The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the U.S. educational system — just ask any parent now home-schooling their children. Graduate programs are no exception. For prospective students, starting grad school in fall 2020 is still a possibility, and for many it’s a highly appealing route. Relative to COVID-19, here are five implications to consider while weighing your options.

(1) Lower barriers to entry. Many graduate programs’ admissions offices are concerned about their enrollments this fall and have added additional application deadlines as part of their response. And due to standardized tests being harder to complete during a lockdown (though notably, both the GRE and GMAT can now be taken at home) some programs have relaxed or outright waived this application requirement. These amended policies are highly atypical and may never been seen again.

(2) More admissions competition starting in 2021. Assuming the economy remains in a long-term slump, expect competition for admission to grad school to intensify in the next few years. Application volumes for graduate programs tend to rise when the economy struggles; we most recently saw this during the recession of 10-12 years ago. Put more bluntly, when the economy is down, expect it to be harder to get into grad school.

(3) Online-only possibly in fall 2020. Given the overall uncertain timing of the coronavirus, and given the experts’ concerns about a so-called “second wave,” traditional brick-and-mortar programs could still be operating online-only this fall – and potentially beyond.

(4) Diminished international opportunities: Travel restrictions and liability issues could present serious hurdles for universities to participate in international programs. Furthermore, medical concerns and visa complications will likely make it harder for non-citizens to travel to other countries for graduate school.

(5) Fallout to recruiting & internships. Many summer 2020 internships – if they’re still happening – will be online-only. What effect this could have on companies’ (a) hiring plans for full-time jobs and (b) approaches to internships for summer 2021 are major unknowns. And especially in an overall down economy, hiring of newly minted grad students, just like overall hiring, is likely to decrease.

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