The school could, if it wanted to, require the students to be 18, or 18 to live in the dorms.
I think requiring vaccines will be limited to those living in the dorms.
but many school now do not allow students to take the risk and do require certain vaccines. One of my kids had the MMR, and only the MMR, required. The school for D2had a whole list of required vaccines but not chickenpox (hers were out of the standard order and the nurses always questions them, but then say āOh, but it isnāt requiredā after they make a big deal about it).
If a school allowed 20% of the school to elect not to be vaccinated, that allows for a lot of the virus to be floating around campus. Some of the vaccinated people could still get it from them - those unlucky 5% or even 15% if they got the J&J version.
@homerdog asked if schools would not only return to classes in the fall but to sports, clubs, etc. Many schools have those things now. Today I was watching a womanās lax game from U of Louisville and the announcers said the stands were open for 25% capacity. As it was womenās lax, there was plenty of room! (but yes, Iām watching it on tv; nerd).
Itās up to the schools whether to reopen all activities (and maybe the states). It seems like the larger schools have opened up more, including sports, especially if they are outside. In the fall the PAC 12 only allowed conference play, but when several schools had to cancel games because of covid, they decided to let the teams play non-conference teams (most were playing nearby schools in other conferences, not traveling the globe). PAC 12 let the basketball teams go to tournaments and play non-conference from the beginning. This spring the schools can play non-conference games. Some of the schools (mostly in L.A.) might have more restrictions placed on them by LA county or California. I donāt think any fans are allowed for indoor games but there are fans in the outdoor venues.
Ivies cancelled spring sports and all of the LACs in the NE that have each formed their own bubbles are very unlikely to allow athletes to travel or to have athletes from other schools on their campuses.
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Back in June I was called a ādoom and gloomerā on this thread for stating that there was no way colleges could have the cafeterias open, but for fall of 2021 I see opposite. Things will be returning to normal.
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I agree that there is a wide range of how schools have dealt with this pandemic.
For me personally I am torn about what was the right way to handle this. On the one hand, Iām very, very concerned about creating clusters of the disease and spreading it to the community (where there are more at-risk people). On the other hand, I think some schools are so very restrictive that it is isolating and depressing, and that the learning experience has been significantly compromised.
This has been a tough year for schools to try to balance things. Next year shouldnāt be.
Even though we should have vaccines available for everyone over the summer, some administrators are going to be too afraid of potential liability that theyāll still keep many restrictions in place. If I were a HS Senior, Iād be giving a lot of thought to how the schools Iāve been accepted to will handle the Fall (and maybe even Spring).
I hope youāre right!!
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The problem is that the class of 2021 wonāt know how colleges will handle fall in time to make their decisions on May 1.
Iām also torn about how to judge some colleges on their current handling of Covid. Some (like Richmond) do have a lot of classes in person but most everything else is not and many on-campus students are suffering mentally, especially the freshmen. They are also only testing every other week which doesnāt tell them all that much. And the kids in quarantine are complaining about really bad food. Not a good look for a school with a huge endowment. Had a big Covid break out that has now resulted in five weeks in their red zone which limits pretty much everything.
Bowdoin has only a small percent of in-person classes and only had freshmen on campus for fall and then sophs, juniors, seniors there now. Testing everyone twice a week. Does allow chosen pods to be without masks and now the gym, the library, and other buildings are open. The food is still great even though the kids have to pick it up and bring it back to their rooms to eat right now. Dining hall might open for reservations if things continue to go well with zero cases. But there was a lot of bad feelings about not having all classes on campus and, for all kids to be there next year, the school has to give up on everyone having singles which they were very serious about.
Some big state schools are testing everyone often now (Wisconsin, UIUC, tOSU, lots of others) but classes are not in person.
How to decide whatās the most important? I am looking closely at each of D21ās schools but I donāt know how much emphasis to put on the Covid piece if fall will be different than this year.
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You will not know. And even if you think you do know what school will be like in September 2021, that could all change if a variant emerges which is not affected by the vaccine in her 4 years of college attendance. We all will get proficient in living with uncertainty.
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You will not have the answer you are looking for by May 1, unfortunately. You will have to decide with the information you currently have, realizing that it may change. Dr. Fauci said he thinks things will be somewhat back to normal by Christmas. Will it? We donāt know- heās giving us his best guess with the facts he has right now. Facts change.
It stinks for students, I get it. Itās horrible, and itās insanely expensive. It also stinks for young people who are just starting out and who were looking forward to starting their lives, new jobs, meeting new people etc. Many of them are working remotely, some are living with their parents. Not good for new grads.
You are looking for a concrete answer to a very fluid situation. Last March we could not get together for both of my parents birthdays, and we all said we would do it this March. We all thought for sure that by March of 2021 things would be ok. Well, we see how that is going.
I think there will come a point (maybe the third week in April?) where you will have to look at how things are going right now, and decide if those things are good enough. It will not do you any good to try and predict what campus might look like in August. The prediction might be right, but it might be wrong. Decide if you like (or can tolerate) whatās happening now. If you do, thatās great! If not, ask for a gap year.
It stinks. I feel bad for high school students, college students, families, new grads working remotely, grad students, elderly people, business owners, etc. None of this is good.
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Madison not doing well this week.
Over 200 cases in 2 days. On one day they had 1/7th of the cases in the state.
Iām literally of the same concern and Iām reading the replies here which are so honest and appreciated. Iām obsessing constantly over this. I started a spreadsheet of what schools are doing what. 
In prior years, college choice was a difficult decision as it was with factors A B and C. Now we have factor Z which turns everything upside down.
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Iād look at what schools are doing now and whether you like their philosophy. For example, did they put up tents and have some classes outside? Did they come up with some new activities that kids could do outside together and distanced? What did they do for meals? Did they allow pods, and how big, and what did they do to help Freshmen meet people so they could form a pod. Iād also look at whether the school is in a state that has had high numbers during the pandemic and Iād stay away from them. This is all what Iād do for me, YMMV.
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My S18 is fully vaccinated. Iām VERY grateful, but heās been at risk since April working on an ambulance. Originally he told me he wouldnāt get vaccinated because he was at lower risk for serious infection. Once his fellow first responders were getting vaccinated he decided it was a good idea. I believe students that witness peers getting vaccinated will also see the light.
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The under-publicized incidence of long term effects may be a reason why people (particularly young people) discount the risk of COVID-19. For example, in this recent survey of people who have recovered from COVID-19 mostly around 6 months prior, 26.6% of 18-39 year old people reported persistent symptoms, most commonly fatigue or loss of taste or smell.
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This should help with speeding up vaccination as well.
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USC hoping to increase campus access soon, but no expectation of in person classes this semester. Plan is for students to be in residence with in person classes in the fall ā twice weekly testing for undergrads, physical distancing, and vaccines hopefully available, along with other measures to mitigate spread.
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Looks like the situation is getting worse at UMASS. Students working off-campus jobs grapple with UMassā self-sequester directive ā Massachusetts Daily Collegian
A question for CCs with experience in this area:
Certain vaccinations were required when my DC enrolled at her private LAC a couple for years ago (the typical ones). Is there a reason a private school would not be able to require the COVID vaccination?
Do public schools require any vaccinations for those attending?
Yes, both of my kids were required to submit their vaccinations to the public schools they attended.
I wonder if the state will decide whether the covid vaccine is required for public schools, or if the schools also have some input. I donāt know how this works for private schools.