The Coronavirus pandemic has incoming college freshmen wondering if there will be class physically or if it will remain online. Many universities finished the 2019-2020 school year online or have cancelled classes all together. Colleges such as Harvard, Stanford, and LSU have made statements that their doors will be closing to students and they will need to leave campus with all their belongings. In addition to this campus-wide change, students also worry about how the virus will affect tuition costs and scholarships if online classes continue into the following school year. Senior, Bryson Randolph, says that not getting the full college experience should come with some incentives.

“I feel like a lot of changes would have to be made if classes go online again in college, like universities would have to restructure their lessons to make sure its being effective. I would also hope that if the classes go online, that the cost of each class goes down. It wouldn’t make sense for us to pay full price and we don’t get to experience what college life is about,” said Randolph.

Many seniors this year felt like they missed out on the “Send-Off” feel of high school because of the virus. This is a time where seniors enjoy all the amenities like prom, spirit weeks, and graduation before they head off to college. As many people are ready for the shutdown to be over and everything to go back to normal, senior, Zackary Hash, says being robbed of those final high school memories as a senior leaves a lasting wound and that it wouldn’t be the same attending college online.

“It already sucks that we didn’t get to enjoy the last days in the high school halls with our friends that we could possibly never see again. Also, not having a regular graduation and prom made it worse but it would suck the most if we would have to start our college careers like this. I have a lot of friends leaving Mansfield to get the college experience living in a dorm and going to sporting events, but you can’t do that or get a true feel of college life through a computer screen,” said Hash.

A time like this can be very hard for student athletes. Many events and sporting leagues like the NBA, MLB, and MLS along with college sports like March Madness have been cancelled. Sports officials and student athletes are all unaware of the next step. Social distancing requirements caused spring sports to be cancelled and fall sports may be just a step away from the same decision. Senior, Elijah Victoria, says senior student athletes have been heavily impacted by the virus.

“Student athletes that had seasons in the spring semester are already not playing because of the virus, but it can also hurt fall athletes. For fall sports like basketball and football, they might not be able to play. This hurts because when you can’t do something you love it sucks. I enjoy playing football at a competitive level but we can’t if the games are closed at the colleges due to the virus. Many of us won’t know what to do with ourselves as we put a lot into the game we love. Online classes with no sports can also affect the scholarships some of my friends have. They have full rides to big schools but it means nothing if you’re not able to physically play for them,” said Victoria.

As many states plan to reopen the economy, universities are still figuring out how they will operate with the current situation. There are students awaiting the day things go back to normal as far as schooling goes and graduating seniors are ready to do away with the online work and live the college life, physically.