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As the world settled into pandemic life, students who graduated from high school during the COVID-19 crisis started new chapters of their lives in social and academic seclusion.
Many spent their senior year on Zoom, without homecomings, proms or graduations. They struggled to pass classes and navigate college applications. And they entered college with gaps in study skills and anxiety about social interactions.
They spent their first year of college — typically a time of discovery — in online classes or alone in dorm rooms. Now, some are graduating from college, while others simply gave up.
Across California students grappled with transitioning to college during the pandemic. The challenges were magnified in the Inland Empire, where only about a quarter of all adults hold four-year degrees, compared to 37% statewide.
“I felt really lonely, and it was really, really stressful at that time,” said Maribel Gamez-Reyes, A UC Riverside student from Inglewood.
Holes in their education
Especially for students who are the first in their families to attend college, what should have been their moment of triumph became months of tension. Some questioned whether they even belonged on a college campus, said UC Riverside Dean of Students Christine Mata.
“During lockdown students weren’t able to bond and build connections to the institution, or even access support structures,” she said.
Their academic shortfalls and social isolation took a toll. UC Riverside found that math and writing skills were lower among the students who graduated from high school during the pandemic than for previous high school graduates.
In 2019, before COVID, about 13% of incoming freshmen entered UC Riverside at the lowest math level. In 2020 about 20% of freshmen — the class that lost nearly half its senior year to the pandemic — fell into the lowest math tier.
The 2021 class of high school graduates saw the percentage of low-performing math students tick up even more, to 22%. Those students had spent half their junior year and nearly all their senior year in remote learning.
Likewise, 25% of freshmen entered the university at the lowest writing level in 2019. In 2020 32% fell into the bottom tier. The following year 29% of incoming students started at the lowest writing level.
Math and English levels among incoming freshmen have improved in the past couple of years, university data show.
Grade inflation in high school contributed to those pandemic-era gaps, said Lesley Davidson-Boyd, associate vice president of California State University, San Bernardino. Some high school seniors graduated at the time with stellar grades but below-average test scores in math and English, she said.
“There were a lot of holes in their education,” she said. “There were vital pieces that were missing.”
The federal government sent schools billions in extra pandemic funding, but much of California’s higher education money was not spent on helping students catch up academically.
California received about $34 billion in pandemic aid to education, with about $10 billion of that dedicated to colleges and universities, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Of that, $4 billion was direct aid to students, for help with tuition and other college expenses.
Institutions got $5.3 billion and spent some of that on technology to accommodate remote learning. But much of it went to replacing lost revenue, which administrators said backfilled losses from campus and dormitory closures, and enrollment declines.
Enrollment also took a hit at some California colleges and universities, including many Inland Empire campuses. While enrollment in the University of California system overall has climbed steadily since 2020, it remained flat at UC Riverside since 2020. In the decade before the pandemic, its four-year graduation rate climbed from less than 50% to 67%. But that slid to 60% for the class that started in 2020.
California State Universities’ enrollment numbers dropped during the pandemic, and while admissions finally started rebounding system-wide, it has continued to decline at Cal State San Bernardino from more than 20,000 in 2019 to less than 18,000 in 2024. Four-year graduation rates at Cal State San Bernardino had nearly doubled, from about 13% in 2009, to 25% in 2019, before dropping slightly for the class that started during the first year of the pandemic, in 2020.
Enrollment at the California Community College system fell sharply during the pandemic, but has rebounded throughout the state, including the Inland Empire.
Adriana Banda: Playing catch-up
Pandemic graduates who did go to college often played catch-up in their first year, trying to recover academic skills they lost during remote learning.
For Adriana Banda, pandemic education was a lonely exercise in perseverance. Desert Hot Springs High School offered students the chance to go back in person on limited class schedules, with social distancing precautions, but some of Banda’s family members faced medical risks, so it was a “no-brainer” to stay home and learn remotely, she said.
“I had to learn on my own,” said Banda, now 22. “I honestly didn’t learn much that year. I was just trying to get through high school.”
For years she had looked forward to senior milestones — prom, grad night, a senior sunset gathering and weekends with friends — but she watched them fall away as COVID-19 persisted.
“Having all of my senior experiences taken away from me was really disappointing and discouraging,” she said.
Banda plodded through Zoom classes and graduated high school in 2021. She became the first in her family to go to college when she enrolled at Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert campus.
“Transitioning into college was honestly really hard, especially after coming from a year of remote learning,” she said. “I think during that year I lost the foundational skills I had in school.”
Professors expected high-level work but didn’t always help students struggling with pandemic learning loss, she said.
“The professors didn’t really capture the idea that these students might need more help and support, because of the fact that they weren’t learning in a regular environment for the past year and a half,” Banda said.
