COVID19_Impact_College_Fall_2020


Coronavirus Survey Data — April 2, 2020

With May 1st ‘Decision Day’ Looming, 69% of Parents and 55% of Students Say Coronavirus Has Impacted Their Ability to Pay for College.

Current college-bound high school seniors and their families are facing unprecedented uncertainty as they attempt to finalize their college plans before National College Decision Day, which traditionally falls on May 1.

We surveyed over 6,500 college-bound high school seniors and their parents to find out how the pandemic is impacting their college decisions. The data reveals several trends that could reshape the fall 2020 college semester, including:

  • Many families are extremely concerned about how they’ll pay for college due to income disruption.
  • Students may be re-evaluating their top-choice schools based on distance from home and the potential of having to complete their studies online.
  • Some students are considering enrolling in online-only programs or delaying the start of school until the pandemic has passed.

If you're a student or parent struggling to make college decisions during the pandemic, see our special report: College and COVID: 4 Reality Checks for the Fall Semester.

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Concern about Financing College has Increased

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"My parents are going to experience difficulties paying for the extra tuition if something happens to my football scholarship because of a season cancellation. My dad is unemployed and, while my mom has a full-time job, the extra jobs she has been doing have dried up. We aren’t sure what the future holds and it is stressful on my parents because we don’t know if we should have a backup plan." — JP

"My concern is whether the colleges are going to make special accommodations in terms of payments due to COVID-19, because realistically, for people with lower income or single parents that have been laid off, June would be too early to start paying for tuition due to current circumstances." — AH.

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"The pandemic has caused me to have harder time applying for scholarships to help pay for college." — T.C.

"Just worried about my parents’ ability to pay due to them being laid off temporarily." — ZL


 

Distance Has Become a More-Important Factor in College Choice

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"I'm worried about my decision to go to college out of state because of the pandemic and I'm also concerned about being able to pay $850 in housing, enrollment and orientation fees." — SH

"I am concerned about moving to campus as someone who lives 5,000 miles away. I don’t want to risk moving on and off campus multiple times." — DM


 

The Potential for Online Learning is Impacting Decisions

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"I have wanted to leave home for college forever, but I am terrified that this will not end by the time I am supposed to go to college. I have a feeling I am going to have to enroll in a community college for the first year for online because I cannot leave my house." — MM

"I am concerned about my tuition. In-person classes cost more and they are all moved to online now. I feel as if I am being charged more for my classes due to this." — AB

"There needs to be a serious cost reduction if we are not allowed to use the campus's facilities." — WW


 

Nearly Half of High School Seniors are Waiting for Information About Fall-Semester Plans from their Preferred College

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"We would all like to know what is going to happen for Fall 2020. Due to the ongoing nature of the virus issue, I understand that the university can't predict it at this time. It does make it harder to pick which classes to register for the upcoming fall semester though." — KF

"I have not received any communication regarding the summer or fall terms, so I have many questions regarding what is going on." — AM


 

Finances and Distance Learning May Prompt Some Students to Delay

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"If we don’t return to campus and we have to do online classes again, I will just unenroll until we return to normal. I don’t want to waste another semester of my full ride on online classes." — CS

"I'm seriously considering delaying my education until we're able to be in a normal classroom or until the school finds a better way to hold regularly scheduled Zoom meetings in place of an in-classroom experience." — EH

"I fear that the recent corona pandemic has affected my ability to work and that of my family to earn money to apply towards my education. I am strongly considering taking a gap year and postponing my education until the Fall of 2021 in an effort to save more to pay up-front rather than incur debt and financial hardship for my family." — EJ

"I was planning on enlisting in the Marine Corps after Fall 2020, this helped with my decision of enlisting beforehand and just finishing my schooling once I serve my first tour." — MS

 

Additional Comments by Responders

COST

  • The economic impact has placed a significant burden on my family as I am going to a more expensive out of state school. It's possible I may have to go to my in-state school instead.
  • My concern is whether the colleges going to make special accommodations in terms of payments for college due to Covid-19 because realistically for people with lower income or single parents that have been laid off. June would be too early to start paying for tuition due to current circumstances.
  • Are loans for the Fall of 2020 still available?
  • The pandemic has caused me to have harder time applying for scholarships to help pay for college.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

  • I want to live on campus and go to experience college, but how are students and teachers going to be checked for the virus to assure that nobody is infected?

DISTANCE LEARNING

  • The fact that the colleges aren't offering any kind of tuition reimbursement is appalling. I didn't pay all that money to teach myself with generic online classes.
  • How will I learn “hands-on” if I won’t be able to physically touch anyone?
  • I am concerned that I will be behind in my education because some of my classes, like science labs, are not being completed to the same fullness as they would be in a face-to-face classroom. Also, I am wondering if there will be a lessened tuition price due to the lack of classes and services this semester, and the increasing financial difficulties students will be facing.
  • I am concerned about my tuition. In-person classes cost more and they are all moved to online now. I feel as if I am being charged more for my classes due to this.
  • Campus v. Online: Will there be a refund or price drop since we are missing the Campus life experience?

Methodology

Based on the results of a nationwide survey conducted by email of 4,534 high school seniors and 2,072 parents of high school seniors between March 27, 2020 and March 30, 2020.

About Nitro

Based in Wilmington, DE, Nitro is committed to lowering the $1.6 trillion in student debt nationwide by offering students and their families a variety of resources to help them finance their higher education and minimize debt. With free, accessible information about the FAFSA, scholarships, grants, and student loans, Nitro addresses the many issues students face in funding their education and paying their debt post-graduation.