Hi @PetraMC - I appreciate your perspective on the “town or gown”. I did not mean to assign fault, so thank you for pointing out that could be an interpretation.
My perspective was based on a number of comments about colleges that bring students back to campus and the risk that poses to the surrounding community. My assertion is that the risk of this scenario is low. That assertion is based on two very different personal experiences. I have never been a fan of a ‘test everyone’ approach. The schools that are doing testing are establishing the data sets to design future programs so that you do not need testing.
With several statements in recent news, notably the WHO, that lockdowns do more damage than good, can the information gathered at schools like Purdue, Notre Dame, ASU, Northeastern et al. be used to help other schools make wise decisions on how to return students to campus safely and protect the vulnerable (older faculty and those at high risk)? I hope so.
Quick update from Colgate University. After 6 and a half weeks of in-person/hybrid classes, today the school entered into Gate 3 with only 1 active case.
Gate 3 may be implemented if nearly all of the health metrics remain at low level or new normal level during Gate Level 2 for a minimum of 14 days.
Students must keep in mind that whenever two people spend time within 6 feet of each other for more than 10 minutes, they are considered close contacts and would need to quarantine if either of them tests positive. Because of the nature of viral transmission, every close contact we have connects us to their close contacts as well, including all the members of their direct family unit.
Outdoors
Groups of 25 or fewer students may gather outdoors, wearing face coverings and staying 6 feet apart.
Outdoor activities such as structured movie nights and other social or physical activities where 6 ft physical distancing can be practiced.
Students in outdoor classes (adhering to the capacity limits of tents) will wear face coverings, maintain physical distance, and follow the directions of staff and faculty about health and safety guidelines in these spaces.
Indoors (Colgate buildings and student residences in the Village)
Groups of 25 or fewer students will be permitted to gather in indoor spaces, if they wear face coverings, maintain 6-foot physical distancing, and follow all the guidelines posted in these spaces. These guidelines include the reduced capacity caps for each space.
Socializing permitted in common rooms within another residence hall in accordance with room capacities. Students must still avoid socializing within residence hall bedrooms.
Food may be allowed at indoor gatherings, pending budgetary approval and permission by the Event Safety Group. Please keep in mind that eating in large groups without face coverings is known to be a risk for transmission.
Collaborative Study Spaces
Dedicated classroom and study spaces are available for students looking to collaborate on work and study (face coverings and physical distancing are required within these
spaces).
In the Village
Students are permitted to visit downtown shops/restaurants. Once within an establishment, the policies of that establishment apply.
Students going downtown must follow protocols for physical distance, face coverings, and adherence to the Commitment to Community Health at all times.
I think by the time the dust settles some time next year, it will become clear that some schools simply took bigger risks than others. Go back to the beginning of this thread and you will be amazed by the number of posts predicting everyone would sent home within two weeks of the first outbreak. I think for colleges in the NE that was a real possibility. Football schools had way more leeway from their alum, administrators and surrounding communities.
I know few that are considering ED this cycle. I think we will see second ED deadlines added this year. There is so much uncertainty with jobs at stake and families are going to want to see if they get aid or not.
I do think that the students that have scores (ACT/SAT) will have some sort of advantage. Again, it’s hard not to see a 34/35 ACT and brush it off. If they have the grades and rigor to go with it’s going to be hard not to accept. I do think what the students have done at this point and how they used their summer will also come into effect. How did they deal with Covid and how did it affect their ability to be creative ?etc etc. Will we see schools taking students that maybe would not be able to get in or students with lessor scores and gpa? That is going to be school specific but I don’t think schools will be running after yield as their number one objective. I think we will see some leeway at all schools. Remember, this is a big business. They need to fill seats. Some smaller schools are on the brink of closure. I am hoping that Financial Aid will increase to some extent to help families. It’s like now everyone can use some help. Going into the fall/Winter season will just increase this uncertainty. Factories and jobs will be lost. Schools know this. We can’t become a society for education for only the elite/wealthy families but I am ashamed to say that this could be a possibility in the next few years.
