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Coronavirus changes plans for college-bound students

UT is fielding calls from students with changing financial situations worried about the cost of a 4-year degree. High school juniors face canceled ACT tests.

MARYVILLE, Tenn. — The silence is deafening on the campus of the University of Tennessee. 

No students and no fast-talking, backwards-walking admissions tour guides, either. 

"A lot of colleges have been sending out emails for the virtual tours online that we can take instead, but I don't know... it's definitely more stressful," Maryville High School junior Vivan Chen said. 

Chen plans to apply to UT, along with Vanderbilt and Duke. But she said it is harder to get a feel for college campuses when you can't see them in action. 

"It's definitely not as great as if you were there and you can't ask questions either," she said. 

That's not her only problem. 

RELATED: TN State Board of Education approves new COVID-19 emergency rules

RELATED: Tennessee Board of Education to vote on emergency rules amid COVID-19 closures

RELATED: SAT, ACT cancel spring exams due to coronavirus

COVID-19 has canceled crucial college admissions tests like the SAT and ACT. If the crisis continues, exams could be online in the fall. 

"The hope is that additional testing dates will be provided to students so they can still have access to the test and have that be part of their admissions application," UT's Director of Undergraduate Admission Fabrizio D'Aloisio said. 

He said UT is fielding calls from concerned seniors with changing financial situations worried about the cost of a four-year degree.

"There's a lot that we don't know yet about how students are going to react to these changes and we know folks incomes many folks incomes have taken a hit." 

The university has also added virtual student information panels for applicants like Vivian Chen. Those add to the online high school classes she's already taking. 

"It's like school but without like all of the good parts. You get to hang out with your friends at school and you get to talk to your teachers and you get to do fun activities," she said of online education. 

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