Hoping to start college during a pandemic? Here are some pointers you’ll need
PUBLISHED WED, OCT 02 2020
2020 is a year for the history books. We went from spending whole nights dancing with strangers at clubs, to being afraid to even be in the same room as someone outside our nuclear families. Already, COVID has made history – and it’s well poised to continue to do so throughout 2021, as we struggle through the logistics of distributing – to almost eight billion people – a vaccine that may not even offer lasting protection from the disease.
How has this affected education? Elementary schools have made headlines, in places like the USA, by defying common sense and grouping children in classrooms together, only to have the whole third or fourth grade get infected. Others have foregone in-person meetings altogether, veering off the traditional educational road and wandering into the ill-lit forest of online education. Individual tutoring – especially online individual tutoring – has boomed in popularity. But that’s elementary, middle, and high school; how has COVID-19 affected college?
Most universities had to shut their doors in 2020, globally and in the USA. During the summer of 2020, a number – though far from all – U.S. universities were planning to reopen for the fall. With the onset of COVID’s second wave, that number plummeted. By August, the Chronicle of Higher Education found that a mere 49% – fewer than half – of colleges were still planning on reopening in person.
Issues surrounding school reopenings are quite contentious right now in the USA. Some college admissions counsellors were encouraging students to apply by assuring them that they can have a “normal” college experience shortly. Others on the USA’s college admissions teams weren’t so optimistic. The reality is that less than a third of U.S. colleges primarily offered in-person learning, with only 4% teaching in-person only.
Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to universities. And it can be hard to track what’s going on, with so many college representatives and college admissions counsellors saying different things – even if they’re sometimes from the same school! The best way to stay on top of it all – if you’re hoping to apply to college during this COVID pandemic – is to team up with a college admissions consultant, especially one who’s skilled at helping students from your country get into schools in the country where you want to study.
Well, if you live in Hong Kong, then you’re in luck. Helppo, Inc. employs some of the top college admissions consultants in Hong Kong, for studying abroad in the USA or UK. With Helppo, you can get quick, personalised advice for studying abroad in the face of the pandemic. Our premiere admissions consultants, available 24/7 by phone or email, will follow your college application every step of the way. And we’ll keep you up to date on the ever-changing rules of college reopenings – which is the real challenge of applying to college these days!
In some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped higher education. But, as top-line college admissions consultants in Hong Kong, we will help you figure your way through it all.
