WHYY
By
Students on the campus of Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. (Matt Smith for Keystone Crossroads)
Last year, an unprecedented number of high school graduates opted to delay starting college because of concerns over COVID-19. The University of Pennsylvania alone saw a 300% increase in students who took a gap year during the 2020-2021 academic year.
That came as no surprise to Dave Bergman, co-founder of College Transitions, an educational consulting firm that works virtually with students to achieve their higher education goals. When a large percentage of college-bound high schoolers approached his counselors looking for guidance on how the pandemic would affect the college experience, their response was one of caution.