GFA Sees Spike in Applicants due to Coronavirus Pandemic
by Will San Jose, '22
The Greens Farms Academy admissions office saw a rise in applications from New York City families this past season, mainly due to residents leaving the coronavirus pandemic’s first American epicenter for the surrounding suburbs.
Director of Enrollment Ann Miller said of the 25 new Upper School families, at least 10 were from New York City.
Miller added all spots were filled by July 15, though the admissions office took upwards of ten calls per day from interested families after that date.
New York City families that inquired thereafter “were really freaked out, because they realized they couldn't stay in New York, they realized that they started too late, and they didn’t quite know what they were going to do,” Miller said.
Greens Farms Academy had its first encounter with COVID-19 shortly after its Revisit Day, when a student who attended was forced to quarantine the following day. Since Revisit Day is the final event in the GFA admissions season, no further dates were affected, although the admissions office changed the way it conducted interviews this summer.
“We did do some Zoom interviews over the summer, and that did reaffirm for me that I think that’s going to be fine,” Miller said. “This actually may make [students] slightly more comfortable: they can be at home, they’re certainly familiar with Zoom, so I’m confident that I can get a sense of a child through Zoom just as well as in-person.”
Junior Caroline Smith, new to GFA this year and a former student at The Chapin School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, spoke of her own experience with online admissions as a student.
“There are definitely drawbacks and benefits of having a Zoom interview,” she said. “One of the drawbacks is the human connection aspect is just not there, because you’re doing it over a computer.”
Smith’s family had owned a vacation home in Westport for four years before they decided to move out of Manhattan amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith had also previously applied to Greens Farms Academy before her freshman year, but ultimately stayed in New York City.
“Transferring to GFA sort of seemed like the natural decision,” she said. “For us it was sort of a no-brainer because we’d come out to Westport in March. Literally the day they canceled school we drove up here, and we ended up staying.”
Smith and Miller both agreed on the existing GFA community’s positive impact on new students throughout the admissions process.
“The thing I’m saddest about is that kids [who are applying] can’t be here when our GFA kids are here, because that’s what sells the school,” Miller said. “It’s not the beautiful building and the pretty water; it’s the kids.”
“GFA is just so welcoming, and I can’t stress that enough,” Smith said. “It’s only been two weeks, and I feel like it’s my school.”
