BELLEVUE, Wash. (PRWEB)
March 27, 2020

A new survey conducted by Cirkled In, an online college recruitment platform based on students’ holistic portfolios, revealed that college-bound young adults are reconsidering their higher education options as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic is creating huge new barriers to high school senior’s path to college and possibly dashing those hopes and dreams entirely.

This national survey garnered an overwhelming response of over 1,100 respondents from all over the United States. Students were asked to assess to what extent the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their college plans, family finances, and career outlook.

Some of the survey findings:

• 22% of students are rethinking their original plans for college.
• 69% of students foresee COVID-19 impacting their higher education financial situation
• More than 25% of students think COVID-19 will impact their college location decision

The biggest reason cited for change in plans was the sudden and drastic change in their family financial positions. Even though 78% students claim no change in their college plans, over 69% of surveyed students report a significant change in their financial situation for college.

Changes in plans varied from the location of their college of choice to attending a community college or completely dropping their pursuit of a higher education and entering the workforce. With young adults and their parents losing their jobs, 529 plans and 401K plan plummeting, financial stability is in question for many.

Reetu Gupta, CEO of Cirkled In said, “as the length of uncertainty is prolonged and the economic impact increases, more students and families will be forced to rethink their plans.”

More than one-fourth of respondents say that COVID-19 has forced them to rethink the proximity of their original college choice due to their fluid and ever-changing financial situation and family dynamics.

If anything, this social distancing has brought families closer. Many students are thinking about staying close to home, going to in-state colleges or even community college so they can be closer to the family, concerned that something like COVID-19 could happen again.

The survey yielded hundreds of heart-breaking comments:

“I just hope I can go to college and have a normal college experience. This means in person classes, on campus housing, and on campus resources/organizations. I just want a normal college experience since I’ve already missed out on a normal high school experience.”

Read more about findings of this survey on Cirkled In blog. Detailed survey results can also be accessed at this Cirkled In Page.

The survey continues to run and can be accessed here.

Reetu Gupta, CEO of Cirkled In added her thoughts on the results of the survey, “It is said ‘time heals all wounds’ but for this class of high school students, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has not only impacted their senior year traditions and celebrations, but possibly changed their college plans and possibly the direction of their lives.”

About Cirkled In

Cirkled In is an award-winning 21st-century college recruitment platform, matching colleges and universities with the best-fit students, based on students’ rich, holistic portfolios. Students compile all their activities and showcase themselves in the best possible way to get discovered and recruited by colleges and universities. Cirkled In creates a win-win by making the best-fit match resulting in improved enrollment, retention and graduation rates. Cirkled In was awarded “Top 10 Companies in US” by American Business Awards and also won two People’s Choice Awards for Favorite New Product.

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