I hope they just start up, either online or in person this Fall. I don’t think going that long without math would be good for my incoming engineering student. Yeah, he could keep his skills sharp on Khan Academy or something, but would he? Probably not. But…some extra time to work in the warehouse and mature a little wouldn’t hurt either.
For residential colleges, how is it going to work with “re-opening” the college campuses in January and moving millions of students into the campus in the dead of winter? Areas such as Boston, Chicago, NY, Michigan, Minneapolis, Maine, etc.
Call me a cynic but I could see colleges “slow playing” us. Telling students and families to hold tight with us for online instruction in the fall with the promise of opening in January but as we get closer to December/January the colleges saying one more semester of online instruction in the spring is needed. This is the path of least resistance for the colleges and it still preserves their tuition payments for the year. I really hope I’m wrong…
At least he has work. My D work(ed) in a restaurant. 
I don’t think European universities have any plans yet. They generally don’t plan this far out - In April, most students in Europe don’t even know what university they are attending in the fall. Also, most European universities don’t have dorms - so I can totally see them starting in the fall. Living situation not their problem.
Colleges ARE NOT going to release any information right now as to what they planning to do in the Fall. In the middle of April, they are just worried about getting their freshmen class together. I am sure they have a contingency plan for the fall semester which they are not going to make it known right now (Probably online) All the schools are taking housing deposits and continue to do business as usual. Once June /July rolls around, we will all get a feel as to where this is all going.
This situation is changing every day and they can not wait until May the 2nd comes around. They will have a feel for what they have and either go on panic mode or be happy with what they see. This will not be a guarantee because they will still have to worry about which upperclassmen are not showing up come August/September. If this extends to January, this country will be in a deep depression. Not only economically but mentally. Many think we are there already!
Stanford has recently emailed students to let them know that if the college goes online, there will be no reduction in tuition. I can imagine that nobody will be back on campus until minimum January.
That sounds like providing “informed consent” to me. Writing on the wall that classes will very likely be online for fall.
So, I am curious what students/families are choosing to do when they are not keen on online classes and worry that might be the case in the Fall… Are you committing to the college/university and if it’s announced that the term will be online are you considering at that time asking for a gap year? or are you asking for a gap year now? If a gap year is not approved would you consider withdrawing? But, if you withdraw, what will you do? Will you start the whole admission process over the following year? I am curious who is actually changing the university they commit to because of cost coupled with the fear of online classes. And, I am curious if you plan to transfer when things settle, will you do the transfer application process with the idea the class size at the desired college will have low enrollment and be more likely to accept transfers? The kids have to make a decision by May/June but this will still likely be before we know what colleges will do… It seems there is still X number of seniors who plan to commit somewhere… My S20 has made a decision. We are in Europe and our D17 daughter is with us doing online classes for her US college. But, I feel a bit out of touch since we are not in the US now. I know where we are it is an extremely strict quarantine. They check your ID before you enter a grocery store to make sure you are shopping at your closest grocery. They check your groceries when you leave to make sure you didn’t just buy a too few things that the trip could have waited or you didn’t buy too much that they would be suspicious you are having a party. You can only walk your dog 50m from your house and you will be stopped to show your ID so they can see your home is close…and pets have passports so they check to make sure you are walking YOUR dog and not borrowing a dog. They have drones that track you as well. I guess I am saying I am having a hard time grasping what the situation is really like in the US right now.
My son is moving forward with everything to start this fall. He’s going to Arizona and they have opened their roommate portal and are going to have dorm/room selection start in a couple of weeks. If everything ends up online, then he’ll go online. We talked about a gap year and he said he knows if he takes a year off that he’ll never go back.
My son has accepted the fact that school will be online in the fall and he feels it is better than being stuck at home doing nothing.
@SaltH20 The situation is much more lax on the east coast of the U.S. Currently only essential businesses are allowed to operate. Schools are shut, most people are socially distancing and people are beginning to wear masks out in public. People are allowed to leave home and ID is not checked anywhere. No checking of groceries.
What would kids do if they take a gap year? There are no jobs to be had. In the past, many took a semester abroad or some sort of “activity” to either grow, expand their horizons, or make some money. it just does not exist right now.
Having an inexpensive option would be the ultimate choice. If money is an issue and If the total “experience” is not going to be there, why spend the money in basic classes especially at non-elite OOS Universities. S20 has always “dreamed” of going to school over 1000 miles away. Now or when the time comes (if online) , he will have the same experience but much closer to home and at one of the more affordable options.
It is kind of weird how all these kids are “attending” different Universities including some very expensive OOS and privates, and yet they are all home within a few houses of each other.
This is probably the first time in who knows how long (decades?) that the students will have the upper hand. The fact that these schools will not be offering “the experience” (charging a huge premium) and all the marketing stuff they have been doing for years to try differentiate their schools could be going down the window. This could be short term. But if this continues through next year, the class of 2021 will have even a bigger impact as many in the 2020 class already made their decisions.
