In early 2020, the sudden spread of COVID-19 changed everything. The way we work, the way we learn, and the way we connect with each other. With little warning, everyone was stuck at home. Places of business, classrooms, and recreational facilities were all closed. And high school students were scrambling to reassess their plans for after graduation.

According to a national survey from ECMC Group and Question The Quo, 29% of teens aged 14–18 said the financial impact of the pandemic made them less likely to attend a four-year college.

Instead, students became more open to other options. Since the beginning of the pandemic, one out of four high schoolers have said they are more likely to attend a career and technical education school—and 74% believe a skills-based education makes sense in today’s world.

But how could colleges and universities offering those skills-based programs reach these students? Thanks to the pandemic, their old ways of reaching high school students, including job fairs and high school visits, had disappeared.