Education Week - October 27, 2021 - 12

Class of COVID: 2021's Graduates
Are Struggling More and Feeling the Stress
The transition to college has in some ways gotten worse compared to the prior senior class
By Alex Harwin & Sarah D. Sparks
While COVID-19 abruptly blew up the class of 2020's senior year,
its effects on this year's graduating class have been in some ways
deeper and more troubling.
While academically promising low-income graduates began
to explore more college options in 2021 as campuses reopened,
ongoing financial instability and health risks from the pandemic
continue to temper their plans for college.
In both August 2020 and 2021, the EdWeek Research Center
conducted nationally representative online polls of the postsecondary
plans of new, high-achieving high school graduates. More than
4 in 5 of the students graduated with at least a B grade average, and
more than 3 in 5 were in the top half of their graduating class. More
than 65 percent took at least two advanced courses, such as Advanced
Placement or International Baccalaureate. Their responses
paint a picture of new graduates still struggling to find their footing
after a tumultuous couple years of high school.
Compared with the class of 2020, new graduates in 2021:
n Were more likely to have seen their original postsecondary
plans break down. Seventy-four percent of the recent
graduates from 2020 who were planning on attending a four-year
college followed through with their plans and ended up attending
a university. Only 62 percent of the class of 2021 were able to do
the same. Among students who had planned to attend a two-year
college in 2021, only 44 percent succeeded in doing so, compared
with 57 percent of graduates who wished to enter a two-year degree
program in 2020.
n Worry more about how attending college would expose
themselves or their family members to the pandemic-and
with good reason. More than three times as many 2021 graduates
said they changed plans for college because they contracted
the coronavirus themselves, 13 percent versus 4 percent in 2020.
More than twice as many 2021 graduates said they changed their
college plans to care for family members at risk of COVID-19, 18
percent versus 7 percent in 2020. Among low-income graduates in
particular, 22 percent in 2021 changed their postsecondary choices
over concerns about family members' health-a nearly threefold
jump from 2020. Sixty percent in the class of 2021 now report experiencing
" some " or " a lot " of health-related stress, up from 50
percent last year.
n Struggle more with how to pay for college and day-to-day
living. The share of recent graduates who feel economic stress
rose from 57 percent to 65 percent from 2000 to 2021. Compared
with last year, a larger share of high school graduates of all income
12 | EDUCATION WEEK | October 27, 2021 | www.edweek.org
levels reported using their own money to support family rather
than putting it toward college expenses. But the burden grew particularly
for low-income students, from 12 percent in 2020 to 21
percent in 2021. Even so, compared with the class of 2020, nearly
twice as many new graduates in 2021 who need financial aid for
college had not yet started to apply for it by September.
n Yet they show more resilience than the class of 2020 as
they try to adapt to pandemic life after high school. Nearly 80
percent applied to at least two colleges, and 23 percent applied to
seven or more institutions in 2021. Only 70 percent of their 2020
peers applied to two or more colleges. Sixty-three percent in the
class of 2021 were admitted to at least two colleges, up slightly from
the prior year. Moreover, while 70 percent of 2021 graduates report
" some " to " a lot " of anxiety about the future, down 6 percentage
points from last year.
The seniors who graduated during the first waves of the pandemic
in 2020 faced sudden school shutdowns and canceled col "
We
had so much attention around
students' lost contact with
teachers ... but there're also so
many other supports that they
get in schools, such as counselors,
after-school programs, and
nonprofit organizations that work
with and through the schools,
who end up being really key
in terms of everything from the
college prep up to entry.
BRIDGET TERRY LONG
Dean, professor of education and economics
Harvard Graduate School of Education
lege-placement tests, but states also offered significant graduation
waivers and flexibility that spring, which many states have not offered
to the class of 2021.
Jeffrey Beckham Jr., the chief executive officer of Chicago
Scholars, which provides college planning and transition support
for high-achieving, low-income students in the Chicago public
schools, said promising seniors in the cohorts since the pandemic
began have in many cases had to scramble to prove their academic
worth to colleges despite incomplete classes and extracurricular
activities.
" There has been a shift to students really looking at colleges that
provide support for the whole person, " he said. " There are great
young people who qualify for the right schools, but maybe they had
a rough year, the last year and a half. We've asked our college counselors
who work hand in hand with our students to directly talk to
the admissions advisers and work through the ideas of students as
a whole person. "
Daniela Andrade, a first-generation college-goer who graduated
from high school this year in New York and just started her first
semester at Harvard University, said the process wasn't easy for
her or her classmates.
" Obviously, students must be proactive in their own education,
pushing through getting into the college [application and transition]
process. But my school is predominantly a minority-dominant
school where students are first-generation college students, where
we've never done this before, " she said. " I definitely feel like the
college process isn't only about applying for college: It's about how
you're going to fund college ... and the mental aspect of it. Like the
stress, the fear, the anxiety. Even though I did submit, it was a lot
of anxiety, and I feel like your guidance counselors don't talk to you
about that in school. "
The diminished in-person opportunities for college-going support
during students' junior and senior years may have had an impact.
Early data from the National Center for Education Statistics
show that as of September, nearly 652,000 fewer students enrolled
in college in fall 2020 than in the previous fall, a drop of more than 3
percent. Similar data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research
Center suggested traditional-age college students, students
of color, and young men had the sharpest drops in enrollment.
Schools, community groups work to keep students on track
The turmoil puts extra pressure on schools and universities
alike to get students back on track, as research shows many
students who put off entering college or choose a less-rigorous
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision/Getty
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - October 27, 2021

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