So here’s the thing, I’ve been reading news articles and watching TikToks about students being scared that they’re going back to online classes for this upcoming semester. I am excited to start my first year of college in a few weeks and Purdue says they’re easing Covid restrictions by February or March, I hope so. I am not ready for a March 13, 2020 part 2 
and I want to live in my dorm, meet new people, and enjoy my new life 2 hours away from my family. I am worried. I feel like if I was going to an SEC school like Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, or LSU I wouldn’t have to worry about this but schools in the northern or western region of the US take Covid-19 seriously so again I don’t want to go back to online classes. Can someone clarify about what’s going on I’m confused, thank you.
Good question, and I understand you perfectly. I’m afraid this mostly boils down to arbitration on the part of university admins, so geography and philosophy regarding COVID really matter. It’s also why I gap-yeared and chose to go halfway across the US to a college that assuredly will not change their stance on COVID policies (or lack thereof), but only because I thought they matched my outlook/cheaper. Are you having second thoughts about Purdue? I probably wouldn’t(?), but if you feel very much compelled to go somewhere else do some extra research on cheaper, private colleges nearby. Or you could also transfer out later on, depending on degree path. Of course, take it with a grain of salt.
Colleges have their own motivation not to return to 2020, including financial. The schools I know of are being cautious and going online for 2-3 weeks while students get tested. I have heard of a few that may stay virtual all semester but students are given the choice to return to campus or not. Many think Omicron willl burn itself out quickly. Stay hopeful! I really feel for so many college students missing out on these years so far.
Purdue’s messaging has been very much focused on severity of cases. It appears Omicron causes even less severe symptoms than the other variants. As such, I don’t see Purdue moving to online. I could see the mask mandate being extended though and boosters required to avoid weekly testing.
Things are very fluid though and could change, but we are keeping our fingers crossed for another in person semester.
Because Omicron is so new and so little is known about it, colleges are going to respond differently, even in the same region. It’s worth watching how colleges on quarter system respond. Their winter quarter is about to start right after the New Year. Almost all of them have chosen to go remote in the first week or two. However, some will allow their students to go back on campus while taking classes remotely, and some won’t. They also seem to have different protocols for testing. Considering how fast Omicron spreads, we’ll know quickly how well their procedures work. Fingers crossed.
A) Georgia Tech is not in the SEC
- what is the vaccination requirement at Purdue? I feel like with some schools requiring vaccination that they may give the option to be in person or online. But for the most part, I think most universities are not willing to take the financial hit that they took last year by not having in-person.
It’s anyone’s guess - so here’s mine:
- Colleges will require boosters (as soon as individually eligible) to maximize prevention.
- Colleges that start early January, might push back a week and shorten spring break (e.g., Yale).
- Colleges will likely start the first two weeks with online classes, allowing for returning students to get tested/finish isolating. It also allows for “staggered move in”, thus further reducing the initial intensity (e.g., Columbia Univ incl. Barnard).
- Food services will be take-out during that time
- Campuses, libraries, etc. will be open (with mask mandates).
As observed elsewhere, within 3 weeks Omicron is likely to have swept through much of the exposed U.S. population, plus the world will have more solid data on Omicron with respect to fully vaccinated/boostered, incl. hospitalization numbers (factor of hospitalization rates and transmission rates).
In comparison, very few students were vaccine-eligible a year ago, and in Spring 2020 all we had to go by was dire public-health situations in Italy and elsewhere (for those who could be bothered to look) - leaving “draconic” measures essentially the only tool in the box back then.
(Frankly, for 2022 I’m more worried about the effects of TikTok itself, or whatever flavor-of-the-day-app…)
Okay that’s good news… I remember I was making fun of the class of 2020 not having a graduation and a normal college experience now I know exactly how they feel
The last time any school gave us “two weeks of online classes” turned into nearly 2 years.
I’m not having second thoughts on Purdue, I don’t want them to shut down in person classes again.
I understand your frustration, take it from someone who had COVID last year, then got vaccinated, then caught COVID two weeks ago (omicron), eventually we and the universities have to realize how to live with this. For me I would have thought I had the flu last year and a head cold this year if I had never heard of COVID, but testing verified it both times. Going online for a fully vaccinated school is the epidemy of ridiculous. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.
“epitome” oops spell corrector didn’t do me any favors.