already tore their senior year to shreds. No proms, no senior trips, no grad nights, no senior sunsets, and in-person graduation ceremonies happening who knows if, when and how.
Now, high school soon-to-be-grads are committing, or will commit, to universities they’ve not been able to visit and might not even be attending in person when the academic year begins.
And if they think they perhaps want to take community college classes instead of higher-tuition university courses because they might be online in either case, they’re being told it won’t be a one-semester thing. Taking that transfer path to a CSU or UC would be a two-year community college commitment.
A few graduating high school seniors and some schools’ college counselors spoke with The Bee about the hard decisions and unanswered questions kids face right now.
Kyle Tran, a senior at Pitman High in Turlock, said last week that he was “95 percent committed” to accepting his admission to San Jose State University. He was anticipating Friday, May 1, being the deadline to complete the intent-to-enroll process, but the university’s website shows the deadline has been extended until June 1.
Pushing back the date is a decision a number of California universities, including CSUs Monterey Bay and Sacramento, have made. At other campuses, including CSU Stanislaus in Turlock and the University of California, Merced, the deadline remained May 1.
Tran said one of the things he was looking for in a university was an active campus life experience, which San Jose has. Its location also appeals to him. “I’ve lived in the Valley for 15 years and just wanted something new, a change,” he said. “I thought the Bay Area was a good choice because it’s not too far.”
Tran has not been able to visit the campus but took virtual tours. He also has friends who go there, and all he’s heard is positive. It’s disappointing, then, that the fall semester of his freshman year could include at least some distance learning and, at worst, could have him taking his university classes from his Turlock home.
Tran plans to enter the university with a major in film, TV and radio, and a minor or second major in business administration. What he’s heard from San Jose State is that in-person classes could be determined by topic: subjects like art that require hands-on learnin, could be in classrooms, while things like English and math could be online.
If he ends up doing all online coursework the first semester, he’ll be OK, Tran said, but he’ll be sorry to miss the socialization of being on campus. He takes some comfort in knowing there are about 8,000 other San Jose State freshmen, plus transfer students, in the same boat. So they’ll be able to relate to one another’s experiences, Tran said.
Beyer High senior Nina Cruz has narrowed her college acceptances to CSU Monterey Bay, but also has yet to do the intent-to-enroll process because of the deadline reprieve.
She took part in a Zoom video call a couple of weeks ago in which students were told they would have a virtual campus orientation and then, at an undetermined date, an in-person, on-campus orientation.
Cruz has visited the campus several times, but an actual tour would have been nice.
Touring a campus is a big thing for a prospective student to miss out on, Gregori High college counselor Alison Kuykendall said. “It is really difficult for them to commit to a university that they may not have had the opportunity to visit,” she said, noting that most universities canceled spring visits and prospective student events. “It is so important for students to see if the campus ‘fits’ them, and without that opportunity, they may feel less certain about their decision.”
While waiting to learn if she’ll be able to move onto campus at the start of the year, and whether classes will be remote, in person or a blend, Cruz said she rejected the idea of starting at a community college. “I want to go to one school,” she said, and if that means studying online for a semester and not being able to move out of Modesto, “it would suck” but it’s worth it.
Universities want students back
High school college counselors said they really feel for seniors who are ending high school with distance learning while they shelter at home, and who might be starting college the same way.
Enochs High counselor Jennifer Brogan said last Monday that she hadn’t heard of any universities announcing they definitely will start the new school year online only. “I got an email from Boston University just today saying, hey, we had some media report that we were going to start fall online, and that is not correct. We’re actually planning for fall start, if at all possible.”
The same is true for CSU Fullerton, Brogan said, noting a message on its website from Provost Pamella Oliver: “It is the complete hope of Cal State Fullerton to have traditional instruction in the fall. But like every university in America, we are working through the many unknowns of the current pandemic. There were reports I said that Fullerton is canceling classes and going fully virtual for the fall. Let me be clear, that is false. What I said is that we need to prepare for all variables. Our goal is face-to-face, on-campus instruction. ...”
A lot of university presidents are saying the same: that if at all possible, they want students on campus, Brogan said. Kuykendall agreed: “So far, colleges seem to be preparing for multiple scenarios and are communicating to prospective students if they have a plan in place, though most are still unclear about what the fall semester will look like.”
Gregori senior Jocelyn Fahlen has committed to Columbia University, located in New York City, which has been a coronavirus hotbed. The university hasn’t issued its vision for the start of the year, she said, but she anticipates it will include a mix of in-person and online classes.
