Families and students preparing for the upcoming academic year beginning this fall have much more to contend with than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic. Schools will not be returning to pre-pandemic ways, even those schools that welcome students back to campus and include at least some in-person classes.

Many will continue distance online learning only that was instituted for spring 2020 classes. Others will use a hybrid system combining both online and in-person classes for most students, eliminate the usual fall breaks and then send students home at Thanksgiving until at least after Christmas or longer depending on the health situation on campus. Still others like Harvard plan to have only certain undergraduate classes on campus — in Harvard's case, just freshmen —  with the rest learning online.