Students, universities prepare for national decision day

Book-ended by a pandemic, peak college admissions season is wrapping up this weekend with National College Decision Day.

On Saturday, swarms of accepted students were up against deadlines to respond to college offers for the fall. It was a far cry from their older peers, who had an extended ability to visit the universities of their choice before making a decision.

Many of this year’s high school seniors were just starting to consider their college prospects in earnest when the pandemic halted campus life last spring. Then they had to navigate changing rules and protocols surrounding information sessions, campus tours and more.

Finally they had to make what, for many 17- and 18-year-olds, was among their first life choices as young adults — where to go to college — sometimes without ever meeting a current student in-person or seeing the inside of a school building.

“This is not the senior year that our high school students have wanted,” said Corry Unis, the vice president of enrollment at Fairfield University. “They’re longing for connection, for community, for a semblance of normalcy.”

“That was the frame of reference for us,” he said. “How do we allow students looking at Fairfield to get an essence of community, of the people, and gauge fit?”

And in some instances, he said, from afar.

Responding to a poll circulated by Hearst Connecticut Media, 13 colleges and universities — Albertus Magnus College, Trinity College, University of Bridgeport, Quinnipiac University, Mitchell College, Sacred Heart University, University of New Haven, Post University, University of Saint Joseph, University of Hartford, Wesleyan University, Fairfield University and Goodwin University — reported hosting virtual information sessions and campus tours. Most sessions were live, and some offered breakout groups.

Caitlyn Weil, 18, a senior at Greenwich High School, attended online sessions and virtual tours to narrow down her choices.

Weil said she had seen two campuses as a sophomore but not on formal tours.

“Those were the only schools I’d seen, and then corona hit,” she said. “I had multiple tours scheduled for April 2020.”

Once she received her acceptances, Weil’s top pick — Wake Forest — invited prospective families to tour the school, leaving her little time to schedule a visit.

Weil toured last weekend in a small group of three families — a week before the decision deadline.

While on the in-person tour, Weil said she watched as her tour guide interacted with peers, greeting each other with warmness around campus. She committed to Wake Forest after the tour.

“Being there very much helped my decision,” she said.

Of the Connecticut schools Hearst polled, nine invited prospective families for guided tours throughout campus and some, if not all, of the main buildings. Trinity College had tour guides walk families through campus outdoors or encouraged self-directed tours. Three schools aren’t allowing inperson tours.

Quinnipiac University offered tours for accepted students only.

Touring opportunities were often limited in group size; a share of families chose not to take part to avoid gathering with strangers or traveling long distances, college officials said.

Nine schools reported that a greater percentage of admitted students waited until closer to the enrollment deadline to make college decisions than in years past; two said they were not sure whether decision making was more delayed than normal.

Weil’s friend and classmate Samantha Ennis, 17 — who committed to Claremont McKenna College in October for swimming — made her college decision earlier than most of her classmates.

Ennis toured the California school when she was a high school sophomore to meet with the swim team coach.

“I was hardly even considering it,” she said, “but now looking back, I’m so lucky that I got to visit, because no one had any idea things would be shut down.”

Ennis’s coach connected her with current students via Zoom and would leave the video-conferences so the students could talk openly about the school — like they would have if they had been able to meet informally in-person.

“It gave me a more honest perspective from students,” she said.

Most of the Connecticut schools polled connected prospective families with current students and faculty from a distance, and eight sent banners, merchandise or other goodies by mail, according to the survey. Eight invited accepted students to sit in on remote classes.

Benjamin Lederer, 18, a senior at Ardsley High School in New York, said he took advantage of as many of the offered opportunities as he could before committing to Wesleyan University.

Lederer said he was able to get a feel for the school through Zoom meetings for accepted students, GroupMe, Facebook and Instagram chats, and connecting with pre-med professors. Lederer said he plans to major in biology.

“All the information that was available online kind of made it easier,” he said.

Lederer only applied to schools in the Northeast, so he was able to tour a large portion of them in-person, he said.

But despite some drawbacks from a year of virtual necessity, some school leaders said they plan on making remote options available to prospective students for years to come.

“We’re trying to mimic everything we can virtually,” said Pam Pillo, Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Sacred Heart University.

“We’re going to incorporate the virtual experience going forward as well,” she added. “We’ve found there are positives to both experiences.”