Congrats, @Boomer1964 ! After much agonizing, my D20 finally decided to commit to FSU. We spoke with the admissions directors of both UF and FSU and UF declined to guarantee her scholarship in the event the state of Florida decides to defund it, but FSU was willing to guarantee. We also all preferred FSU over UF for a number of reasons, but both are really great schools!
We figured that the Florida colleges seem to already have a handle on delivering online coursework, and my D doesn’t have a problem with online work, so we will roll with what comes during this crisis. She is really hoping to study abroad during college, so hopefully that will be an available option at some point during the next four years.
My S2O has not yet committed but is still moving forward the same as pre-COVID. He has narrowed down his list and will not be choosing the lowest cost school which is less than an hour away.
As of today, his first choice is in another state (we are in CA) and we are fine with that. He knows it is a very real possibility that fall semester could be online and wouldn’t be happy if that is the case but prepared to accept it. We fall into the group of families that place a lot of value on the college ‘experience’ so are taking the long term view - even if freshman semester or year is impacted, he will hopefully have 3 / 3.5 years on campus.
Also agree with other posters in questioning what other options there are. Don’t think he would benefit from a gap semester or year if he is just sitting around the house. And I am doubtful he would get approval from his college to take classes from our local CC or university - have read on this site that taking CC classes for credit could jeopardize standing as an incoming freshman, but don’t know if that is true everywhere.
He has also worked so hard to get accepted into these schools, a number of which were reaches for him, that I wouldn’t want to risk taking that away.
My D17, on the other hand, expressed an interest in taking a semester off if classes were online in the fall and I totally support that, given what we are paying for her to attend her LAC. As an existing student, the process to take a semester off just requires notifying the school and does not require approval. As a junior, she also likely would not have any problem getting approval from her department to take a few online classes from one of our local universities for a lower price that would be helpful for her for grad school.
At this point, my D20 will be moving forward and attending her OOS school as planned, whether it be online or on-campus. I also feel like if she can get 3/3.5 years on campus than it will be worth it for her.
The way she and I both look a gap year is 1) you probably can’t travel anywhere, 2) local colleges may also be online as well, and 3) jobs are not easy to come by at the moment. (There are several people who have been laid off and have work experience that my 18 year old would have to compete against for jobs, even a Target or grocery store job. She has been looking for this type of summer work so far without any luck. I will be okay with her sitting around this summer because I feel like it will be her last “free” summer, and she could use a break anyway after these last 4 very busy years; however, neither she nor I want to see her sitting around and not studying or working for a whole year.)
DD20 is moving forward with her OOS choice even if fall is online but we are monitoring her IS options just in case one school is online and another is not. We are likely driving her to move in rather than flying so no risk of not being able to obtain what she needs once we arrive, no stress from shopping (standing in lines to get in, etc), no loss of control over the timeline due to cancelled flights, etc. We just need the hotel to be available to us for 2 nights once we are there. Masks in school colors, anyone?
D20 finally committed yesterday, to Loyola Chicago. She really had her heart set on Northeastern, but we are full pay - she is a smart kid and understood that an extra $90k+ over 4 years was not the rational choice. Loyola was her second choice and offered her enough merit aid to be almost equivalent to our in-state options. I’m much more comfortable with online classes in the fall this way.
@amsunshine Congratulations to you as well. My neighbor will be attending FSU as well and she is very excited. Lots of kids from GA attend FSU and they all love the school. I know he is very excited and understands that the Fall Semester might be an issue. Perhaps a lighter schedule and figuring out some “easier” classes would be the way to go. Even though all these kids are pretty much going to be on the same boat, I do worry about their motivation. I already see how little motivation they have in finishing their senior year online. They have basically “checked out”. Some counties in the area are already calling for an early end to the school year. They are having a hard time bringing what it takes to the students.
@coun2316. Congratulations to you as well. That is a lot of money especially when part of the freshman year might be the same. Chicago is a great city and the school is in a great area of town.
Ack, thought my son was close to committing, but now is back to four contenders. He’s been doing online accepted students sessions and Q&As for his major and is now finding a lot of pros in all his choices. Unfortunately one school still has a May 1 commitment date so the pressure is on.
I think both my kids have decided to take a semester off if schools are online in the fall.
Stupid question but I see many posters state that their kids will take a semester off or a gap year. Do we even know if colleges will allow this? Is it even an option?
It would seem to me that colleges would allow a small percentage of their class to take a semester or gap year, probably less than 1 % as they need the tuition and, in normal times, room & board to help fund their operations for the academic school year.
What am I missing here?
Ooh, I just caught a typo in my post above. Should be “then”, not “than”. I hate that you can’t edit here. LOL
@taverngirl Mine had 4 contenders for a while and is now down to 3. 
We received an e-mail from 2 of them saying that the May 1st deadline will stand but to e-mail them if you are requesting more time. I was waiting to see if deadlines would be pushed to June 1st across the board, but it looks like that won’t be the case. So at this point, she will make a decision, and we will be putting down a deposit by May 1st.
I can say that seeing how all these schools handle recent events, as well as lurking on some parent Facebook pages, have given me more clarity about the schools, and I feel good about the one that I think she will be choosing.