Dive Brief:

• The high school graduating class of 2021 engaged in cornerstone college preparation activities during the coronavirus pandemic, though nearly half reported the disruptions curtailed their participation in at least one experience, according to new research from ACT. 
• ACT, best known for administering its eponymous college entrance exam, surveyed high school seniors who took its test during the 2020-2021 school year about the college prep process. It then developed a report with answers from more than 2,350 of them. 
• The findings suggest the pandemic most significantly affected students' visits to campuses and their attendance at college fairs.

Dive Insight:

Campuses shut down as the coronavirus began to spread across the U.S. in early 2020. This forced enrollment managers to devise methods outside traditional means for enticing prospective students, as things like campus fairs temporarily fell by the wayside. 

ACT's report, released Thursday, illustrates how some students missed out on some of those opportunities. In addition, the report found participation in college prep activities to be connected to students’ mode of learning.

The more in-person learning a student experienced, the fewer opportunities were disrupted by the pandemic, according to the nonprofit. About 44% of responding students were learning exclusively or mostly in person, while 36% learned mostly or solely online. The remaining 20%  were in hybrid learning situations.

Students responded to questions on the survey about seven activities linked to college preparedness. They could provide three answers: that they participated in the activities, that they did not but wanted to prior to the pandemic, or that they did not intend to at all. 

The survey found about two-thirds of students visited a college campus, and about one-fifth did not but had planned to pre-pandemic. 

Less than half of responding students attended a college fair, while about one-fifth did not but had intended to before the pandemic. Less than two-fifths of students had not planned to go to a fair at all. 

And less than half of students spoke with a college representative who visited their high school, while less than one-fifth did not but said they planned to do so before the health crisis. More than two-fifths of students said they never wanted to. 

Low-income students, and those who are Hispanic/Latino and Asian were more likely to report that the pandemic disrupted college-going activities. However, Black students were more likely to have participated in six out of the seven reported activities, which the report said is consistent with other research on the topic.