We’re probably not going to be able to stay fully up-to-the-minute here on the EssaySnark blahg in reporting impact to your life and society on coronavirus — but suffice it to say, things are moving fast!
After we posted yesterday’s wondering about how this thing might affect business schools, entire universities announced that they were shutting down the bulk of their operations and having students move off campus. This includes Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. Northwestern said that they will be extending their spring break for an extra week and then resuming classes in an online format only. That’s the plan at some other places too, apparently. This is only a small sample of all the decisions happening on higher ed in the U.S. in the past day.
Wow.
Northwestern Kellogg is also making accommodations for Round 3 MBA applicants who aren’t able to take the GMAT or GRE due to shutdown of a testing center. If that’s you, you can go ahead and submit your Round 3 application and they’ll let you send in a test score later on. Columbia has also done that for their Deferred Admission Program for college seniors; they are keeping the app deadline but giving candidates till July to submit a test score.
We haven’t yet heard of any school extending a Round 3 deadline, but that could happen, also. UPDATE: Michigan Ross already has! They now have a so-called Priority Deadline set for Round 3, which is the original date of March 30th, and they suggest international applicants still adhere to that deadline. However, they will be accepting apps till May 29th.
The schools already have been seeing reduced applications for this season, and the timing of this outbreak is sure to further suppress volumes for the final round. We’re not convinced that extending the deadline will do that much for a school to scoop up more applicants — but what it does say is that you may have a better chance of applying in Round 3 this year than you typically would.
Yesterday seemed like a tipping point, where all of a sudden, many in America realized that, hey, there’s something going on with this coronavirus thing.
It remains to be seen how all the schools will respond.
The economy?
Yeah, it’s gonna be impacted. For sure.
Layoffs have begun, mostly in hospitality and tourism.
The stock market is spooked.
People are buying toilet paper as if manufacturing is in meltdown. Which it’s not.
But yeah. Stuff is happening.
It’s also definitely — DEFINITELY — going to impact how the waitlist plays out for the Class of 2022.
There are likely to be lots and lots more BSers waitlisted in Round 2 than there have been (and recent years have seen lots of waitlisters already). There are likely to be some cancelations of confirmed enrollments.
It’s very likely that the schools will implement the unusual policy of refunding your deposit if you have already committed to them and paid the first installment.
Or, they’ll consider a deferral to a future year, which they hardly ever do for anyone in a typical year.
It’s just beginning. Most schools will become creative, and flexible.
We’re in a new world, folks. We just don’t know what it looks like yet.
We’re not saying that to spread panic and fear. We’re saying it because we’re in a time of change. It’s gonna be interesting for awhile — and possibly unnerving. Which is the reason why otherwise rational people might be stocking up on toilet paper right now.
Uncertainty spooks homo sapiens. It’s okay if you’re feeling weird.
Seek out reputable sources of news. Don’t do panic-selling on your stock portfolio. The world will go back to some form of normal again.
For now, we’ll just have to wait and see how things go.
Tell us what you think.