Virtual school cut college applications for years, especially for poor students.

During the pandemic, online classes meant less help for high schoolers applying to college. This led to fewer FAFSA forms, fewer ACT tests, and fewer students actually enrolling in college. The drop in college enrollment did not recover when schools reopened.

This paper shows that the shift to virtual learning during COVID-19 had a lasting negative impact on college access for many students. The effects were most severe in schools serving disadvantaged populations, widening existing educational gaps. This suggests that the digital divide has real, measurable consequences for long-term student opportunity.