My D20 got word today that she will not be heading to campus in the fall. She is devastated. While I think it is ultimately a better choice than moving to campus under the conditions it sounds like they are going to run res life, I feel terrible for her. At this point, she is the only one of her group of HS friends who will not be leaving for school in August.
I am going to reach out to the two schools where she declined acceptances (which are currently both stating they will be returning to on-campus instruction in the fall) and see if there is any option to accept. I’m not going to share this info with her yet - I’m going to give her some time to mourn what isn’t going to happen and hope she comes around to realizing that although it may stink, it is likely a temporary thing. If she doesn’t come around to that, then we’ll talk about other options.
Ok. Not to be picky but XC runners aren’t going to not run for ten days to sit in their dorm rooms. I guess that’s a first world problem but, right now, they are all training with directions from their coach and there’s one rest day per week. Plus, that seems to only be the direction from one college so I’m guessing other colleges will have some sort of quick testing available upon arrival. I could maybe see staying in your room until you get results if it’s 48 hours. Not sure why Berkeley would require his long isolation period upon arrival and no other school has put that in their plan (yet). Plus, I agree with whoever said that will be quite a feat to get food to all of those kids for 7-10 days.
@“Cardinal Fang” isolating at the beginning would no way guarantee an “on campus experience for a year”. Anyone could catch the virus at any time after that and end up in isolation again.
And for a lot of American students, college is a means to an end, not some “amazing” life experience. They live at home, attend community colleges, work nights washing dishes, return to college as non-traditional students, etc.
Broad generalizations are not generally useful and are more often just insulting to those who don’t fit under such tidy umbrellas.
Has your son heard how training will be structured? I can’t see how runners will be able to train in the usual tight pace groups unless they wear masks, and we both know they can’t run at those paces in masks.
Dropping test requirement for the current year isn’t a surprise, but its decision on SCEA does surprise. The article doesn’t say whether that decision is only for this year. I expect not only some EA schools but also some ED schools to follow suit.
Observing this thread is quite fascinating. Many want to get back on campus and are willing to observe the rules set by their chosen school. Many others point out that there are certain rules that schools simply cannot expect their student to follow - most not related to academics. Students got to party, students got to run, students got to .
… or the most economy class colleges (typically community colleges and commuter-based state universities serving primarily local students who go to class and then go home).
Colleges whose primary “value” is in the experience (as opposed to the academic content or the prestige) are likely to be the ones under the most pressure to keep as much of their “normal” experience as possible. But many of these are the colleges that people on their forums focus on.
@“Cardinal Fang” Exactly. My son plays a fall D1 sport at his college. If sitting in a dorm room for 7-10 days means he can return to campus, play his sport, continue his education and see his friends, he will willingly do so.
Are other colleges de-assigning rooms for classes where the instructor wants to be fully remote, even if the class is small enough to fit in an available room at sufficiently low density?
@AlwaysMoving the track kids who stayed near campus for spring continued to run in small groups and that is still going on. No masks. Can’t really run their pace in masks. If there are rules about running in packs this fall, I’m sure they can make that work.
See, the problem is this. Almost none of these kids are distancing where they are running now. Many are on runs with their high school buddies and no one is getting sick. This is the crux to this issue of rules on campus. Many, many teenagers now aren’t distancing at all unless they are in a store. No one they know is sick. S19’s team is spread out all over the US. No one knows anyone sick right now. So, I’m not saying that colleges should have no rules, but it’s a fact that a lot of kids are living pretty free right now and going back to campus will force them into a situation most haven’t been dealing with since mid-March. At least then they were at home and had their families to hang out with, but it was bad for their mental health. We all know that.
I do wonder how to gage how students’ mental health will be this semester. Good to be back on campus and see friends after six months. Bad because seeing them will be so limited especially on a campus with all kids in dorms.
My kids don’t care what the rules are as long as they can get out of our house!
Wake Forest had a nice web presentation last night describing their plans to date:
Important Dates / Deadlines:
June 30: Full plan for how we will open the Fall 2020 released, including more residential life information
July 15: Undergraduate registration process and course information becomes available
August 26-November 24: On-campus instruction for undergraduate students occurs; we will forgo fall break this year; check with graduate and professional schools for slight variations to their calendars
November 30 – December 18: Remainder of the fall semester and final exams occur remotely
Academics:
Course design will incorporate face-to-face, blended and online classes.
The fall course schedule, with updated course information, will be finalized by July 15.
Residential Life:
Housing: We are working with public health experts on configurations of residence halls and off-campus housing options. Plan for housing will be outlined by June 30.
Dining: We will offer a revised and flexible set of dining options, including enhanced take-away service and delivery offering; self-serve buffet-style meals will likely not be possible.
Activities: We anticipate the Wellbeing Center will be open with appropriate safety measures; we plan to offer a revised number of intramurals while pursuing creative new options. We are working to create a vibrant campus with numerous events, public performances and art that work within public health guidelines.
Health and Safety of Community:
Sustaining a viable fall semester will depend on all of us doing our part.
We will communicate health, safety and hygiene expectations necessary to create a successful semester before students arrive.
We are investing in health management technology and training, expanding our capacity in student health, and ensuring that mental health services are available to those in need.
Student-Athletes:
The first student-athletes have returned to campus; additional groups of student-athletes will return throughout the summer.
@Rivet2000 of course kids want to run if that’s their sport. It’s a huge part of who they are. Theater kids will want to act. Dancers will want to dance. Bands will want to play. THAT is campus life. I don’t understand what you mean by judging them. The whole point of being on campus is to have some semblance of campus life, no?