Backing Out of Acceptance Because of COVID-19?

[cupparino]

Hi,

I recently decided between two schools - however I'm regretting it for a host of equally important reasons. One of the ones weighing on me heavily right now is that the area where my PhD program is is the worst hit area of the United States. Furthermore, a recent family friend died from Covid, and I just got news that a close family member has it. Perhaps I'm just under a lot of stress right now, but how bad would it look if i backed out of the program to switch under this pretense? The severity of the situation in my home area is just so bad and I can't imagine it getting better by Fall, in fact, its only been getting worse. 

[cupparino]

im sorry if this sounds over dramatic - i think what happened to my family friend and the news of my family just threw me over the edge and im in panic mode right now 

[PsyDuck90]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can only imagine how this must feel. As a resident of the area that has been hit the hardest/second hardest, I don't think there is anything to worry about for Fall. There have been many measures put in place and the governors of the general area are working hard to see about what makes sense for re-opening. I don't believe they will re-open things if it is unsafe to do so. That being said, there may be the possibility of you having to start the fall semester online. This isn't ideal, but I know we've been making it work in my program. It won't be like this forever. Rutgers actually just developed a rapid saliva based test and it is being piloted around New Jersey and will extend outward, I'm sure. Less invasive and faster testing will help get a better handle on this thing. 

[hopefulastro]

Really sorry to hear about your loss. Things are very unpredictable right now, so I don't think anyone can say yet what will happen to fall semester. I think the good news is that if things don't get better by then, universities will extend their closures through fall semester or however long it takes. Of course this isn't "good", but it would be necessary and would still allow students to do classes, research, and so on remotely, hopefully in a more comfortable and safe environment. I'm guessing your program will be in New York, as you say it's the hardest hit area in the US right now. But once things begin to subside in NY, the virus will still be spreading in various other cities at different rates, and perhaps a different city will become the new hotspot in the summer or fall. Since things are so unpredictable, it's possible that even if you decided to attend the other program instead, by the time fall comes around then that area might actually be worse off.

A PhD is long - at least 5 or 6 years. I think it's the most wise to pick the program you would be happiest at and feel is the best fit for you, because the bulk of your time in the program will be spent after things return to normal. Hopefully there will be a vaccine within a year or so that will allow things to slowly return to normal, but in the meantime, I think there's a strong possibility that schools across the US could remain closed regardless of where is worst hit at the time.

(btw, if you feel that you want to postpone starting a program all together for personal reasons, maybe you can look into deferring for a term or a year?)