@havenoidea - I seriously hope this is an ‘underpromise’ but ‘overdeliver’ situation!
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This is discouraging. I had given up on in person classes this year but was looking forward to in person college classes for our 2021’s. I appreciate the heads up but I hope it’s not the case for most colleges. 
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Would you mind sharing which school this was? Thank you😊
I’m going to vent here because I’m sure you all will get it. Why on earth would schools not be normal in the fall? Does anyone have any insight on that? Vaccines are ramping up. Every single estimate I see says they will be available at the very very latest to the general public by June. Some stories say even earlier than that. In half of the states, teachers are being vaccinated now. Lots of infectious disease doctors I see are saying summer could even be somewhat close to normal. And people are getting really tired of living like this. At some point, we just need to get our vaccines and go to school in the “normal” way. Everyone affiliated with any university will be vaccinated by June!
@havenoidea I remember you saying that your S’s school gave this grim possibility. Would you even get on the horn and try to find out why? Anyone else who is hearing that school will not be much more normal in the fall, are you getting any answers as to why? Bowdoin hasn’t said anything lately but, boy, the last time the president had a town hall back in maybe November he sounded very hopeful (almost sounded sure) that school will be normal in the fall.
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Duke
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I figured we’d wait to see if the messages were different as the months go by and more people are vaccinated. It’s so far away at this point, it doesn’t feel real to me!
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Re: Michigan, I am not sure about whether a grandparent attended but neither parent attended Michigan. At least I think so: my intel is all coming from a good friend of the family’s, but I think she is fairly certain. It is really a mystery, but admissions is a bit of a mystery anyway, especially this year. Will post if I get any more info. I myself am curious even though neither of my children ever applied to Michigan. It’s just so curious.
Wow. I sure would not be paying full freight for that experience. I have a friend doing that right now and it is BAD.
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Good point.
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In talking about vaccines on the Miami University admitted parents facebook page, which by the way is manned by AO who answers any and all questions in timely fashion doing Voom call with everyone on the site today… Anyway I digress… One of the posts was a parent who said is the school going to require students to be vaccinated to attend because if so her child would not be attending, And about 3-4 others agreed. So there is the anti-vaccers out there that adds another confounding factor for schools as they decide on fall plans.
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So sad too bad. Then those kids can’t go to school.
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The majority of kids will be 18+ so they can get it without their parents.
I would prefer the universities make it mandatory at least for dorm residents
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@burghdad could you PM how to find that admitted parents page? D21 is accepted and we plan to visit in a couple weeks. Thanks!
And I would be one of the ones hoping the schools require the vaccine!
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I really think you have to look at schools individually and also in specific groups. I’m not surprised Duke is the school that said this. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Harvard follows suit. You need to look at what these schools have done thus far for and with students since last March. There are clearly some schools that are more risk averse.
IMO you also need to look at what area of the country the schools are in. Will California schools be open/normal? I would be less sure of that due to their COVID issues and sheer population. Will UIUC be open and more normal - my guess is yes - due to locations COVID numbers.
I am in public health as a profession. My bet is the less risk averse schools in more rural locations will be back to normal. The ones in urban locations will be harder pressed to return to full normal even if risk averse.
Vaccine distribution this far has been less then expected due to supply and infrastructure issues. I believe it will take most of 2021 to get the vaccine numbers we need and have it be widely available so a school could mandate it for return to campus.
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I just think there are too many uncertainties to know where we will be in Fall for k-12 or college…for me the main ones are it’s unlikely under 12s will be vaccinated, and the variants issue. People who have been infected are getting the South African and Brazilian variants again, and the vaccines are less protective against those. And if we continue with this high level of spread (it’s still high even though we are well off our highs) we will see more variants arise.
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That is the $64K question, isn’t it? I have no idea what we will do. To visit all of D’s schools of interest would require several flights or many very long days in the car. Given COVID, neither option is appealing, especially if a campus “visit” is limited to a walk around an empty campus and a drive through the surrounding area. We will cross that bridge in March when more decisions have been released.
I think that @kbm770 is correct that pandemic circumstances require students to dig deeper past aesthetic preferences and that elusive “vibe” to figure out which schools best meet their academic needs. As for the social piece, there are multiple websites (which I don’t think I can mention here) with student reviews and tons of student vlogs on YouTube as well as the more glossy college-produced promotional videos. While an unappealing vlogger can turn a prospective student off, the same can be said of a dud campus tour guide! A little sleuthing can also turn up information about the local neighborhood (video walking tours, restaurant and bar crawls, etc.) Is this perfect? No. Will it help? Maybe. It depends on your kid as many have mentioned upthread. Some kids are more sensitive to their surroundings, others are more adaptable. Additionally, for a kid who won’t have a car, the ability to get around easily without one might be really important. Some kids like the campus bubble; others prefer colleges that blend into the surrounding community. And I think “fit” matters more the smaller the size of the college. At larger places, your kid will find his or her tribe.
We should also remember that once a college accepts your child, they will want them to come! With the exception of the very top schools that won’t have trouble filling their classes, many colleges and universities will be anxious about getting their full complement of students. If they are smart, they will be creative about recruiting, especially students to whom they’ve granted merit scholarships like your D. One would hope there would be some sort of admitted student events that would include a “live” (Zoom) campus tour in real time, perhaps video walks through the nearby area, being able to attend a virtual class, the opportunity to speak to currently enrolled students, etc. Of course, this may not be enough for your D. And if that’s the case, work with what you have. In the end, she can only attend one school.
Finally, next fall! My husband works at a nonselective public U and they are anticipating a return to in person classes in the fall at full classroom capacity. No information on how long mask requirements will be in effect. Regarding @havenoidea - I have a vague recollection that Duke had a hybrid approach this year with lots of testing and it seemed to be pretty successful. I don’t remember the details but there is a poster with a child at Duke who provided a lot of specifics about on campus protocols. It sounds like students were having a reasonable experience with some in person instruction and student activities but with caps on group size, distancing, masks, etc. Hopefully Duke is delivering a worst case scenario message and the reality may be better. If faculty and students are vaccinated, I don’t see why a return to in person classes, activities, housing, and dining couldn’t go forward. Especially if J&J and Novavax get FDA approval, there should be enough to go around by the summer.
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Mass vaccination sites will be opening in Oakland and LA. California is looking good right now. We’ll be open in the Fall. 
As I said before, I’m an optimist. 
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Thanks!
We have lawsuits going on here in California. It’s a big controversy. The medical professionals are banding together and the teachers unions are pushing back. I can’t keep track of whether or not teachers will be prioritized after 75+.
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Again not that I’m advocating for this but on Twitter it was mentioned they fear students will double deposit and go to the most open campus after plans appear solid. That would push wait list activity out and up.
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