COVID-19 student survey

The paper presents the initial results from a survey about student experiences during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crisis of Spring 2020 and their views on issues related to college attendance in Summer and Fall of 2020. In partnership with the California Education Lab at the University of California, Davis, the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) surveyed current college students and high school seniors over two weeks in May 2020. The survey was emailed to a random sample of students statewide who submitted financial aid applications to CSAC for intended college enrollment in the 2020-21 academic year. More than 60,000 currently enrolled California college students and 16,000 high school seniors completed the survey and many of the student respondents expressed great concern about what the future holds. They were uncertain about where they would attend and how they would afford college, and a substantial number expressed concern about taking online instruction. However, we are encouraged that the survey findings show that most students intend to begin or continue their enrollment in higher education in future terms; we are hopeful this finding holds true as colleges admit and enroll students in the coming months.

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