Real life Game of Thrones in a Covid-19 College World
It all feels like the opening credits sequence created for the HBO series, Game of Thrones. This constantly moving situation mimics those mechanical mockups before each episode. Walls go up, wheels turn, gates rise, and scenery flips over to reveal a brand-new landscape. It is dizzying to watch, and never more real than right now.
I closed my last blog with these sentences: “I can guarantee that the college experience of the past will NOT be resumed anytime soon. And when it does, it WILL look different. Not just look, but BE.”
Here are three truths for you and your student in or going to college in the fall of 2020.
FIRST: The ONLY thing I promise is that EACH college and university will have its own plan. And.It.May.Change.
In a Chronicles of Higher Education article that is updated almost daily, large Universities are leaning heavily toward in-person classes in the fall. Just 3 days ago, it was all about distance learning. No one knows. For some, it may be a ½ semester online, ½ return to campus; others may opt for all online for the fall semester or quarter 2020; a third group is going to block schedule, a “one course/one-month” process. Sadly, a small number of at-risk schools will NOT be able to weather this unprecedented upheaval and may have to close. The common theme is a desire to return to normal with actionable alternate plans ready.
SECOND: Here’s a year-specific thought tree if your student is a Freshman, Sophomore, Junior or Senior in the fall of 2020.
Where you are on the degree earning ladder will impact what you should consider.
My student is a Freshman attending college in the fall of 2020.
It doesn’t feel this way but you may have the greatest leverage, ever! The schools are worried. Your decision deadline is coming soon. Do these things first.
Take their virtual tour if they have one.
·Join any Big U/College social media groups that can answer your questions about campus life with candor and kindness.
Connect to people you may know who are already “attending” and get their impressions, good and bad.
If you have specific needs or deal-breaker issues, NOW is the time to talk with Admissions or Financial Aid. As I wrote in my book, ENOUGH! The College Cost Crisis, you should have your top 3 schools financial offers detailed on a spreadsheet. If Choice A school has offered less money, see if they would consider increasing their offer. All schools are worried about their “yield rate”, or the number of students who will be in their school this fall. Every student brings needed dollars to the campus. That is leverage.
IF you are dead set on not allowing your student to be on campus this fall, now is the time to get serious about alternative education plans, also detailed in my book.
My student is a Sophomore in the fall of 2020.
One year in. Three or more to go. Time to assess. First, how did it go this past year? Are they making good academic progress, or not? Are they happy? If not, check these questions.
What are the grades like, and why?
Do they still like their school, and if no, why?
Do they want to return? (key question!)
If the answer to the key question is no, time to work up a Plan B, with their input.
Tough times strip away the fluff and reveal our reality. Embrace that. If it changes the direction of your student’s journey, now is a good time to know.
If someone has lost a job in your family, that is a HUGE part of this decision process, too. If you decide to let your student return, let the Financial Aid Office know of the change of your income circumstances. They may have options.
My student is a Junior or Senior in the fall of 2020.
Making sudden changes NOW could be costly. Changing schools costs money and usually costs credits. (Not all schools accept all the course credits earned at your old school). This could mean another semester or academic year to pay for.
If you feel squeamish about sending your kid back to college in the fall, ask the school if there is an option about doing these courses online. That may already be in their Plan B or C, so you could ask, even if there is no answer today.
If possible, consider letting them get into the heart of their major, now, on schedule. Follow the Covid-19 issues over the summer (carefully!) and discuss with your student ways to work safely at school in the fall.
THIRD: Stay tuned every week. NOTHING is cut in stone, at all.
EXPECT your plans to change. That is because no one knows if the virus will die down this summer, or as we re-open things it will spike. Whiplash in your mind may be very real. It is okay to say, “I don’t know.” I would add, “but we’ll figure it out together.” And, you will.
Until next time,
All my best to you,
Bonnie Burkett
