As coronavirus spikes, what does future hold for Modesto’s college-bound students?

In a typical summer, high school graduates heading to college in the fall would be visiting their campuses, registering for classes and preparing to move into dorms.

But as coronavirus cases continue to rise and colleges close in-person operations, many Modesto-area graduates are left with uncertainty about what awaits them in the fall.

Downey High School graduate Jack Litke was set to attend Yale University when the school announced that almost all instruction would be held remotely. Litke decided to take a gap year, not wanting to miss out on the in-person experiences that drew him to the Connecticut campus in the first place.

“I’m not a huge fan of computers,” Litke said. “It’s really pretty silly to pretend that an in-person experience and an online experience are even close to being equivalent.

“You can’t replicate in-person bonding over a computer screen.”

In the face of remote schoolwork, 2020 graduates now have to make tough choices about whether to attend their schools in-person or stay at home in Modesto for the semester.

Some are choosing to move away even if all coursework is online so they don’t miss out on the freshman “college experience,” like Big Valley Christian High School graduate Avery Orr, who’s heading to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“The end of my senior year got taken away from me,” Orr said. “And I understand it was a sacrifice that we had to make so that everyone can be healthy and stay safe. But then to find out that my first quarter of my freshman year will also likely be taken away from me was very sad and disappointing because I already sacrificed so much.

“I really, really want to go to school. I love my family to death, but it’s time for me to move out, time for me to go to school. And I would be really sad if I had to stay home.”

UC schools, CSUs taking different paths

The University of California is aiming for a hybrid approach, allowing for some in-person instruction, but California State University announced in May that classes would be held remotely.

The number of students who have stated their intent to enroll at Stanislaus State is normal compared to other years, according to Noelia Gonzales, assistant vice president for enrollment services. Gonzales said that more students may have decided to attend Stanislaus State over other schools to save money, since almost all colleges will have the majority of instruction online for the fall. But students only had until May 1 to sign their intent, before California State University and colleges across the country moved to mostly online.

Unlike Stanislaus State, MJC is still enrolling students, and will continue to do so until the first day of class. So far, enrollment trends are looking consistent compared to this point last year, according to Dean for Institutional Effectiveness Jenni Abbott. She added that MJC is on track for full enrollment.

“We don’t know the number of students who are choosing MJC because of COVID-related issues, but we offer plenty of courses that will transfer to four-year universities, when students are ready,” Abbott said.

Trinity Chukes, a Beyer High School graduate planning to live off-campus at Sacramento State, said her parents wanted her to defer Sacramento State for a year and attend MJC to save money and then transfer in fall 2021.

“I definitely thought about MJC because how they offer the free classes the first year,” Chukes said. “I did take that into consideration and I talked to my friends about that as well, but we just really so badly wanted to have the college experience that we just don’t want to be in Modesto.”

For students who took courses at MJC while still in high school, taking a year at MJC instead of the school they committed to might not be the best option.

Enochs High School graduate Ana Jimenez started taking MJC courses her junior year of high school, and said she only needs three more classes to fulfill general education requirements. Jimenez said it made more sense for her to commit fully to UC Berkeley in the fall instead of delaying her start.

UC Berkeley announced on July 8 it was reconsidering plans for the fall semester after the University Health Services office saw 47 new cases in one week, mostly from social gatherings in the CalGreek system. Jimenez said she plans to return in the fall as long as it’s safe.

“Ever since I got accepted, I have been dying to get out of high school, just so I can go to campus and be there and be in the environment,” Jimenez said.

“I know that it is possible that there might be a breakout at the school in which case they will shut down and I will return home. I’m fully aware of how dangerous it is and I will protect myself the same way that I’m doing here. I have a risk of getting the virus no matter where I am.”

But even if she goes to UC Berkeley in person, Jimenez said she knows she’ll still be missing out on key social aspects of college like clubs and sporting events.

“UC Berkeley has already stated that club meetings will be held online, that football games will be kept to a minimum amount of people and there will be restrictions on sporting events,” Jimenez said. “There will be restrictions on campus events, they’re not going to be allowed in person, you have to do them online,” she said.

“I think those are very big things that I’m going to be missing out on socially, because I was really excited to go to my first college football game and to be able to participate in these clubs that I’ve heard great things about and meet other people.”

Gregori graduate to remain in Modesto

When Gregori High School graduate Kevin Farran discovered Sacramento State was moving fully online, he decided to stay in Modesto for the semester since “obviously there was no point” in paying for housing while taking remote classes.

“Half of my tuition was going to be staying at Sac State,” Farran said. “I feel completely comfortable staying at my desk and doing online class that first semester, I would way rather do that than pay half my tuition and stay in an apartment that’s not really needed since I’m not doing in-person classes.”

He said he plans to move to Sacramento in January and that he’s “not going to let this pandemic get in the way of what I want to do for my future.”

While some like Farran already have a fall plan in place, others are still in the lurch, waiting on their college to make an official decision about classes.

Jocelyn Fahlen, a Gregori High School graduate going to Columbia University in New York, said she’s had her plane ticket ready for New York since committing to her school, but doesn’t know yet whether she’s using it. Fahlen said she expects all her classes to be held online, and if that happens, plans to stay in Modesto for the semester. New students arrived on campus in 2019 on Aug. 25, but Columbia has not yet released their schedule for the 2020-2021 academic year.

“If housing isn’t offered to us, it’d be really hard to find a place to stay in New York,” Fahlen said. “I just think it would be really lonely to move out there without really anything to do besides online school, especially because almost everything is shut down in the city still because of the pandemic going on.

“If I did go and stay at a dorm, it would be more like a temporary residence, because there’s always the threat that you’d have to go back home.”

Along with delays on instruction decisions, some colleges have pushed back waitlist dates. Students who were waitlisted for a college — neither denied nor accepted — may still be waiting for spots to open. Enochs High School graduate Evan Heiss enrolled at Purdue University because he “had to register for something,” but is still waiting to hear back from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Purdue’s fall term begins on August 24, which gives Heiss just over a month to hear back from Cal Poly and decide what to do.

“I was supposed to get a notification back by June 15, but because of the craziness of the pandemic, they had to push it back another month. And so at this point I might get the news a couple of weeks before I would leave on a plane to Purdue,” Heiss said. “So it sort of feels like running away at the altar, but I’m still clinging on to hope that it’ll come through.”

But even as plans for the fall are pushed off or remain uncertain, high school graduates are holding out hope more in-person classes and other opportunities like clubs and sports will come back in 2021.

Litke said that ultimately it’s “disappointing” that he has to wait a year for Yale, “but at the same time, it doesn’t really change the fact that I’m still going to Yale. And hopefully this time next year, I’ll get the experience that I’ve been waiting for the whole time.”

This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 4:00 AM.