[82lsju]

According to an email sent by Harvard and as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education this morning, 340 first-year students have chosen to defer. Using estimates from Harvard’s reported class of 2023 – which counted 1,650 matriculates – this means that roughly 20% of first-year students have deferred from the top-ranked university in the country.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbust...3debf14a95

[82lsju]

According to an email sent by Harvard and as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education this morning, 340 first-year students have chosen to defer. Using estimates from Harvard’s reported class of 2023 – which counted 1,650 matriculates – this means that roughly 20% of first-year students have deferred from the top-ranked university in the country.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbust...3debf14a95

[lex24]

According to an email sent by Harvard and as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education this morning, 340 first-year students have chosen to defer. Using estimates from Harvard’s reported class of 2023 – which counted 1,650 matriculates – this means that roughly 20% of first-year students have deferred from the top-ranked university in the country.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbust...3debf14a95

 Who wants to go to college and sit home. Particularly when you’re paying $64,000 a year. Good decisions in my opinion

[lex24]

According to an email sent by Harvard and as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education this morning, 340 first-year students have chosen to defer. Using estimates from Harvard’s reported class of 2023 – which counted 1,650 matriculates – this means that roughly 20% of first-year students have deferred from the top-ranked university in the country.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbust...3debf14a95

 Who wants to go to college and sit home. Particularly when you’re paying $64,000 a year. Good decisions in my opinion

[BostonCard]

Depends what you do with the time.  It’s not like students can take advantage of the gap year to travel.  Work is tough. So in many cases it will be a wasted year.

BC

[BostonCard]

Depends what you do with the time.  It’s not like students can take advantage of the gap year to travel.  Work is tough. So in many cases it will be a wasted year.

BC

[Farm93]

Depends what you do with the time.  It’s not like students can take advantage of the gap year to travel.  Work is tough. So in many cases it will be a wasted year.

BC

It would be a "wasted" year, but it would not cost ~$60K+.  
Few families can afford to spend $60K just to watch their child sit in the house.  And the priceless experience of attending Harvard is not nearly as priceless if you are just staying at home.

FWIW - I have thought a lot about the incoming Stanford Class.   In theory, they will have a very limited orientation and a very bleak campus experience for 10 weeks.   That 10 weeks is best case because they likely will be sent home before they get to November.   Their priceless campus experience will include loads of meals in their dorm single.   Even if sports are played on campus, they won't get to attend.   They will not have parties, dorm meetings, dorm sponsored trips, etc. etc. 

For families in the 1% perhaps that will be OK as they can just spend 5 years on campus to get 4 years with a normal-ish Stanford experience.   For families with limited funds I think trading 2020-2021 for 2024-2025 makes sense.   Not every school has generous deferment policies, but those that offer deferment will likely see high rates too.

Even if the year is "wasted" and not spent in a gap year program, there are loads of things an ambitious student could do with their year.
One could volunteer for a 2020 election campaign.
One could volunteer to distribute food and supplies to those that lost their jobs because of our national response to COVID.
One probably could serve as some form of neighborhood/community tutor for kids in virtual classes

The 4 years at college in normal-ish times are more precious than the ~60-80 other years.  Hate to see on of the 4, especially the first, wasted on a largely virtual year.

Taking the year off will not be viable for everyone, but I definitely expected a large percentage of students would opt to skip the year.

The implications will cascade into Fall 2021 admits too.
At Harvard, most of the Fall 2020 types will likely enroll eventually, so this could make admissions into the Fall2021 class VERY difficult.
At less selective schools the return rates will be less certain, so lower enrollments from COVID will create budget uncertainty in 2020-2021 and admission decisions complexity for at least a few academic years.

[Farm93]

Depends what you do with the time.  It’s not like students can take advantage of the gap year to travel.  Work is tough. So in many cases it will be a wasted year.

BC

It would be a "wasted" year, but it would not cost ~$60K+.  
Few families can afford to spend $60K just to watch their child sit in the house.  And the priceless experience of attending Harvard is not nearly as priceless if you are just staying at home.

