RMU Resumes Smaller, Low-Contact Campus Tours
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - Summer is prime time for rising high school students to tour college campuses, but things are a little different this year.
Nestled in the rolling hills of Moon Township, Robert Morris University, like all its peers, is adapting to the age of COVID-19.
Now begins prime time for college visits by next spring's graduating high school seniors planning the next phase of their lives.
"I want to see what the dorms are like, the campus and how much walking you have to do," says Paige Comini from Peters Township as she visited RMU.
Just last week, RMU resumed group tours of its campus, but with smaller groups and low contact tours.
"Everyone wears a mask, we use automatic doors as much as possible," explains Jonathan Potts, Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing at Robert Morris University.
No one is quite sure what college life will look like by the fall of 2021, but it's certainly impacting the upcoming semester.
"We are going to spread students out throughout the campus, students are going to need to wear masks as well as faculty and staff," says Potts.
Large gatherings like sporting events and concerts won't happen or will be restricted, but seeing the school's proactive approach is important to Paige's dad.
"We want to make sure she's comfortable and she feels safe when she goes here, so do we," he says.
Robert Morris is sweetening the pot as a way to get students' attention and help families impacted by coronavirus.
"It's an additional thousand-dollar scholarship per year, on top of any type of financial aid you might qualify for," says Potts.
"We're all trying to work through this together. That's a good sign that they're doing that as well and trying to work with us," says Paige's dad.
If you want to be eligible for that scholarship, you have to apply to Robert Morris by the end of July. That doesn't mean you are committing to go to the university, but to be eligible for the scholarship, you have to at least submit the application form.