Agree that some of the elite schools are either going to have to dip into their endowments further this year or become more need-aware. I’m betting more will fall into the latter group.
I think the schools want those ED applications more than ever. I know a few kids that took a gap year at schools after doing ED for this past fall. I do not think the schools will be lenient with deferrals for this current class. They were aware of the pandemic at the time of application so they should have no pandemic reason to request. Schools will see the ED applicant as a guaranteed seat filled for the fall. This is big business and at this very uncertain time a guaranteed butt in seat is a big deal to them. My hunch is that schools will up their percentage of accepted ED applicants. I have known plenty of kids in the past with perfect test scores etc. to be deferred from ED in the past. My guess is that if they are willing to make the commitment their odds have improved. Not ethical? Maybe? But again business is business.
Was there a big outbreak among faculty and staff in any college that opened? Even our K12 schools have been open 6 weeks and have no spike in teacher cases.
At U of New Hampshire, Faculty and Staff Outpace Students in COVID-19 Infections
Oct. 12, 6:21 a.m. Like most colleges, the University of New Hampshire has devoted considerable resources to telling students what they should do (and not do) to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But The Concord Monitor reports that for the past two weeks, staff and faculty have had 104 positive cases, while students have had 91 cases.
Erika Mantz, a spokeswoman for the university, couldn’t say why the university has seen a spike of positive COVID-19 cases in faculty and staff.
“While any positive COVID case is a concern, the university is identifying more positive cases as a result of its regular testing of all community members, not just those with symptoms,” she said.
I agree with what your saying and why I suggested that the wealthy kids will have an advantage, no doubt. It’s hard to ED if you don’t have the funds, the full funds for college. Those kids that were deferred last year as you stated don’t think they will be deferred this coming cycle… I see at least a 60 /40 ED /RD, of course depending on the school. Let’s face it. Many schools could ED their entire class size. That I hope never happens.
Adjust their admission criteria to increase weight on factors correlated to less FA need (e.g. more weight to legacy, less weight to first-generation-to-college, more admission through ED), so that the admit class is skewed toward less FA need than before.
For those colleges whose need-based FA is already on the high end for a given level of income and wealth, cutting back on FA can reduce FA expense while still allowing them to give better FA than most other colleges for a given income/wealth level.
Other possible adjustments to FA can include using non-custodial parent information if not already used, or changing treatment of self-employment, small business, farm, or real estate income.
None of the above would be headline-visible like “____ is now need-aware” would be.
How so? How is pointing out that this thread predominantly said that every school that had on campus students would be sent home - elitist? It’s just true.
Just heard UVA is giving students option of letter grade or no grade for this semester. Will be interesting to see if other schools revert to no grade policies once again was the case last Spring. Schools that are remote/hybrid or have had difficulty with COVID such as UVA may have no choice but to alter their grading policies.
The latest Purdue family newsletter has a long list of businesses that have agreed to continue the protect Purdue pledge despite the state moving to phase 5 reopening. Kudos to those businesses! It’s everything from bars to hotels to mechanics.
Purdue also has a new initiative to increase socially distanced outdoor recreation.
Next round of exams start this week. Next virtual job fair next week. Nearly 2/3 of the way done with the semester.
No college will admit that. At least not expressly. But I think that they are tacitly doing just that. No doubt they will warp it in a targeted marketing statement and many people (much higher percentage on this board) will eat it up.
Mental health issues reminds me of a good friend with two kids at a T20 school. Full pay family. Both will graduate with no debt. One is graduating in the spring. Applied to med schools in the summer. Expected to get into a top med school. Will graduate from whereever he goes without debt. According to my friend, his kids (and college kids in general) are “getting screwed.” Perspective is one of life’s greatest lessons. Many never learn it. Wouldn’t suggest anyone spend time on this site to learn it though.