Rethinking college, or at least fall semester, during coronavirus? You risk not graduating

Students are weary of online classes:Colleges can't say whether they'll open in fall 2020He plans to enroll in the fall semester — he said his financial aid depends on it — but his heart just isn’t in his online studies.“I am not learning anything online,” he said. For these students, taking a semester or a year off — to work or to wait for a more stable outlook — could mean they never graduate.Fearing the beginnings of a crisis for at-risk college students, advocates and mentors are pushing them to stay in school.Ongoing surveys suggest a chunk of students are reconsidering their college plans. Will students show up for college in fall 2020? Working to keep students enrolled in college has become the top concern for advocacy groups like the District of Columbia Access Program, which has worked with Magana Williams. High school seniors now want college options that are closer to home and are cheaper, said Tosha Lewis, vice president of the group.The staff is also helping those students petition their colleges for increased financial aid. Advocacy groups help coach them.“Our students aren’t shy about asking for more money, which is a good thing,” Lewis said.Online school is hard enough. “My home is just the wrong environment to learn in,” he said.The latest coronavirus battleground:People are furious over 2020 graduation ceremoniesIt doesn’t help that students have little clarity on what the fall semester will look like. The California State University system says all of its 23 campuses will stick with virtual instruction for the fall semester.That includes San Diego State University, whose president, Adela de la Torre, said the institution couldn’t "gamble that testing and treatment will be so substantially improved by August."Meanwhile, the University of California at San Diego this month announced its plans to test its students and faculty regularly for coronavirus. No graduation:‘Total devastation’ in college towns during the pandemicWilliam Serrata, the president of El Paso Community College in Texas, knows families and students are apprehensive about the fall, and he understands the appeal of a gap year.