FWIW - I have thought a lot about the incoming Stanford Class.   In theory, they will have a very limited orientation and a very bleak campus experience for 10 weeks.   That 10 weeks is best case because they likely will be sent home before they get to November.   Their priceless campus experience will include loads of meals in their dorm single.   Even if sports are played on campus, they won't get to attend.   They will not have parties, dorm meetings, dorm sponsored trips, etc. etc. 

For families in the 1% perhaps that will be OK as they can just spend 5 years on campus to get 4 years with a normal-ish Stanford experience.   For families with limited funds I think trading 2020-2021 for 2024-2025 makes sense.   Not every school has generous deferment policies, but those that offer deferment will likely see high rates too.

Even if the year is "wasted" and not spent in a gap year program, there are loads of things an ambitious student could do with their year.
One could volunteer for a 2020 election campaign.
One could volunteer to distribute food and supplies to those that lost their jobs because of our national response to COVID.
One probably could serve as some form of neighborhood/community tutor for kids in virtual classes

The 4 years at college in normal-ish times are more precious than the ~60-80 other years.  Hate to see on of the 4, especially the first, wasted on a largely virtual year.

Taking the year off will not be viable for everyone, but I definitely expected a large percentage of students would opt to skip the year.

The implications will cascade into Fall 2021 admits too.
At Harvard, most of the Fall 2020 types will likely enroll eventually, so this could make admissions into the Fall2021 class VERY difficult.
At less selective schools the return rates will be less certain, so lower enrollments from COVID will create budget uncertainty in 2020-2021 and admission decisions complexity for at least a few academic years.

[chrisk]

Depends what you do with the time.  It’s not like students can take advantage of the gap year to travel.  Work is tough. So in many cases it will be a wasted year.

BC

It would be a "wasted" year, but it would not cost ~$60K+.  
Few families can afford to spend $60K just to watch their child sit in the house.  And the priceless experience of attending Harvard is not nearly as priceless if you are just staying at home.

FWIW - I have thought a lot about the incoming Stanford Class.   In theory, they will have a very limited orientation and a very bleak campus experience for 10 weeks.   That 10 weeks is best case because they likely will be sent home before they get to November.   Their priceless campus experience will include loads of meals in their dorm single.   Even if sports are played on campus, they won't get to attend.   They will not have parties, dorm meetings, dorm sponsored trips, etc. etc. 

For families in the 1% perhaps that will be OK as they can just spend 5 years on campus to get 4 years with a normal-ish Stanford experience.   For families with limited funds I think trading 2020-2021 for 2024-2025 makes sense.   Not every school has generous deferment policies, but those that offer deferment will likely see high rates too.

Even if the year is "wasted" and not spent in a gap year program, there are loads of things an ambitious student could do with their year.
One could volunteer for a 2020 election campaign.
One could volunteer to distribute food and supplies to those that lost their jobs because of our national response to COVID.
One probably could serve as some form of neighborhood/community tutor for kids in virtual classes

The 4 years at college in normal-ish times are more precious than the ~60-80 other years.  Hate to see on of the 4, especially the first, wasted on a largely virtual year.

Taking the year off will not be viable for everyone, but I definitely expected a large percentage of students would opt to skip the year.

The implications will cascade into Fall 2021 admits too.
At Harvard, most of the Fall 2020 types will likely enroll eventually, so this could make admissions into the Fall2021 class VERY difficult.
At less selective schools the return rates will be less certain, so lower enrollments from COVID will create budget uncertainty in 2020-2021 and admission decisions complexity for at least a few academic years.

How many selective schools have a gap year policy as liberal as Harvard? How many gap years is Stanford allowing?
It may be now or never for most admits.

[chrisk]

Depends what you do with the time.  It’s not like students can take advantage of the gap year to travel.  Work is tough. So in many cases it will be a wasted year.

