@JCG posted:This brings up a point I have wondered about a bit.
My son plays at a HA D3 here on the left coast. I know that a LOT of his teammates are at least considering taking the fall off, especially if classes are not conducted in person. I believe at least a couple will actually do it. I have also heard that this discussion is happening at similar schools in the east, and I have heard that it's not just among athletes.
So what happens if such a school loses part of its student body for an indefinite period? Do they take all students back on the student's schedule? Do they reopen first year and transfer applications? Do they start reaching out to rejected applicants? I have not heard anything about this from the admin side, but I'm thinking that a student like your son should consider reaching out to coaches at HA schools of interest to see if they might have some unexpected slots opening up.
It’s not an indefinite period. Schools have policy on how long a student can leave and automatically return. When I attended college (years ago) it was one year. There were a handful of exceptions.
What would happen under these circumstances is the colleges may suffer financially for a year unless they can replace all those who take a year off. Then they will be overcrowded the following year or it will be very hard for graduating high school seniors to get accepted.