COVID-19 has made a huge impact on the college admissions process at Cabrini, as well as at other colleges across the country.
When the pandemic struck, colleges and universities went into panic mode and had to figure out the best and safest solutions to bring students back on campus. At the same time, college admission offices needed to work on how to fill their Class of 2025. They had to change the way students could visit campus while providing families with a sense of the community. Campus tours are one of the biggest parts of the college selection process and without them most students can’t get a feel for a school. Admissions offices usually have multiple open houses and college tours, but due to COVID-19 most were not able to be held. Now almost eight months into the pandemic colleges are still figuring out how to have a safe and effective college admission process.
Cabrini has not been exempt from the impact of COVID-19 on their admission process. According to the Cabrini website, the Admissions and Enrollment Office has now replaced their Saturday Information Sessions with opportunities to schedule a Zoom session with an admissions counselor, and have also switched their Open Houses to a virtual model. While all activities involving large gatherings have needed to make this change, Cabrini has still been able to welcome families on campus for tours with guidelines and restrictions in place.
“We know that the campus tour is an important part of the college search experience,” Kimberely Lewis, executive director of admissions, said.
Visiting different schools plays an important role for students in deciding where they want to attend. Being able to picture themselves on campus, attending classes, and participating in clubs helps them imagine what their own college experience would be like. This is why the Admissions Office has worked so hard to keep the visit program running during this time.
However, rather than allowing several people to sign-up for a tour, Cabrini is currently limiting each group to five students and one guest each. While on campus, visitors must remain six feet apart and wear a mask that covers both their mouth and nose at all times. There are all also restrictions on which buildings visitors can enter on campus.
“The tour groups are not entering residence halls or the dining center,” Lewis said.
These are places that have a lot of people passing through daily and the goal is to limit potential exposure for both current students and visitors. There are also other measures that have been put into place for health reasons.
“We ask families to register in advance and complete a form confirming that they are not experiencing any symptoms related to COVID,” Lewis said.
Asking families to confirm that they are not experiencing Covid-like symptoms allows Cabrini to make sure that hosting visitors on campus is safe for the whole community.
In the past, the recruitment process also involved Cabrini admissions counselors going to visit high schools and attending college fairs in different states. However, that has also needed to change this year.
“Because of COVID-19, our recruitment process has shifted dramatically. High schools within our primary recruitment region – Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and New York – are conducting school visits and college fairs virtually,” Lewis said.
In some ways, this makes the work harder for the Admissions staff as they need to create new ways of connecting with students. But even with all of the necessary changes that they have needed to make, the Admissions and Enrollment Office at Cabrini has been able to adapt.
“The inability to meet with prospective students in person presents a challenge to our recruitment. Despite the challenges, the Admissions staff has been flexible and proactive, as we have worked to establish new and innovative ways of connecting with high school students during the pandemic,” Lewis said.
With the world continuing to adjust to the impact of COVID-19, college admissions will need to continue finding new ways to educate families about their institutions and help prospective students make a connection to a school they want to attend.
