In the wake of the COVID-19 break out, students are scrambling to finalize their plans as they leap into the college world.
Without being able to physically be on campus, many colleges have created new virtual ways for students to get a look at their campus and a peek at what their future could look like.
Many colleges have already announced they will be doing an online orientation for the incoming freshman class. This orientation typically allows students to meet with their academic advisors, meet future classmates, attend information sessions and possibly meet their future roommate.
Senior Riley Gau is attending the University of Iowa in the fall and was disappointed when she learned that her orientation would be online. “Switching to online orientation is taking away the whole point of orientation. We are missing out on exploring and becoming comfortable with the campus before starting school,” she explained.
Colleges are trying to make the adjustment to online orientation convenient and helpful to students. Many have announced the possibility of providing a zoom meeting with an academic counselor, but know one knows for sure what this will look like.
While most high school seniors are disappointed with the switch to online orientation, others have not had the opportunity to visit the campus of their university.
Senior Olivia Schilling is attending Iowa State University in the fall and is missing out on getting a feel for her future home, “I haven’t even visited yet because my visit was cancelled due to everything going on,” she said.
Colleges have begun to offer a virtual tour of their campus along with virtual information meetings; however many feel this does not provide the full experience needed to decide their future home.
Junior Sophia Linquist does not feel that the virtual tours give the full experience needed to make this big decision. “You can see pictures of the rooms but it doesn’t allow you to feel what it would be like to live there for the next few years,” she explained.
Linquist was hoping to tour some colleges this spring and summer to get a head start on picking her future home. “I was hoping to visit Northwestern, Iowa and Iowa State this summer,” she said. “If we are able to do actual visits to the college eventually, I will have to cram a lot of visits into a very short period of time.”
Although this situation is not ideal, students still need to take advantage of the opportunities that colleges are providing to better prepare for the future.