BC

It would be a "wasted" year, but it would not cost ~$60K+.  
Few families can afford to spend $60K just to watch their child sit in the house.  And the priceless experience of attending Harvard is not nearly as priceless if you are just staying at home.

FWIW - I have thought a lot about the incoming Stanford Class.   In theory, they will have a very limited orientation and a very bleak campus experience for 10 weeks.   That 10 weeks is best case because they likely will be sent home before they get to November.   Their priceless campus experience will include loads of meals in their dorm single.   Even if sports are played on campus, they won't get to attend.   They will not have parties, dorm meetings, dorm sponsored trips, etc. etc. 

For families in the 1% perhaps that will be OK as they can just spend 5 years on campus to get 4 years with a normal-ish Stanford experience.   For families with limited funds I think trading 2020-2021 for 2024-2025 makes sense.   Not every school has generous deferment policies, but those that offer deferment will likely see high rates too.

Even if the year is "wasted" and not spent in a gap year program, there are loads of things an ambitious student could do with their year.
One could volunteer for a 2020 election campaign.
One could volunteer to distribute food and supplies to those that lost their jobs because of our national response to COVID.
One probably could serve as some form of neighborhood/community tutor for kids in virtual classes

The 4 years at college in normal-ish times are more precious than the ~60-80 other years.  Hate to see on of the 4, especially the first, wasted on a largely virtual year.

Taking the year off will not be viable for everyone, but I definitely expected a large percentage of students would opt to skip the year.

The implications will cascade into Fall 2021 admits too.
At Harvard, most of the Fall 2020 types will likely enroll eventually, so this could make admissions into the Fall2021 class VERY difficult.
At less selective schools the return rates will be less certain, so lower enrollments from COVID will create budget uncertainty in 2020-2021 and admission decisions complexity for at least a few academic years.

How many selective schools have a gap year policy as liberal as Harvard? How many gap years is Stanford allowing?
It may be now or never for most admits.

[Snorlax94]

The implications will cascade into Fall 2021 admits too.
At Harvard, most of the Fall 2020 types will likely enroll eventually, so this could make admissions into the Fall2021 class VERY difficult.
At less selective schools the return rates will be less certain, so lower enrollments from COVID will create budget uncertainty in 2020-2021 and admission decisions complexity for at least a few academic years.

Sadly, I think this cascades farther than 2021.

Already, during recessions, people stay in school longer. Similarly, people may choose to take 5th years just to get the education they felt they were missing due to the pandemic, plus, to wait out the recession.

Class of '21 people may stick around 'til 22 or '23.
Class of '24 people may take a gap year, or they may take an extra year and graduate in 5.

I know a parent of a high school senior who is already planning to apply only to reach schools, and if she fails, she plans to take a gap year and re-apply after a 5th high-school year.

I could see college admissions cascading impacts for 2-5 years.

If will make hard-to-get-into schools even harder. It will increase the gap between the haves (who can afford a 5th year, or afford quality virtual instruction) and the have-nots.

[Snorlax94]

The implications will cascade into Fall 2021 admits too.
At Harvard, most of the Fall 2020 types will likely enroll eventually, so this could make admissions into the Fall2021 class VERY difficult.
At less selective schools the return rates will be less certain, so lower enrollments from COVID will create budget uncertainty in 2020-2021 and admission decisions complexity for at least a few academic years.

Sadly, I think this cascades farther than 2021.

Already, during recessions, people stay in school longer. Similarly, people may choose to take 5th years just to get the education they felt they were missing due to the pandemic, plus, to wait out the recession.

Class of '21 people may stick around 'til 22 or '23.
Class of '24 people may take a gap year, or they may take an extra year and graduate in 5.

I know a parent of a high school senior who is already planning to apply only to reach schools, and if she fails, she plans to take a gap year and re-apply after a 5th high-school year.

I could see college admissions cascading impacts for 2-5 years.

If will make hard-to-get-into schools even harder. It will increase the gap between the haves (who can afford a 5th year, or afford quality virtual instruction) and the have-nots.