College Admissions Consulting The Latest on Campus Vaccination Policies Written by Emily Toffelmireon May 10th, 2021 I came to College Coach after working for many years in college admissions and high school counseling. As a school counselor, I assisted students in the college application process and wrote hundreds of letters of recommendation, while also helping them and their families cope with any emotional, social, and academic concerns throughout the year. I transitioned from the high school setting to the admissions office when I joined the University of Southern California as an assistant director, reading freshmen and transfer applications and collaborating on admission decisions for over 150 majors, including the liberal arts, engineering, business, cinema, and the fine and performing arts. I subsequently took on the role of senior assistant director in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, where I coordinated the division's Mork, Stamps, Trustee, Presidential and Dean's merit scholarship selection process, as well as recruitment publications and outreach, and traveled everywhere from Honolulu to Miami presenting to and interviewing hundreds of applicants each year. Learn More About Emily campus vaccination policies, coronavirus, covid-19, by Emily Toffelmire, former admissions officer at University of Southern California Just a fraction of the universities and colleges in the country have made formal announcements about their COVID vaccine policies for students, but some clear trends are emerging. According to Inside Higher Ed, “many institutions mandating the immunizations for students fit a certain profile: more often private than public, selective, located in a Democratic-leaning state.” Within states, policy varies; in North Carolina, public universities have opted not to require vaccination, while Duke and Wake Forest are requiring the shots for students. Most of the public universities in Massachusetts have announced they will require students to be vaccinated. The state university systems for California, Colorado, Maryland, and Washington have made similar announcements, while the University of Tennessee system has opted not to require vaccinations. In New York, the State University system (SUNY) has found so little vaccine hesitancy among its students that administrators have decided a mandate isn’t necessary. It’s important to note that the campuses and systems mandating vaccination will allow the same medical and religious waivers they already have in place for their other, previously existing vaccine requirements. Visit The Chronicle of Higher Education for a running list of campuses requiring vaccinations. Related Resources Read | Posted on March 27th, 2024 A Deep Dive on Union College Read | Posted on March 20th, 2024 Should I Attend Admitted Student Day; Listener Q&A Read | Posted on March 13th, 2024 Standardized Tests; Choosing Your College; Financial Aid Appeals