COVID-19 Admissions FAQ

Absolutely! This much we know for sure; the college will be in session this fall.

It is fully our intention that the college will be open and classes taught on-campus this fall. For more information, please see the statement from President Wiewel and Dean Suttmeier here.

We do not know when or if the Governor will decide if schools are not permitted to teach in person. We are in close communication with the Governor’s office, and as soon as we know, we will inform you of any change to the college’s plans for in-person instruction this fall.

While we are confident that Lewis & Clark’s online instruction is robust and highly personalized, we understand that online classroom instruction is not how you imagined your first semester at Lewis & Clark.

In the event that we are compelled to move all of our academics to an entirely online format this fall, you may request to defer your enrollment for either one or two semesters. You must inform us of your decision no later than August 15.

Students deferring their enrollment for one semester will remain eligible for the Spring semester portion of their financial aid award.

Students requesting to defer their enrollment for two semesters should review our Late Entry gap year policies for more information about financial aid eligibility and the approval process.

There will be a large selection of classes for spring-start students. A few introductory classes may not be offered until the following Fall, but students can get other requirements completed in their first spring. Even in the natural sciences—where sequencing is most prominent—students should be able to start their majors and begin normal progress toward graduation. Note that some world language classes (except Spanish) have beginning classes starting only in the Fall, so students who have no experience in a language may need to wait until the Fall to begin language coursework.

These are difficult times for many families, and we want to work with you to make sure you achieve your academic goals. If your family’s financial situation changes dramatically this summer, you should contact our Financial Aid Office to discuss what options are available to make Lewis & Clark affordable. If after working with the Financial Aid Office you receive a revised award package, and the college is no longer affordable for you, you may decline the offer of admission and we will offer to refund your deposit.

Yes. We will continue to honor our current policy.

First Year students: as long as you successfully graduate from your school, we will continue to honor our offer of admission and financial aid.

Transfer students (or First Year students with college credits): Lewis & Clark will accept transfer credit for eligible college courses completed with a P/CR/S grade from Winter ’20 and Spring ’20 terms ONLY, regardless of your home institution’s policy about what P/CR/S means. We will continue to honor our offer of admission and financial aid.

We encourage you to reach out to your admissions counselor if any other aspect of your spring coursework has changed.

Absolutely not. If you know Lewis & Clark is your top choice, we will be happy to accept your deposit today. There is no reason to wait! We know these are confusing times, and we wish we could give you definitive answers today, and yet this is a time in which we all need to be flexible in how we do things. We are here to work with you. If either of our situations change, let’s work together to make your top choice, Lewis & Clark, a reality.