St. Louis Public Radio
Ja na Kelly poses in front of University City High School. She s a senior at the high school, though she s hardly been inside since March. She had to navigate school and now college admissions virtually.
Without extracurricular activities or standardized test scores, students with ambitious college plans are doing so without the resume they had hoped would win over admissions officers.
This is not the year for the college road trip. Instead, it’s been all about clicking through virtual campus tours.
Parker Kopplin is a senior at Ritenour High School in St. Louis County, and that’s where he was when he explored the campus of UCLA.
Originally published on December 17, 2020 7:22 am
This is not the year for the college road trip. Instead, it’s been all about clicking through virtual campus tours.
Parker Kopplin is a senior at Ritenour High School in St. Louis County, and that’s where he was when he explored the campus of UCLA.
“It just doesn t feel like a real experience,” Kopplin said. “It kind of just seems like you re reading and talking to a brochure.”
Kopplin instead has listed Mizzou, a school he was able to visit last summer, as his top choice.
McCluer High School senior Aldo Estrada also at one time had dreams of going to college in southern California. But the pandemic has Estrada, who will be the first in his family to attend college, wanting to stay closer to home.