I had a six-month gap because I didn’t know exactly where to start, and I didn’t have the guidance because nobody in my family was in college.Katie Honeycutt, a San Bernardino Valley College student who dropped her classes to take a job
The social disruption was even worse: “I’m naturally a shy person, so transitioning from a year full of almost no social communication to being back in the classroom and having to make these relationships and friendships work was really, really hard.”
Getting a campus job at the social services office got her out of her shell. In that role she had to engage with other students but noticed many weren’t receptive.
“People just generally weren’t comfortable having regular conversations anymore,” Banda said. “They would avoid eye contact and get nervous.”
Banda is scheduled to graduate in spring 2026 and plans to pursue a master’s degree and a career as a hospital social worker. The tough lessons of the pandemic will guide her work, she said.
“Seeing how much people genuinely can struggle, and how limited help is, going into social work I’m going to keep that in my head,” she said. “I’m always going to try to the best of my ability to help people.”
Bringing back campus life
Reestablishing campus culture and student life might seem like a lower priority than boosting academic performance in the wake of the pandemic, but university leaders say they’re intertwined. Without connections to classmates and professors, students feel less committed to college.
“Students don’t have the will to stay in school if they don’t feel connected to the campus,” Davidson-Boyd, of Cal State San Bernardino, said. “We saw a rise in dropout rates, and we know that doesn’t just have to do with academics, but connectability to campus as well.”
First year continuation rates for the campus fell, from almost 85% for students who started in 2019 to 78% for those who started in 2020 and 80% for those who started in 2021.
While universities typically encourage students to take a full course load and push through challenging classes, Cal State San Bernardino tried to keep students in school by making it easier for them to drop classes without penalties.
Most students who tried to withdraw from classes but couldn’t do so wound up failing anyway. After two failed classes, many gave up, Davidson-Boyd said: “This was a way to give them an out so they feel like they have more agency over the process.”
Even after pandemic restrictions loosened, campuses continued virtual instruction for some classes and kept dorms at reduced occupancy.
“During lockdown students weren’t able to bond and build connections to the institution, or even access support structures,” Mata said. “They remember being lonely. They were trying to figure out college and it wasn’t what they thought it would be at that time.”
That disengagement hindered attendance and participation during and after the pandemic, Davidson-Boyd said.
“A lot of our students who are failing classes, it’s not that they don’t understand the content,” she said. “They’re just not showing up. Professors are saying that when students are in class they’re not engaged in the same way.”
Cal State San Bernardino reinforced study skills through summer programs for some incoming students, with primers on writing fundamentals and “how-to college math,” she said. And the university introduced a freshman course with tips on identifying their interests, participating in campus events and even asking instructors for help.
Maribel Gamez-Reyes: College application panic
Maribel Gamez-Reyes’ senior year at St. Mary’s Academy, an all-girls Catholic High School in Inglewood, was a marathon of Zoom classes and digital homework.
She struggled with virtual math lessons, and spent so much time online she needed a new glasses prescription for eye strain.
Meanwhile her friendships faded, and lively, campus-wide assemblies she looked forward to were cancelled.
“That was disappointing,” said Gamez-Reyes, now 21. “It was overwhelming, because I realized I wasn’t going to experience all that, and there was this lingering fear because I didn’t know what to expect.”
College applications triggered panic attacks, she said, even with online help from her high school counselor and English teacher.
“I was literally overthinking every decision I was making.”
Gamez-Reyes was excited to be admitted to UC Riverside, but life on campus sparked more stress. The first semester most of her classes were online, which kept her confined to her dorm room and took the joy out of her favorite subject, English. One of her few in-person classes was a math course, but it was held in a large lecture hall and required students to wear masks.
“I had so much anxiety about coming here,” she said. “But even then I tried to push forward because it was my first choice.”
Her mom kept her grounded. “My mom never went to college, and she was very proud of me for going to college … She said, ‘I know you’re scared and you don’t know people, but you have to try.’”
Gamez-Reyes started small. She chose a residence hall known for its social life, with an open layout that encouraged students to hang out in the hallway or lounge.
She eventually found her niche at the college newspaper, the Highlander, first as a contributing writer and then as arts and entertainment editor, where she oversaw coverage of books, fashion, movies and concerts. She made friends in the newsroom and met people while covering live events. She is scheduled to graduate this year and plans to pursue a PhD program in English.
“I’ve found these spaces where I feel really comfortable, and I’ve excelled overall,” Gamez-Reyes said. “Even though I didn’t get to experience some of these exciting moments in high school, I’m experiencing that now.”
Small steps toward socializing
Social avoidance was the norm for pandemic graduates, Mata said. Whether because of fear of infection or the months of isolation, students were wary of parties and preferred simple outdoor events, she said.
“The very basic activities that pre-pandemic students wouldn’t be interested in, like a carnival, when we came back to campus, those were the things students gravitated to,” she said.
Outdoor movie nights also were a hit, offering the right balance of space and social interaction.
“It’s almost like starting small and drawing them out with very basic interactions to break down that social isolation that they developed,” Mata said.
