COVID's long shadow is looming over a new generation of college students

"There were no more elbow bumps at the lockers, frantic study sessions in the library or whispers of questions at the teacher's desk. Full, lively classrooms were shrunk down to a single glowing screen and a webcam. Nearly six years later, a generation of first-year college students is still feeling the fallout, shaped by years of online high school, isolation and disrupted learning during some of their most formative years."

"Even as college life is back to business as usual, educators say the pandemic's academic and emotional aftershocks remain. The students in the "COVID cohort," or those who graduated high school after 2020, are starting college with noticeable learning gaps and deep anxiety about belonging, effects that experts warn could linger for years. "When COVID-19 hit," said Frank Worrell, a distinguished professor in UC Berkeley's School of Education and a college preparatory director, "I think it actually disrupted us so much more than we ever thought it would.""

Classrooms nationwide abruptly closed in March 2020, replacing in-person interactions with screens and webcams. Students who spent critical high school years online experienced reduced learning, isolation, and disrupted social development during formative years. Current first-year college students from the 'COVID cohort' exhibit noticeable learning gaps and deep anxiety about belonging. Educators warn that education is sequential, making lost instruction in math, writing, and language particularly damaging over time. UC San Diego's report documents steep declines in academic preparation among incoming students. Experts caution that academic deficits and emotional aftershocks from the pandemic could persist for years.

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