So if fall classes are online, will we be charged the online tuition rate vs the on-campus rate? Some schools have a different price for their online degree programs.
Weâd all be disappointed if S20 didnât get to move into the dorms in September, but it would be doable. Heâs used to online classes. And it would save us that room & board money.
Iâm really glad, now, that he insisted on going to the local U, because Iâd be pretty stressed out if we were trying to figure out whether to book flights.
It would be weird but his whole cohort will be going through the same thing, and I guess theyâll adjust.
I would expect on line tuition to be the same. The colleges arenât getting any cost savings by being on line for a semester-they are paying the same professors, and will still have to maintain their physical campus facilities and pay interest on their debts incurred in building those facilities.
Iâve accepted that DS might have to be online this Fall, which is probably upsetting me more than it is him to be honest. But, what Iâm wondering is what would happen to financial aid? We are getting a lot of grant/scholarship money and I think it would be cheaper to send him away and pay room and board with the FA than to feed him at home if they significantly cut the aid!
I wouldnât start thinking that online for the fall will be the only non-traditional option. See above. BU is considering moving âfallâ semester to January.
I feel for you all who need to make this decision based on little information about what will happen for this first semester but I donât think itâs even possible for colleges to give hard answers before a June 1 decision date.
My oldest kid had the worst case of mono her freshman year. I have been preaching about college germs ever since. However, I do really worry about the chance of online school this fall. I donât think online classes will be ideal for my kid. Yet itâs something they must adjust to sooner or later, as online classes are becoming more and more common even for students studying on campus. The only concession we will potentially make is maybe dropping down to 6 or 9 hours, if online. I will not let my kids sit the whole year out. Can you imagine what that would make next fall look like? Current juniors are going to continue on their path of applying for and planning to start the fall of 2021. If there is a disproportionate amount of 2020 kids delaying their start, I just feel like that will throw everything off and they will not have an ideal freshman year experience anyway, if delayed. Thoughts on this angle?
D will be disappointed. Sheâs so excited for college. I hope it saves us room and board $$.
Card in the mail today from tOSU reminding admitted students to pay their deposit by 5/1. DD20âs 1st choice school is not even posting a decision about summer orientation dates and location (online or not) until then. I guess that means she will be making a decision about turning down her most affordable admission before she even knows if she is choosing an online orientation and potentially online fall. It really stinks that these kids are making such big decisions with so little information. No one person or organization is to blame, but it stinks.
If Iâm reading this correctly, they would have a January start be the âFallâ semester and make-up âSpringâ semester in the summer and there would be no traditional summer semester?
For D20 we are starting to really research whether or not a 1 year deferral to Fall 2021 might make more sense? I just get the feeling that if they are online Fall 2020, the administration in January (without a vaccine) they might say, âok just one more semester doing online and then we are done with thisâ (i.e. they are stringing us along).
But then if she defers a year and by some miracle kids are allowed on campus for the Fall 2020, she will be really bummedâŠ
The other point is Iâm not too worried about what she would do during the âgapâ year. She would likely work part-time and then she could do an unpaid internship or volunteer somewhere and get some experience. We are lucky we live in a big city with (hopefully) lots of options especially for unpaid work. The country will be âopened upâ in the coming months, there should be some jobs for a 18 year old?
My S20 will be really disappointed if he doesnât get to go to college this fall. Heâs handling the disastrous end to high school just fine, but I think having to stay here taking online classes will be really sad.
I wonder if theyâll all have a uniform situation, or if it will matter which school you pick? If one was open, heâd definitely choose that one!
@socaldad2002 I am looking at the unemployment numbers with a realistic view that even if the country does open up my DD is going to be in a pool against those with much more experience. I predict even unpaid internships will be hard to secure with plenty of just graduated college students looking for any leg in.
@NYC2018nyc, I sure hope that universities will announce their plans before 5/1 to help students like yours decide.
My sonâs university has already announced a one-month delay in the start of the Fall semester (to mid-October). I was very relieved to hear this. It looks like dorms will be open (they still are).
I am imagining that there will be a lot of students asking to defer to 2021 if theyâre being forced to make a decision before 5/1, and this will certainly impact admissions for the class of 2021.
I have a feeling schools are intentionally not announcing alternative plans for fall, until after May 1.
S20 said he would be fine with having the fall semester online. He has taken many online classes in the past and did just fine. S22 would be happy to have him around for another semester 
No matter what, this certainly wonât be the semester we all envisioned last fall.
I have a 3rd year college student who is itching to go back to his college apartment. We keep getting notices from the school/city/fire/police telling kids who stayed in town to stop socializing and stop having parties. So it isnât just the classroom, professors and staff that they have to worry about. It is also taking care of thousands of 18-22 year olds who arenât compliant. Are student health services at the colleges able to handle the thousands of students coming back?
I honestly donât think schools can know before 5/1 or 6/1. How can they? Thatâs what you all should be keeping in mind. Heck, we all donât even know yet if stay in place rules will extend past April 30. No one knows how this will look in summer. No one knows how governors will determine how to go back to work. There could be really good answers in two months or we could still be fumbling around.
Many colleges have task forces now trying to come up with options to present to their boards and the college presidents. Bowdoinâs task force report isnât even due until 6/15 and then there will be more time before a decision is made. Right now, class registration and housing lottery have been put off until late June. Itâs not realistic for schools to have absolute answers before the 2020 kids have to decide.
I think 2020 kids need to make decisions with the worst case scenario in mind and be ready for that. Then, if itâs better than that in the fall, thatâs bonus.
@homerdog I donât expect schools to have all the answers now. As you said, there are a lot of unknowns still. But, on the webcast I was on, as well as others reported here, the message seems to beâŠWe expect to be on campus in the fall. Theyâre not even saying that they are considering all options, just in case. Of course they are (I hope), but the Admissions folks arenât saying it.
@momzilla2D honestly, if possible, I would avoid schools saying that. They arenât being honest. They canât âexpect to be on campusâ. So, either they arenât being honest and saying they are working on options, or they are clueless and think being on campus will happen and maybe they wonât be ready for fall if it is not.
Transparency is a very good thing. I would pick the school that is being the most thoughtful in their responses. The one that got the refunds back. The one that is doing well by its students. Thatâs the school you want to be at in times like this. Google the name of the college and covid-19 and read all of the updates theyâve posted for their current students.
@mom2jgd
Oh really? What school? I havenât heard of any schools admitting that yet.
I have to say I have been impressed with American University where my daughter will be attending next year. The President of the College sends out weekly updates, admitted students have webinars options for classes, social life and what to expect first year, admission staff is offering individualized appointments for admitted students to ask questions, current parents are beginning to receive refunds for room and board without even having to fill out paperwork and last but not least Americanâs parent social media feeds are informing incoming and current parents on a daily basis of any news they receive regarding the pandemic and next fall. To bring a glimmer of hope on this thread, current students were allowed to register for in person fall classes and housing this week. I think some universities are looking at multiple options all at once and I know it will not be perfect BUT I appreciate how the school my daughter will be a freshman at next year at least communicates with our family.