Cost/Benefit Analysis of the 2020-2021 Academic Year
Congratulations to the high school class of 2020! You have accomplished so much and unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we are unable to celebrate you as you deserve. This is saddening but I applaud the individuals who are creatively celebrating you during these unusual times. Additional kudos for coming to the end of the college admissions process! By now you have selected an institute of higher learning, or for those who have received an extension, are in the final stages of the decision process. While selecting the right university is a challenging task, this year poses an even more difficult issue for students and parents: the decision to matriculate in the fall or defer.
Having worked with students for almost two decades at the University of Pennsylvania, I am leery of gap years with the exception of those for religious pursuits. In my experience, students who take a gap year to expand their startups or to grow as human beings, struggled to focus on their education when they came back. Those with businesses found it challenging to put their businesses aside and when they had to prioritize business or studies, the business usually won. Those trying to restart their educational journey after a year away struggle to return to an academic mindset. Even though I have this insider perspective, if I had a high school senior, I would be torn on how to advise them at this juncture.
When considering my college experience, I am grateful for the wonderful education I received and the lessons I learned in and outside of the classroom. Honestly though, the majority of my college memories are of the friends I made and the fun we had. College is a special time because it comes with independence, the opportunity to meet new people, to make connections beyond your hometown, and to discover new passions through classes, clubs, societies, and organizations not available to high school students. Also worth mentioning are the traditions unique to each campus. At the start of my first academic year as the Administrative Director of the M&T Program, I remember looking out my office window onto the heart of Penn’s campus and thinking how magical that moment was. The campus was beautiful as the leaves started to change colors, students were hanging out on the lawn, and the Penn Band was marching down Locust Walk welcoming the start of the new school year. It felt like a scene from a movie. This memory is a highlight of my Penn experience but there are smaller moments students experience at college: learning to share space with strangers, managing their time, balancing making new friends with keeping in touch with old friends, trying new foods, and exploring new places. The amalgamation of these on-campus experiences provide us with lifelong friends and memories.
It is unclear if colleges and universities will be operating on-campus classes during the 2020-2021 academic year and how long on-campus operations will be available if they do decide to move forward. This leads to many questions worth considering:
· Is it wiser to defer a year in hopes of a more traditional college experience during the 2021-2022 academic year?
· If a gap year is desirable, how will my student engage themselves during their gap year?
· If my student attends college in the fall and has to return home at some point, what additional financial costs will our family incur and how will my student cope with these changes?
· Financially, is the online experience as valuable as the on-campus experience?
· Will the institution my child selected be able to provide all the resources advertised while managing the economic impact of COVID-19 on higher education?
· Will our family be able to afford tuition, fees, room, board, and books based on the current economic landscape? What if our family’s financial situation suffers due to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy? Will universities be able to provide additional financial support while they are experiencing their own economic challenges?
· What if one of our family members becomes ill and is hospitalized? Will my student be able to remain focused on their schoolwork?
These questions need to be discussed as a family, and each family will need to make the best decision for their particular situation. The following points might help you decide:
· Most US universities transitioned to remote learning in March 2020 giving them a chance to practice remote learning this spring. Hopefully these institutions will invest time and resources towards enhancing their remote learning capacity this summer, enabling them to provide more robust learning opportunities this fall.
· COVID-19 has created a host of new challenges for the young, the old, those with health issues, and essential workers. A gap year focused on helping those in real need of support, until a vaccine or cure is discovered, would be well spent. It may also provide students with life skills that would benefit them for the rest of their lives. Here are some examples of how students are already answering the call to solve the challenges created by COVID-19.
o Sharing their academic skills tutoring others.
o Working to help elderly and vulnerable individuals secure groceries and provide connection in these isolating times.
o Using their technical skills to create PPE.
Additional opportunities to help in 2020 could include contact tracing or taking part in the 2020 election process.
Here are some additional resources on gap years, a professor’s opinion on the 2020-2021 academic year, another opinion piece on how institutions of higher learning can successfully provide risk free learning environments, students helping those in need, and a list of colleges and universities who have indicated their plans for fall.
Gap Years are Becoming More Popular
A Twenty Year Professor on Starting College this Fall: Don’t
Higher Ed Needs a Long-term Plan for Virtual Learning