By: Jim Paterson via The Journal of College Admission
COVID-19 is taking a mental toll on students as they plan for college, but college admission counselors say connections can ease uncertainty.
For many students struggling through high school closures and rapid changes to their postsecondary plans, there has been one overriding theme during the last six months: uncertainty.
Instead of savoring familiar traditions and farewells, they faced months of upheaval that tossed around every aspect of their lives during a period that should have instead been focused on excitement about the next stage.
Added to that, they are looking ahead to an uncertain future in college and perhaps even long-term in the world beyond that.
“The version of high school and college that’s been guaranteed for many generations is now contingent on an ambiguous and uncertain return to the way things were,” said Jaime Meline, associate director of college counseling at the Marin Academy (CA), a private college preparatory high school in San Rafael.
“There are so many unknowns and it creates a lot of anxiety,” said Christine Loo, director of college counseling at the Stony Brook School (NY). “That’s what anxiety really is—a fear of what we don’t know and can’t control. And these students certainly have faced that.”
About one quarter of the young people responding said they were concerned “that their dreams won’t come true,” and a similar number felt they might not be able to have job or career that will pay enough.
Click below to read the full article featuring Gina Gerrato-Greenhaus, head of Greenhaus College Consulting in San Diego.