Planning For College During Quarantine

By Lauren Lee

Orange Lutheran High School

In this time of uncertainty, many students are experiencing hesitancy regarding their future college education. My brother recently graduated high school and had planned on attending his college this upcoming fall. However, COVID-19 has brought upon struggles about the path for his future, and whether a gap year can positively affect his prospective upcoming years or impact what his future may look like without one. 

As colleges begin to plan out this upcoming school year, students everywhere have been considering gap years as an alternative. According to BBC, in the U.S., gap years are considered quite unconventional when compared to countries like the UK and Australia where they are much more common. Even if some students decide to attend the 2020-2021 academic school year, they definitely will not experience a true “college life”. Online classes, social distancing practices set upon dorms, dining halls, classrooms, and many other drastic changes will take place upon most campuses around the country. The experience of a “pre-pandemic norm” cannot be instilled in college life, at least for this upcoming school year, and that each student may have this incredible experience taken from them. 

"...students everywhere have been considering gap years as an alternative."

If students decide to defer enrollment,  how will this affect colleges? In an article written by Bloomberg, this increase of gap years could begin a “chain reaction”, leaving major problems within the funding of a school. Bills are paid by schools with tuition, investment, private gifts/grants, government funding, and other ways of funding. However, due to the 12% of students considering taking a gap year this fall, colleges may not be able to appease their budgets. Along with the uncertainty of a full college education and experience, many are unwilling to pay the full cost of a complete, pre-pandemic ordeal. 

The big question, in the end, is if taking a gap year is worth it at all. On one hand, gap years provide many with time to pursue their true passions and to obtain many opportunities and experiences that can boost a students resume and application. Earning money from working a job and experiencing the world through internships can help a student pay for their future college education, eliminating the ongoing problem of student debt and taking off the burden of financial pressure. On the other, they can risk expenses and valuable time, possibly putting a student in a worse place if they do not have a good plan and proper organization. 

In the end, there is no right or wrong answer. Every student is different, and their goals in life may defer from everyone else’s. Some students may want to finish their college education as fast as possible, even with the absence of a full experience. Others may decide to take time off and become a more independent person than they were before. Taking a gap year can affect one’s future, but in the end, it is up to the students and what they decide their college life to be like in this time of uncertainty.