The Montpelier Bridge
Lily Gingold's learning setup in her dorm. Courtesy photo.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things this year, and college is no different. The number of students who attended a college or university this year was down 22 percent nationally compared with 2019, according to thejournal.com, and many have attended remotely. The experiences of three local college students illustrates the unusual nature of higher education this school year.
When Nadia Scoppettone graduated from Montpelier High School in the fall, she was enrolled in Amherst College. When the college announced that they would be partly virtual this year, Scoppettone decided that transferring to UVM would ultimately be a better fit. Amherst had 950 of the 1800 total students in residence for fall 2020. The remote option would allow Scopperttone a similar learning experience and be significantly more affordable.