First-Year College Students Worry What Fall Will Bring

Before the new coronavirus began spreading around the world, Serra Sowers was thinking about what she would do after high school.

The 17-year-old from Florida had planned to visit seven colleges this spring to help her decide where to continue her education.

In the United States, high school students often visit colleges and universities they might attend before they officially seek admission. But like so many things during Sowers' final year of high school, the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the process online.

Sowers has had to depend on virtual¹ visits, learning about schools through video meetings with college officials.

Her mother, Ebru Ural, says she worries how the pandemic might affect her daughter's college experience itself in a few short months.

"We're dealing² with the unknown, and we're trying to make such a huge decision. She invested the better part of the last year trying to earn acceptance to these institutions," Ural said, but "we really don't know what we're buying right now."

The Associated Press reported her comments.

The pandemic has affected³ plans for millions of students, both in the United States and overseas. Many are making virtual visits to schools while dealing with concerns about paying for a college education in an economic downturn. They also are wondering whether college campuses will even reopen by late summer.

Boston University, for example, has already canceled all "in-person summer activities" at its main campus. And the university's plan for dealing with the pandemic states that if health officials say it is unsafe to re-open this year, it may wait until January 2021.

Earlier this month, Harvard University's president said Harvard is considering several possible plans of action. Yet the future is still very unclear. Oregon State University and University of Arizona officials have expressed hope their schools would re-open, but shared similar concerns about what the future holds.

In efforts to keep student enrollment⁴ numbers up, colleges are offering interactive⁵ one-on-one online meetings, using video services like Zoom⁶. Hundreds of schools have given families more time to decide by delaying the date of their first required payment from May 1 to June 1.

In addition, the Associate Press reports that the two leading college admissions tests – the SAT and the ACT – have been cancelled. So a growing number of schools are removing admissions test requirements for students entering college.

But for all the schools' efforts, many families say it is difficult to look forward when students are still finishing high school from home.

Opinion studies have found that large numbers of American high school seniors plan to spend at least a year working or traveling before attending college.

Studies also have shown that many Americans may decide against the first-choice school on their list of colleges because it is too costly⁷. Others say they would feel safer attending a school closer to home.

About 3.7 million American students are expected to graduate from high school this year. Nearly 70 percent expected to start college in the late summer.

Lauren Kohler of Connecticut was planning to spend her high school's spring break visiting three universities. They are the University of South Carolina, Florida State University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Kohler visited South Carolina last year. But now the 18-year-old is depending on virtual visits and friends' experiences to learn about Florida State. She also recently walked around an empty UMass Amherst campus.

"I'm a big believer that you can walk on a campus and say, ‘This is my school,' or ‘This is not my school,'" said Kohler. "It really depends on the feeling and the type of people that are there."

Grace Malloy of Oregon did get a chance to visit to Long Island University Post in New York. But her spring break visits to Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Northern Colorado were canceled.

Malloy also wanted to see six other schools. Now she is worried she will not know how to reduce the number of choices on her list.

"Decision-making is not my strong suit," she said after completing her third virtual visit of the week.

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

pandemic – n. an occurrence⁸ in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

virtual – adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

institution(s) – n. an established organization

campus(es) – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school

enrollment – n. the condition of being a member of or participant in something

interactive – adj. designed to react to the actions or commands of a user

senior(s) – n. a student in the final year of high school or college

graduate – v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

strong suit – n. something that a person does well

1 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

5 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

6 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 occurrence   

n.发生，出现，事件，发生的事件

参考例句：

• Two things account for its occurrence.发生这件事的原因有两个。
• For a military commander，winning or losing a battle is a common occurrence.胜败乃兵家常事。