To Enroll, or Not to Enroll

It’s about this time every summer that college students and parents begin to look ahead towards fall semester, contemplating items such as housing, courses, extracurricular activities, and more.

This year, the pandemic has completely eclipsed these anticipatory moments and left students and universities asking a more dramatic question:

If universities and colleges do open this fall, will students even attend?

A survey by Niche found that 56% of students find remote learning unappealing.

As of July, more than three-quarters of colleges and universities in the U.S. have announced that students can return to campus in August. While one might think that this news would receive a warm welcome from students, whose lives were effectively turned upside down with the announcement of campus closures mid-spring, a large number of them may not attend at all.

This is because students expect more out of the college experience than curriculum, classes, and grades. Social activities, dining halls, sporting events, and on-campus gatherings may not directly contribute to a degree, but they shape the college experience and provide real value for students.

Because of this, students are increasingly unwilling to pay full price for an online-only experience or a restrained on-campus experience that lacks a real sense of community.

Universities and colleges, therefore, face a difficult decision. They largely depend on tuition to stay afloat, and the financial impact of the pandemic has not spared higher education. It’s a lose-lose game: If students bail on the semester, their finances are squeezed, and if they reduce the cost of tuition to account for remote or hybrid learning, their finances are equally as impacted.

Students are already voicing their opinions in droves about their respective schools’ decisions. A survey by Niche found that 56% of students find online-only learning unappealing.

This is a daunting figure for schools that have decided to continue with this type of study, even if they know that studying online is simply not the same as an in-person experience.

For perspective, community college classes cost only one third of what students pay at a four-year college or university.

The reason for the overwhelming distaste for remote learning, again, has to do with tuition, which has largely stayed the same for schools that are moving forward with hybrid or online-only fall classes. The Niche study found that 79% of students expect that tuition and room/board should be adjusted if classes are online-only or a hybrid of in-person and remote learning, and yet most schools have not reassessed the fee structure to reflect the fact that students will be missing out on the cornerstone of the college experience: having face-to-face interactions with faculty and peers.

Should Students Return?

For students, “Should I go back to school this fall?” is a very subjective question. Accruing more college debt may be especially unappealing for some students, and for others the simple fact that the on-campus experience is no longer a complete one may be the main deterrent.

Students simply want a sense of normalcy regardless of what route the school takes.

For those that are considering taking a semester or a year off, there are alternatives. For example, some students have opted to complete basic college credits at a cheaper school over the summer and fall to save money while also staying on track to complete their degrees.

For perspective, community college classes cost only one third of what students pay at a four-year college or university.

Other options include taking a remote part-time job or internship, if you can find one. Even if the economy seems bleak, many Fortune 500 businesses are doing just fine, such as Facebook, Google, and Apple.

Those close to home should consider internships or part-time jobs in family businesses or companies in their network in their hometown.

Fostering Community On-Campus

Thankfully, many task force teams, which have been formed at universities and colleges nationwide to address how enrollment will be approached in the fall, recognize that students simply want a sense of normalcy regardless of what route the school takes.

As we’ve written about before, without a sense of community, online and hybrid learning feels like a knock-off version of the college experience.

We encourage current students to weigh your university’s commitment to fostering community and normalcy in deciding whether to return to campus this fall.

Here’s to hoping that most schools can navigate how to safely give students what they expect out of the college experience given the limitations posed by COVID.

Speaking of community, if you’re a current student or recent grad and are looking for a bright spot on the difficult path you’re forced to navigate this year, we invite you to join our community at Hallo.

We connect the best candidates with top companies through live Q&As with recruiters from companies like Twitter, Square, and Facebook. We have some exciting programming in the pipeline, as well, including but not limited to, an intern speaker series, podcast episodes with industry leaders, and frequent contests and giveaways!

Joining Hallo is completely free, and whether you’re on campus this fall, attending classes from home, or hitting pause on school, you’ll have the opportunity to get noticed by the nation’s best companies and stay in the know regarding anything and everything career development.