College Instructors- What do think about the incoming class this fall?

[MamaSprout]

I work at a small uni, and we accepted a lot of test optional students. We are having some conversations about how unprepared socially, academically, and emotionally these students might be due lack of life experience they had between being 16 and 18 years old (homeschoolers excepted). Is anyone seeing data on this cohort? Thoughts?

[regentrude]

No data.
Why are you thinking they would be less prepared, is it because of the pandemic? Why do you think test-optional students would be more affected than students who took tests?

Personal anecdotal experience:
I am conducting the advising sessions for the fall 2021 incoming freshmen in our department, and I have also met many prospective students over the past year when I was giving department tours (in person). I have not had the impression that these students are in any way different than in years before, other than the (continuing trend of) weaker math abilities.

Emotionally, of course the entire cohort has been through the wringer with the past year. But so has pretty much everybody. I definitely observe the mental health toll among our current college students; the number of students who were struggling academically during the pandemic because of mental health issues (on top of the already more difficult online format) was larger than in the past. No surprise there.

Edited May 12, 2021 by regentrude

[Bootsie]

I haven't seen any data.  I have had two recent experiences with high school seniors who were doing a campus visit.  I was with a student and parent each time and would try to talk to the student, but was really having a conversation with the parent.  I would say, "Billy, what interests you most in X Univ?"  and parent would say, "Billy really likes..."  Then parent would ask about internships; I would start giving an answer, trying to draw Billy into the conversation and then the parent would turn to Billy and say "That means that..." and start interpreting what I was saying to the student.  I have talked to those who are doing the campus tours and they have had a lot more questions/interaction from parents with the students holding back.  

Perhaps it is just randomly the situations we have been in.  Perhaps it has to do with the way wearing masks is impacting communication patterns.  Perhaps it has to do with some broader issues of the level of involvement of parents in univeristy life.  

[regentrude]

19 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I haven't seen any data.  I have had two recent experiences with high school seniors who were doing a campus visit.  I was with a student and parent each time and would try to talk to the student, but was really having a conversation with the parent.  I would say, "Billy, what interests you most in X Univ?"  and parent would say, "Billy really likes..."  Then parent would ask about internships; I would start giving an answer, trying to draw Billy into the conversation and then the parent would turn to Billy and say "That means that..." and start interpreting what I was saying to the student.  I have talked to those who are doing the campus tours and they have had a lot more questions/interaction from parents with the students holding back.  

Perhaps it is just randomly the situations we have been in.  Perhaps it has to do with the way wearing masks is impacting communication patterns.  Perhaps it has to do with some broader issues of the level of involvement of parents in univeristy life.  

I have been giving department tours for several years and have encountered these families, too. In some families, the parents are much more interested than the student and you can tell that the student is just doing this because the parents dragged them there. Often, the students won't have any questions or comments.
In other families, the student is clearly interested and excited; they may have a list of questions, or just listen with a spark in their eye. Honestly, if none of the words "particle accelerator", "laser lab" or "gravitational waves" elicit a shred of a response, I wonder why that person is considering a physics major.

[MamaSprout]

Okay thanks. We're at a small university, and probably 20% of our incoming on-campus class on a normal year is admitted provisionally. The university  provides lots of support to these students to help them come up to speed, retaining a good number of them. This year we don't have the test numbers to know what we are getting for sure. The admitted student parents FB page, though, is looking a lot like what Bootsie mentioned. We're thinking we may need to hire more academic coaches to get students transitioned into college. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by MamaSprout

[regentrude]

One additional thought that occurred to me after a recent interaction: we are seeing an increasing number of students who are not neurotypical. (That’s a good thing. In the past, college might not  have been accessible for these students). 

Their parents are, understandably, much more involved because they are used to do significant scaffolding, and because they have more concerns. Sometimes, when the parents are doing all the talking and are managing the interaction, they may have a kid on the spectrum.