While the presence of COVID-19 finally begins to fade away from our daily lives, the impact of academic isolation and lost opportunity lives on. With college admissions approaching and months of unproductivity needing to be made up for, some students have gotten stressed at their circumstances.

Undoubtedly, one of the greatest sources of stress students face is the college admissions process. Whether a student wants to attend a large prestigious university, a local community college, or any other form of higher education, the responsibilities they need to increase their chances of admission are towering. It is reasonably agreed upon that juggling volunteer hours, extracurriculars, standardized tests, and a 4.0 GPA all at once is all too much to handle without the slightest bit of stress. Then quarantine hit, and an entire year and a half slipped by in a blink. Opportunities have vanished, workloads have increased, and the fog of the future has grown thicker as students try to navigate themselves out of the mess that quarantine created.

This has led to some tension regarding college, careers, and life in general. 

“I think for some students, it gave us a couple of detours, maybe some road bumps or speed bumps,” health teacher Ashley Abruscato said. “But overall I think now that we are back in school students just really need to make sure they are taking advantage of the resources that they have.”

Recovering from the turmoil of 2020 and adapting to a wildly new academic environment is by no means easy. Especially concerning the fact that deadlines that once seemed far off in the distance have lept closer without a full realization of how much time has passed.

“I had a lot of online opportunities during quarantine,” sophomore Esha Mujumdar said. “But it was stressful since it was harder for me to manage everything online and stay motivated.”

For several students, it is likely that this stagnant and languish lifestyle has bled into the present and will affect college admissions. However, not all is bleak.

While there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that 2020 took a toll on students worldwide, it did not destabilize us forever.

“This school has so many resources available to you,” Abruscato said. “Not only your wonderful teachers, but also our guidance counselors and social workers, our mental health coordinator. If any student feels like they are struggling or just kind of feels like they have lost their path, there are so many adults in this building that can help them get back on track.”