Hurricane Harvey has left a lot of unknowns in its wake.<\/p>\n
If and when students get to return to their schools, the schools will likely look significantly different: structural damage, fans to help dry out the building, missing book collections. And beyond the physical, the emotional impacts of this disaster could haunt them for years to come.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis is going to have long term effects for definitely months to come, probably years, of rebuilding and just of the kids having to deal with it,\u201d Angelica Melendez, president of Texas ACAC, said. \u201cThe social counseling we\u2019re going to have to do, the emotional counseling we\u2019re going to need to do, on top of trying to find the school that\u2019s the best fit for them. Some of our community colleges are flooded. Some of our institutions are flooded. Everyone was affected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Counselors just outside the flood zone are trying to figure out how to best serve their impacted students and how to proactively anticipate the questions and needs that will arise in the months to follow.<\/p>\n
The University of Texas at Austin is scheduled to start class this week. The week before classes, the week Harvey hit, is typically a time of celebration and tradition, but this year the mood was different as the connection between campus and the impacted areas is strong.<\/p>\n
Ka\u2019rin Thornburg, the associate director of admission at UT Austin, said that nearly one-third of her school\u2019s undergraduates are from the affected areas in Texas and most students and faculty members have a tie to the area as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose of us who live here have connections across the state. My family is in Houston and they were evacuated. A lot of my colleagues have family in the Gulf Coast, in some of the hardest hit areas,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve spoken to high school counselors and college admission staff across the state and everybody is connected to this in some form or fashion. I think it\u2019s been a challenging time for all of us, especially for those who are living this nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thornburg said that she and her colleagues were working to \u201cbe aware and sensitive\u201d to the challenges facing students in the days ahead.<\/p>\n
Displaced students from affected regions who aren\u2019t able to return due to impassable roads or personal loss have been provided a list of resources and instructions through UT Austin\u2019s Dean of Students office, Thornburg said. UT staff are working alongside colleagues at institutions across the state to make sure students receive the supplies and any mental health counseling they might need. The annual university-wide program, Gone to Texas, was also cancelled out of respect for members of the school community who had been impacted by Harvey.<\/p>\n
Melendez, who lives and works in San Antonio said that TACAC is trying to think through and answer every question that could come up.<\/p>\n
TACAC is working on finding supplies and computers for affected students, determining how to support students who decide to transfer, assessing how many schools have damaged records, and figuring out how many students won\u2019t have access to regional college fairs or testing facilities as a result of the storm.<\/p>\n
Admission and counseling professionals around the country are raising similar queries, said UT Austin\u2019s Thornburg.<\/p>\n
One of the most common questions:\u00a0 How will colleges adjust their policies and practices for families whose financial situations may have changed?<\/p>\n
This concern was alleviated a little last Wednesday when the US Department of Education issued a statement intended to ease financial aid rules and procedures for those affected by Harvey. The department stated that schools may use \u201cprofessional judgment\u201d in deciding \u201cto adjust a student\u2019s financial information in the aftermath of Harvey\u201d and \u201cmay even be able to waive certain paperwork requirements if documents were destroyed,\u201d the Associated Press reported.<\/a><\/p>\n The need to be flexible with respect to deadlines will also be important, said Thornburg, as will understanding the emotional toll the hurricane may take on students.<\/p>\n \u201cBe patient with respect to the essays that may come in from students that may deal with their experiences with Harvey. We may see a lot of those this year and next year because this is devastating for a lot of young people,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to be mindful of the impact this moment and this event will have on students and their families and the impact may last a long time and we may see it in different areas of our admission and financial aid process for quite a while.\u201d<\/p>\n While applying to college might be the furthest thing from an affected student\u2019s mind right now, Melendez wants students and counselors to know that they will be supported when they are able to switch their focus.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are just so many little things that when we are thinking about how to serve our members, we\u2019re still trying to figure out how to best help,\u201d Melendez said. \u201cWe\u2019re just doing our best to make sure that students aren\u2019t forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashley Dobson is NACAC\u2019s communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at\u00a0adobson@nacacnet.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hurricane Harvey has left a lot of unknowns in its wake. If and when students get to return to their schools, the schools will likely look significantly different: structural damage, fans to help dry out the building, missing book collections. And beyond the physical, the emotional impacts of this disaster could haunt them for years … Continue reading Professional Considerations: Admission Counselors Respond to Hurricane Harvey<\/span>