My daughter is hoping/planning to study in England next year. She is making backup plans for spring should it not be possible.
2 Likes
I hope things do improve so your D can study in England. The UK was very slow to address the virus last year but they sure are making up for it recently with pretty draconian measures. St. Andrews in Scotland had asked all students to stay home at the beginning of the semester in late January bc classes began fully on line in compliance with the nationwide lockdown. Today they just announced they are fully remote for the rest of the semester and again reiterated no one should come live either at or near the university.
And the UK is ahead of the rest of Europe on the vaccine rollout. Very curious.
1 Like
Believe it or not, my son is leaving on Tuesday for study abroad outside of Florence. 30 kids from his smallish religious liberal arts school. Flight is Delta “Covid-tested” direct from ATL to FCO - negative covid tests before flight and on arrival get exemption from quarantine. Tuscany is one of the Italian regions in the best shape. There is still a curfew, but museums opened a couple of weeks ago. They will be in a villa/facility outside of Florence, taking 4 classes, doing what travel they can in Tuscany. Hoping they make it through to May. I know of 2 Catholic colleges that did study abroad in Rome in the fall and they did okay - some quarantine here and there and one school ended the program one week early, but one student I know in it felt it was still well worth it. Fingers crossed.
8 Likes
I remember. It’s so disappointing, but I think everything happens for a reason. I think this has revealed a real weakness in the organization and culture at the school, and I’d rather he chalk it all up to a year of covid than stay someplace dysfunctional for 4 years. Responsibility certainly lies with the students who are not complying, but ultimately the university set the stage for this by not having enough residence life staff, and not enforcing their own rules from the outset. There seems to be a real mistrust between the admin and students, and the town is interwoven in all of it, too. Rumor is that the RA union is circulating a petition for a vote of no confidence against the chancellor and admin…ugh.
The latest this afternoon is that kids are getting written up for getting more than 1 pkg per week. They’re counting letters as packages, so kids getting birthday cards from family and books for class are being penalized with disciplinary action. They can’t go out to buy their books, they can’t control who sends them letters… It’s all very punitive and unsupportive. Just not the right place for him, and I’m glad we know it now.
3 Likes
What?? Since when does getting more than 1 package a week increase covid? UMASS seems to have completely gone off the deep end. I know there is tremendous pressure from the greater community, but their positivity rate still seems to be about 1%.
7 Likes
Surely, you jest, right? They are punishing them for receiving more than one package or letter a week?! That is honestly absurd. I am incredulous.
And, like you, I would be very relieved to have my child not returning there in the future.
But so very sorry it all came to this.
Horrible situation.
4 Likes
Our son had been accepted to study in England in Fall 2021 … but his university just announced that the program has been put on hold and that he will have to apply for Spring 2022 if he is still interested.
2 Likes
There was a tiered risk system established in July with a county’s risk level dependent on ICU capacity, the number of new daily coronavirus cases and the testing positivity rate. Schools were not allowed to open while they were in the highest risk/PURPLE category. LA County has never left this category. But many counties (including San Francisco and surrounding counties, Orange and San Diego counties) had fallen from the highest risk down to RED risk in September (or even below that to ORANGE)…and yet the school districts did not open, even though they were allowed to! The unions are strong and unless they felt comfortable in 100% of their schools having necessary COVID supplies, testing, etc. they were strongly resistant to going back to school in September/October when they could have. Remember, at that time, the vaccine was still theoretical, and it was pre-election, so many gave up hope of any federal support coming through to help. Then, many of these same counties flipped back into RED when covid started raging in CA in November. All those schools that were already open could stay open regardless of being back in the high risk category, but the ones that had not opened missed their chance because the rule is the county must be in the Red Tier or below to open. Now, that said…Covid got so bad here in SoCal in Dec and Jan that many schools that were already opened flipped to remote for a few weeks before and after the holiday break. Not a huge Newsom fan myself, but just clarifying what’s going on here because he was not shutting down the schools, per se. Many counties like OC, San Diego, and even LA are likely to fall back to the Red Tier within the next few weeks and will have the opportunity to re-open and he’s being very vocal that waiting for the vaccine for all teachers should not be the criteria for reopening. Teachers are prioritized now in CA but we don’t have the doses. My school district is not yet open, but all the ones around me have been open since October. Sadly, many of the school districts that did not reopen in October are larger, and poorer.
4 Likes
Princeton has everyone back on campus this semester (though most classes are being taught virtually).
Here is the updated list:
Stanford (cancelled last minute for winter quarter, spring quarter TBD)
UC Berkeley (all classes, ongoing quarantine for COVID surge)
Rice (all classes)
Columbia (seniors and few juniors)
Cornell (all classes)
Princeton (Freshman and Seniors only)
Harvard (Soph, Junior and Seniors only)
UVA (all classes)
Duke (all classes)
Williams (all classes)
Pomona (no students allowed on campus)
Amherst (Freshman, Juniors and Seniors only (some sophs)
Haverford (all classes)
Bryn Mawr (all classes)
Bowdoin (Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors only)
Middlebury (all classes)
Wesleyan (all classes)
Tufts (all classes)
UChicago (all classes)
Vanderbilt (all classes)
Looks like Harvard, Columbia and Bowdoin are the only ones that have not invited freshmen.
1 Like
Bowdoin has just freshmen for fall so each class got one semester.
Got it, also, correction on Princeton, its all classes.
Your Mail | Living at UMass Amherst describes the policy and gives recommendations on how to limit the frequency of deliveries, but does not list what penalties there may be.
2 Likes
Swarthmore (Juniors and Seniors for spring; First-years and Sophs for fall)
1 Like
The posts re: UMASS have been very insightful. My D was very excited to be admitted. We are OOS and plan to visit this Spring. But I am not encouraged by what I’ve learned recently thanks to your posts.
The overreaction by some of these colleges has been illuminating. It seems there is an administrative bureaucracy just waiting to impose nonsensical rules on many campuses.
9 Likes
I love this story! Hopefully things go wonderfully for your son!
4 Likes
The reason California is struggling through a surge could be the variant which arose there: New California Variant May Be Driving Virus Surge There, Study Suggests - The New York Times
Variants are most likely to arise in populations with a large percentage of unvaccinated people who are getting infected multiple times. College students will be good at spreading those variants between states. They also could be good at incubating variants if they are not vaccinated or careful, because they will get reinfected.
I think colleges should vaccinate their students this spring while they have them as a relatively captive audience. Use the J&J vaccine so that it only takes one jab. By the time they return in the fall, they’ll have the full benefit. They think it takes seven weeks to develop the full immunity, but then it’s as effective as the mRNA vaccines.
3 Likes
They are way ahead on vaccine rollout, but sadly also still ahead in spread and deaths (particularly spread of the new, more contagious variants). They just can’t afford to get it wrong a third time, so now it’s full steam ahead on vaccines and everyone hunker down until then.
3 Likes
Same for Wellesley.
Grinnell invited each class back for 1/2 of 1 semester (splitting two semesters into four).
Mount Holyoke invited all classes back for spring.
2 Likes