Ever since she received her acceptance letter, Samantha G. Marks ’25 dreamed of her time on campus. As senior year of high school waned, she motivated herself by imagining the intellectual wonderland she would soon access: top-tier research labs, extraordinary peers, and tight-knit communities around her favorite activities.
Her initial stance on taking a gap year? “Absolutely no way,” Marks said.
During the following months, however, COVID-19 surged across the United States and the world. On March 10, 2020, Harvard ordered all residential students to vacate campus and continue the semester virtually.
Still, Marks held out hope that Harvard would be able to provide the traditional campus experience in the fall. She waited to make her decision until the “heartbreaking” announcement on July 6 that all courses would be taught remotely. Marks would be unable to conduct lab research as she had hoped, or participate in clubs as she had imagined.