Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Amherst: scholarships, graduate, deduction)

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

I looked at RI's data and it still looks like flat and not ticking up.

Looking at The NY Times stuff, the 7 day average went from 30-ish around July 1 to 60-ish now. It’s still very low and manageable. It was 443 at the peak.

[Bridge781]

I work at a university as well. I’m sure the kids are happy to return to campus if they can. But as a parent I’d be leery about paying for it.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I work at a university as well. I’m sure the kids are happy to return to campus if they can. But as a parent I’d be leery about paying for it.

The majority of students do not have parents paying. As I noted - only 32% of college students said they experience no housing or food insecurity. Only a fraction of those students have parents paying. Students who would have difficulty completing coursework due to difficulties at home are likely relying on loans, grants, and/or scholarships.



And every family is different. I have a few coworkers who are happily paying or subsidizing their students' dorms or off-campus apartments because it's difficult for everyone to focus on their work at home. Many students had already signed leases and would be on the hook either way.

[Bridge781]

Interesting. Well if they’re able to open the dorms for college students coming from all over there shouldn’t be so much resistance to opening schools. But I know...the teachers.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Looking at The NY Times stuff, the 7 day average went from 30-ish around July 1 to 60-ish now. It’s still very low and manageable. It was 443 at the peak.

They must have hired the UX designer who created Robinhood's daily charts because the chart preview scaling is terrible (IMO). It's not until you click a single state that you get consistent scaling state-to-state.

I don't think it's intentionally deceptive ... just bad design, which is unusual for NYT.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Interesting. Well if they’re able to open the dorms for college students coming from all over there shouldn’t be so much resistance to opening schools. But I know...the teachers.

Big difference between opening a dorm to adults with limited occupancy (we're single occupancy only) to take mostly online coursework or spend a few hours a week in a socially distanced classroom versus spending 6+ hours a day in an already overloaded classroom with children, many of whom aren't going to wear masks or even have parents who will send them to school sick.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

The majority of students do not have parents paying. As I noted - only 32% of college students said they experience no housing or food insecurity. Only a fraction of those students have parents paying. Students who would have difficulty completing coursework due to difficulties at home are likely relying on loans, grants, and/or scholarships.



And every family is different. I have a few coworkers who are happily paying or subsidizing their students' dorms or off-campus apartments because it's difficult for everyone to focus on their work at home. Many students had already signed leases and would be on the hook either way.

Can you put more words around “The majority of students do not have parents paying.”? My college was a combination of scholarships, loans, what I earned, and what my parents kicked in. Are you saying the majority of undergrads get no parental support at all?

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Can you put more words around “The majority of students do not have parents paying.”? My college was a combination of scholarships, loans, what I earned, and what my parents kicked in. Are you saying the majority of undergrads get no parental support at all?

It's difficult to find hard data on exactly what percentage of parents help pay for college. At the university I work for, we believe that 40-50% of students are on their own for tuition, fees, & room and board. That doesn't mean that parents don't kick in to help for books or travel costs, which is harder to track. Some parents may also be helping pay for student loans independent of parent plus loans. Of course with the impact of coronavirus, we're hearing reports of families who are having to turn to planned college savings to offset the economic burden of job loss and illness. There's been a huge uptick of students seeking adjustment on their financial aid.



The university I work for tends to attract a fair number of middle to upper class students. State schools and community colleges likely see a more dramatic shift of the burden onto students for the cost.


My only parental support in college was flights home to Georgia at winter break and summer. I was on my own for what my scholarship didn't cover through on-campus work. I would have been in deep doo doo if I had not had a dorm to return to living in a rural part of the country with no car - a job where I lived would have been out of the question.

[bohemka]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Interesting. Well if they’re able to open the dorms for college students coming from all over there shouldn’t be so much resistance to opening schools. But I know...the teachers.

How do you work for a university yet have such disregard for teachers?

[Bridge781]

I don’t have a disregard for them. I don’t necessarily think schools should be closed in the fall though because a small portion of them don’t want to go back. I am friends with a few that are fine with schools opening. They said they’re on board with whatever the plan is.

And to be honest I’m not sure what working at a university has to do with my feelings on this. A 2nd grade public school teacher is a bit different than a university professor. But anyways.