Many colleges have pharmacies that deliver. If you are concerned about blood oxygen level, a small inexpensive device is available online to measure it, and could accompany your student in a first aid kit. Along with a thermometer.
You can buy an oximeter from amazon for $30 for your student to take to school. It’s a little thing that you stick your pointer finger into and it will state what your oxygen level is.
@vpa2019 – I have advised friends to purchase pulse oximeters & thermometers for their children returning to college. Both are now available online, but were very difficult to find two months ago. Anyone who is concerned should order one now, as I fear the spiking cases will result in shortages again.
To your point above, first year students may not yet have friends they can turn to for food or med delivery, so this may be the year to send children off with fully-equipped OTC med kits.
@CT1417
Excellent advice! I did purchase one for my daughter ?.
Add disposable alcohol wipes, just in case anyone else should borrow the thermometer or pulse oximeter.
Re: Pharmacy deliveries. I think this will vary by type of campus. My son would have to walk down three flights and through the courtyard to allow anyone inside the gates to his residential college.
My S has just been through a 14 day quarantine in his college apartment (he’s back there for the summer) after his roommate tested positive (he was negative). Neither had any symptoms so health was not a concern, but I feel confident they could have monitored each other. They basically ordered groceries with Instacart, and being in an apartment they were able to cook for themselves and only needed to order shopping about twice a week. A bit expensive but not difficult at all. They were both working remote internships so had plenty to keep themselves busy. The biggest inconvenience was laundry since there was no washing machine in the apartment. Based on his experience I would probably prefer to be in a double rather than a single, despite the risk being slightly higher.
@Twoin18 --Having observed laundry habits for the past almost four months that my son has been home, I think two weeks could pass w/o laundry–easily!
Glad your son and his roommate are fine.
Thank you to everyone who advised me what I should advise my son to do about staying at school or returning home. As it turned out, I advised him nothing, because he told us today he’s returning home. He said, “I’m not paying a year’s rent for half an in-person class.” So I guess I’ll see him later next week, after he arranges for the movers and gets a flight.
His landlord will have no trouble renting out his apartment, I’m sure.
That was interesting. They took into account that chairs make the 6’ between tables rule actually less than 6’ between patrons if they are not sitting on the tables. That’s what all places, everywhere, should be doing. It should be 8’ between tables.
No college can promise that it won’t close dorms if there’s a major outbreak on campus or if there’s a governmental order. Whether it will issue refunds for R&B is another matter, however.
Correct.
I was not able to make it, and I haven’t had a chance yet to view the recording. I think your concerns are valid. The normal freshman orientation at Williams is amazing. It is really sad that Williams will be unable to welcome their incoming freshman class like they would in normal times.
However, the weather is beautiful in Williamstown in the fall. Kids will be able to spend a lot of time outside forming friendships before the cold weather forces them more indoors.
If I had a freshman at any incoming school, I was be encouraging my kid to take a gap year. Having said that, I have been really impressed with the policies that Williams has enacted. Maud is a great leader.
I also think that this virus burned through campus in February/March. If there is any immunity to this virus, I think Williams will be in good shape this year as I believe many of the upper classmen will have immunity.
Good luck with your decision.
All of this planning will ne useless if even a few students are idiots.
COVID parties and the first to be infected wins money. Similar parties have occurred in suburban New York City.
The government didn’t close dorms in most places this spring. It was the schools. I believe the freedom on campus will be restricted to the point students with another option can’t wait to get out of the dorm, but the dorm won’t technically close.
Williams has said that they will be having daily tele-medicine meetings with the sick students. If a student’s condition deteriorates, they will be transported to the hospital.
I am sending my son back to school with an oximeter.
"University of Arizona President Robert Robbins said Thursday that if he had to decide at this time, the university wouldn’t reopen for on-campus classes because COVID-19 cases are increasing too quickly…
“We cannot have a situation where we’re bringing students back to campus, asking our faculty and staff to come back to campus, when we’re in truly an exponential growth in the number of cases here,” he said." https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2020/06/25/ua-president-robbins-says-campus-wouldnt-open-under-todays-conditions-coronavirus/3261483001/
If the people running the college health centers are this uninformed, college campuses and surrounding communities are in real trouble.
Not sure if reported here yet, but Swarthmore is bringing back only first years, sophomores and transfer students for Fall.
https://www.swarthmore.edu/presidents-office/plans-upcoming-academic-year
My guess is this means they plan to have juniors and senior on campus in the spring?
(I don’t have a kid at Swarthmore but one of my D’s best friends attends.)
@AlmostThere2018 Swat’s plan pretty close to Bowdoin’s. No news on Davidson yet?
Davidson announced plans to bring back all students. Not sure they finalized yet.
The Calendar
We will reconvene as a residential campus in August with the first day of classes on August 20.
First year students and transfer students will arrive by August 15 and start orientation the following day.
Upperclass students will follow a phased move-in and will be notified of their move-in date.
As previously shared, all in-person class instruction will end by Thanksgiving, and students who go home for the holiday will not return to campus afterward. Those who stay on campus through Thanksgiving may stay until the end of the semester. Exams will be held remotely after Thanksgiving.
There will be no announced fall break.