Applying to College During Covid? Here's What to Ask
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Here's your Money Briefing for Thursday, October 22nd. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. Getting a college degree can be one of the biggest investments in a person's life.
What new questions should college applicants ask because of Covid-19?
Prospective students usually start the application process around now, but this year they might be asking some new questions, like what do the safety protocols look like? Will they be studying remotely? And what kind of grants or aid will schools be offering?
Colleges really are scrambling to fill those seats, and in a lot of cases that may give you some leverage to negotiate.
Our reporter Jillian Berman will join us to discuss what's new about navigating the college process this year. That's after the break.
The pandemic has changed a lot, including the college application process, and it's opened up a whole new set of questions that students and families should be asking before deciding on their future school. Reporter Jillian Berman has been looking into this.
Should students still pay for SAT or ACT tests during the pandemic?
Jillian, thanks for being here.
Thanks for having me.
So, Jillian, let's walk through the process that prospective students are going through right now. The first thing they might be thinking about is taking the SAT or the ACT. Many schools, even before the pandemic, stopped using standardized test scores. Should kids still, you know, plunk down money for them?
Students and families, before they decide what they're going to do about standardized testing, should really talk to the colleges they're interested in. Of course, if there is no way for a student to take the test safely, they should not. But some colleges will be using those test scores to evaluate students for merit aid, even if they've said that they're not using them to evaluate their application overall. So if you're a student that's interested in a merit scholarship, you should definitely ask a school whether they're using standardized test scores. And, you know, and that may play a role in your decision.
Is applying Early Decision a good idea given pandemic-related financial uncertainty?
You know, some students like to get ahead of the line in terms of applying by going the early decision route. Is that still a good idea?
So this year, a lot of experts are recommending against early decision. Early decision is binding, and it means that you've made a commitment to attend the school without seeing other financial aid offers. And given that families' finances are kind of so uncertain right now, it's probably not a good idea to commit in that way because by March or April or May, you may not know whether you can afford that school And you're also passing up the opportunity to see if you could have gotten a better deal elsewhere. So this year, early decision is maybe not the best route.
Now, this year, a lot of students have had to study remotely. But for students who want to study on campus, I would think that housing is a big concern with people living so close together.
Yes. So housing is a big concern. And one thing that experts I spoke to recommended was to consider off-campus housing. If you're applying to a big public college where a lot of students live off-campus, Exceptions for freshmen to live off campus, which have happened this year, may continue into 2021.
How should students evaluate on-campus versus off-campus housing risks now?
And sometimes those kinds of housing arrangements can be cheaper than living in the dorm. The one thing that you will have to contend with is that if you get sent home, there is nothing really you can do to get out of a lease with a private landlord. um so whereas when colleges were sending students home if you were living in the dorm they might have given you some kind of refund um for the time that you weren't there you can't get out of those leases so um you know that's something to keep in mind as you consider housing all right now let's talk money what kind of questions should people be asking a college regarding financial aid so there are a few questions that are particular to this time one is just to ask colleges
what their financial aid budget and policies look like as compared to previous years. Some schools are going to have the money to actually be increasing financial aid.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–0:14
2
What new questions should college applicants ask because of Covid-19?
0:14–1:02
3
Should students still pay for SAT or ACT tests during the pandemic?
1:02–1:55
4
Is applying Early Decision a good idea given pandemic-related financial uncertainty?
1:55–3:02
5
How should students evaluate on-campus versus off-campus housing risks now?
3:02–4:32
6
What financial aid questions should families ask colleges this year?
4:32–5:38
7
How can families document changed finances to get more aid after 2019 tax data?
5:38–6:36
8
Can applicants use enrollment declines to negotiate better financial aid offers?
6:36–7:26
Speakers
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