Typically the Ivy League schools tend to do a lot of the same things, Fahlen said, noting that Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has indicated that big lecture classes will be done virtually, and smaller classes in person.
Brown President Christina Paxson wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times last week headlined, “ College campuses must reopen in the fall. Here’s how we do it.” In it, she said, “I am cautiously optimistic that campuses can reopen in the fall, but only if careful planning is done now.”
A different college experience
A later paragraph in Paxon’s piece reads, “Our students will have to understand that until a vaccine is developed, campus life will be different. Students and employees may have to wear masks on campus. Large lecture classes may remain online even after campuses open. Traditional aspects of collegiate life — athletic competitions, concerts and yes, parties — may occur, but in much different fashions. Imagine athletics events taking place in empty stadiums, recital halls with patrons spaced rows apart and virtual social activities replacing parties.”
Housing — students living in close proximity in the dorms — is the big issue, Fahlen said. “Obviously, I feel like they’re going to take the necessary safety measures, they won’t let us come back unless it’s 100 percent safe,” she said. “At the same time, I think universities realize they can’t send the whole student population home” because of a couple of cases, she said. The better response is the quarantining and treatment of students who become ill, “and it seems like that’s what they’re leaning toward.”
Brogan said she’s confident reputable universities are putting the health of their students, faculty and staff ahead of their bottom line, but distance learning would be a financial blow to many. Because in that situation, students “aren’t going to be paying for room and board there, and that’s where a lot of colleges make their money,” she said.
There’s also the simple truth that distance learning doesn’t work for all students. “They need to be there in the classroom with the teacher,” Brogan said. Whether they’re at a four-year or two-year school, online learning can be a tough situation for some students.
“Teachers all having different deadlines for things, and juggling the different classes and different office hours teachers have, that can be challenging even for organized students, let alone a student who may be overwhelmed or not have a stable home. That could really compound issues.”
Students under a lot of pressure
Even in normal circumstances, there are a lot of factors that go into committing to a university, Pitman High college and career counselor Kristen Cole said. “But this year certainly adds another layer of components, many of which are based on hope and/or guessing.”
Every day, she said, counselors get emails with updates from universities, seemingly immediately followed by emails updating those updates. So much remains unknown about how the coronavirus pandemic will play out, but many students who have accepted admission to their schools of choice are remaining committed regardless.
Other students, who have been less decisive or are reconsidering, are dealing with an immense amount of pressure with decision day now upon them or perhaps a month away, Cole said. Some have been looking at starting at junior college instead, or if Stanislaus State and UC Merced have accepted them, staying close to home.
“Some students receive full financial aid packages including grants or scholarships that cover most if not all of the cost of school,” she said, “while for others, the difference in cost from a JC to a university is quite drastic.” Living at home rather than in a dorm cuts costs dramatically, even if only temporarily, she said.
In many cases, students have worked painstakingly hard throughout high school to earn excellent grades, Cole said, and they’ve taken the SAT or ACT multiple times for a score that would earn them an acceptance to their dream school. Those who choose to walk away from an acceptance risk not being accepted again when they decide to transfer, she said.
Taking the community college route
The security of remaining at home and beginning studies at MJC or another community college means that to later transfer to a UC or CSU, a student must complete all transfer pattern courses, a minimum of 60 units, Cole said. “Another factor to consider is the influx in population junior colleges may see and how that will impact getting classes.” Because on top of students choosing to stay local, job loss during the pandemic may lead people of all ages to return to school to make themselves more employable, she said.
A student who comes up short on a couple of course requirements within the allotted time frame may have to wait an entire extra school year to transfer, she said. “With that said, our local junior colleges are an amazing option for our students, offering incredible programs.”
Jennifer Zellet, vice president of instruction at Modesto Junior College, said she and her colleagues have been paying attention to the surveys and research going on nationwide about what students anticipate for fall. Several sources are talking about students hesitating to commit large sums of money when other options are available.
MJC and its sister community colleges are planning for multiple scenarios in this uncertain time and are responding to the state chancellor’s guidance and orders on when and how students will be able to return, she said.
“One thing we know from years of doing scheduling are the entry-level courses in most demand,” Zellet said. “We’re trying to maximize access while living with the understanding we have to be as nimble as possible. When we do resume face-to-face instruction, it could mean lab or career-technical classes like welding might be the ones that return first, while lecture courses remain online.”
