Around the country, students from the class of 2021 have been strongly impacted by the pandemic, having the final third of their college careers take place online. In what is already a stressful time, the COVID-19 pandemic has added worry, loneliness and uncertainty to the lives of these soon-to-be graduates.

Many of the seniors expressed disappointment with the conclusion of their college careers.

“It sort of feels like a non-event, which is the sad part, I think,” said Pranaya Palauan, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “Anything that might have made it feel special has been stripped away from it, and it feels more like a prerequisite for graduating than anything else, which is sort of a sad way of thinking about it.”

A second online semester dashed many seniors’ hopes for a more laid-back semester of celebration and relaxation.

“I had these big ideas for my last semester. I was thinking I would take maybe three classes, making it more chill, and then see my friends more,” said Isaac Mordukhovich, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, noting that his mindset throughout college had been one of hard work for a relaxed ending. “You put in the work for three and a half years and take the last semester easy and spend time with the friends you’ve made.”

The continuation of Zoom classes led some seniors to reconsider their approach to academics and college life in general.

“I guess at this point I’m just trying to re-evaluate what it means to be a good student,” said Natalie Snyder, a senior in Sam Fox School. “I want to be committed to these classes, and I want to do a good job and really make this last semester worth it, but it’s also just hard to balance that with being there for people in your life and trying to find a job and trying to figure out where you’re going to be in four months.”

Courtesy of Natalie Snyder

Sam Fox senior Natalie Snyder poses for a picture. As her college experience comes to an end, she is trying to find the balance between her school work, social life and staying pandemic safe.

A critical part of senior year is preparing for entry to graduate school or the job market. Mordukhovich said he was feeling “definitely some panic” at the prospect of no longer being an undergraduate.

“I’m going to be taking a couple of gap years to work on my resume so I can apply to med school more confidently,” said Mordukhovich. “So I’m going through the application cycle for gap year programs right now, but I’m feeling pretty good about them.”

Others felt a similar mixture of optimism and concern. “I’m almost certain that I will be attending a law school next semester, and that’s good, but more than anything, I’m just sort of constantly worried and concerned,” said Palauan. “I’m just really lucky that I picked a field that is relatively stable. And I’m very grateful for that every day. I’m just worried. I hope my friends are able to find something. I hope that they’re able to stay safe and stay healthy.”

A theme brought up by all of the seniors was the importance of social connection, albeit distanced, in pandemic times. Snyder mentioned that she is making people her priority during her last semester. “I feel like at this point I’m just trying to bear down and do the best that I can within the limits of putting people before classes,” Snyder said.

Needless to say, opportunities to connect with friends have been greatly limited by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last semester I spent a lot less time with my friends than I thought I would,” said Mordukovich. “This semester is probably going to be the same because of COVID limitations.”

The seniors offered a variety of strategies for diffusing the stress and loneliness that are concomitants of a Zoom semester.

“I have tea almost every night, where I just sort of sit down at my desk and either just review my notes for the day and make a list of things to do tomorrow,” said Mordukovich. “Making a list for future next steps is always very helpful in organizing my thoughts, to make sure I’m not just stressing without direction.”

Another logistical organization tip is to limit the length of commitments during a day. “I’m going to try to aerate my schedule this semester by scheduling things in hour chunks,” said Snyder. “I don’t know if this is a coping mechanism, but I’ve just been feeling much more tender towards my friends recently.”

In terms of keeping spirits up, Palauan noted that the pandemic has changed how he seeks out entertainment. “I’ve been reading a lot since the pandemic started, but particularly last semester when I went through patches that were particularly lonely,” said Palauan. “Usually in these moments I would turn to movies, but watching movies at home on my own just reminded me about how much fun it is to watch movies with other people in a theatre, so I didn’t really want to do that.”