At Cal State San Bernardino fraternity and sorority recruitment declined, along with other clubs and activities, Davidson-Boyd said. Students weren’t just feeling antisocial, she said. They were also scared.
“We instilled some panic that just being around other people could get you sick,” she said. “So I think we’re deprogramming that now.”
Carson Fajardo: Drawing students out of dorm rooms
Early in the pandemic, Carson Fajardo was optimistic that Rancho Cucamonga High School would reopen after a few weeks, in time for an assembly he was planning as student treasurer. He felt “bummed and discouraged” when it became clear that school wouldn’t resume in person that year or even the next.
“The class of 2020 got it pretty bad because they didn’t get graduation or prom,” said Fajardo, now 22. “But I still stand on the fact that the class of 2021 had it way worse, because we had everything taken from us. Not only was it junior prom and opportunities, but almost our entire senior year.”
During his senior year Fajardo kept busy with virtual student government meetings and planned fundraisers with local boba shops and pizza places. He played Call of Duty and sometimes fell asleep in Zoom class.
He thought that was all behind him once he entered Cal State San Bernardino as a business major in 2021.
“Because I felt thwarted in my high school career, I took that to heart in my college career and really wanted to make the most of it,” he said.
Fajardo became a programming coordinator for his residence hall. But it was an uphill battle to get anyone to join in activities.
“Only a few extroverted people were coming out to these events, but the introverted students were stuck in their dorm rooms and not wanting to come out,” he said.
Students welcomed low-key gatherings such as video nights or arts-and-crafts sessions. But a “homecoming-esqe small dance party” with a DJ, theme and decorations drew only 50 guests.
“We tried to bring back some of what was lost, but it just didn’t pan out well,” he said. “It just fell on its face.”
There were a lot of holes in their education. There were vital pieces that were missing.Lesley Davidson-Boyd, associate vice president of California State University, San Bernardino.
Some classes also were disappointing. Although professors found students disengaged, Fajardo thought some professors were also checked out, recycling online lessons from the remote learning period for use in asynchronous classes, where students work at their own pace.
“They taught online through COVID and then reposted their lectures for asynchronous classes where they don’t need to teach and can count it as a class, when all they’re doing is clicking a button,” he said. “There’s no real interaction, no feedback from professors in some of these classes.”
In his junior year Fajardo ran for student government president and won, which gave him a bigger platform to “build back campus culture.” Drawing on his dorm experience, he tried to offer something for everyone. A “Cosmic Coyote” night drew 900 students with laid-back bowling rounds, karaoke, line dancing and a high-energy mosh pit outside. That became an annual event, and a lesson in leadership for Fajardo.
“I think a lot of my growth as a leader came in because before I was more oblivious to what other people’s interests are, or what I think other people’s interests are,” he said.
The largest production that year was “Coyote Fest,” which drew about 7,000 people to a concert featuring rapper Schoolboy Q, along with rides, slides, a ferris wheel, mechanical bull and jousting.
Fajardo graduated in May and plans to pursue a master’s degree and a career in nonprofit fundraising.
“It’s cool for me, starting on the campus and seeing where it was when I first got here, in comparison to where it is now,” he said. “Tradition is the backbone of campus culture.”
Maintaining motivation to graduate
One challenge to keeping students in college comes from the regional job market, Boyd-Davidson said. After all, pay at many warehouse jobs in the Inland Empire start at about $20 per hour and can rise to $35 per hour or more for supervisory positions.
“The Inland Empire has some of the lowest graduation rates in the country,” she said. “We know we’re fighting an uphill battle to get students in school and keep them in school, especially because at warehouse jobs, which we’re surrounded by, the wages are so high.”
For students paying their own bills or helping support families, the payoff of a college degree isn’t always obvious, she said.
Katie Honeycutt, 21, graduated from San Gorgonio High School in San Bernardino in 2021 and enrolled at San Bernardino Valley College in a pharmacy technician program in spring, 2022.
“I had a six-month gap because I didn’t know exactly where to start, and I didn’t have the guidance because nobody in my family was in college,” Honeycutt said.
While she enjoyed some in-person college classes, she switched to online classes to coordinate with her work schedule as a supervisor at Ross Dress for Less. The virtual college courses were just as hard as remote learning in high school, she said, and she was missing math skills and other fundamentals she should have learned in her senior year.
“I ended up dropping (the classes), because it was just too much to handle all at once,” Honeycutt said. “I do have stuff to pay, and I can’t just focus on just school.”
Rather than only highlighting the financial rewards of a college degree, Davidson-Boyd said university officials gained traction by discussing the less immediate benefits of higher education: the greater range of career choices college graduates have and the opportunity to contribute to their communities.
While students who started college during the pandemic still feel a sense of loss or hardship, many who graduate have a sense of accomplishment for having made it through.
“There’s resiliency, because of what they had to face in starting their collegiate journey,” Mata said. “I just remind them how special they are and how proud they should be.”
