Given the changes across the country in how college’s operate, how is COVID affecting the way students apply to colleges, and how are colleges working to help them? Written by Hannah Robertson
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Transcript
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In a year of can’ts, colleges
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and college-bound seniors are
figuring out how they can.
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And with more online
applications, more technology,
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and more creativity, colleges
are finding their place
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in a pandemic world.
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You’re watching the Local News Network,
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brought to you by Kroeger’s Ace Hardware
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and FastSigns of Durango.
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
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Over the years, the college
admissions process has consisted
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of an application, maybe a
college visit and interview,
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and a decision.
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That much hasn’t changed since last March,
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even though colleges now have
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to accommodate social distancing
and other safety measures
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during the pandemic.
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After all, many perspective
students can’t visit campuses.
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Many have also been unable
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to take standard college entrance exams
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and remote learning has
disrupted their lives.
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So at Fort Lewis, our
application for admission
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typically opens in early September.
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We’ve seen a bulk of our
applicants come in from September
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through about January in a typical year
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and an application
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for a traditional first-year
student would include
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a high school transcript
showing their work completed
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through their junior year,
standardized test scores
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as required by the state of Colorado,
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either ACT or SAT scores,
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and then the application form itself.
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Colleges have found
creative and different ways
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to show off their campuses
without in-person visits,
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and at smaller schools like Fort Lewis,
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they’ve kept the tours operational
with some modifications.
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We are really fortunate that we get to do
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in-person options both
based on our location
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and using the best, you know,
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San Juan Basin public health
COVID guidelines in the state,
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we felt we could do our visits.
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We’re a small enough
school that we could give
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these students and families
a personalized visit.
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So instead of 35 people
sitting in a presentation
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and then going on a tour around campus,
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now students and families
come to our office
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and it’s a one-on-one meeting
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or like a one-on-family meeting
where the family comes in,
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they sit on one end of a conference table.
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We have our admission
counselor on the other end.
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There, of course is a health screening
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when they arrive, they wash their hands,
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everyone has masks and
they’re keeping distance,
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but we’re still able to do that,
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to kind of give that
personalized experience,
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and what we have found
is that both our staff
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and the students and families
actually really enjoy
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that experience.
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It’s much more individualized.
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Many colleges now offer
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online admission applications
and have added virtual tours.
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It’s now an expectation
that every college is going
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to have virtual visit options.
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You know, I think, like I said,
we’re constantly refining,
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so what we’re offering today might not be
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what we’re offering a
year and a half from now.
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If you’d like to learn more about changes
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to college admissions, contact
your high school counselor
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or college admissions advisor.
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Thanks for watching this
edition of the local news.
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I’m Wendy Graham Settle.
