Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)

Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)—Under this program, students pay 150% of in-state tuition in partnering states:  Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

This will be an increasingly important program as public universities in California shrink and demand grows. Using tuition numbers from US News Ultimate Guide to Colleges 2008, a California resident wishing to attend Washington State would owe $10,299 in out of state tuition. The student from New York attending Washington State would owe $17,180 in out of state tuition! Check it out!

 

The economy has hit highly respected Beloit University hard. After laying off 30+ employees this small university knew it must cut admissions. And now as applications stream in for the coveted 340 positions in the freshman class administrators report that they will be using a “need-sensitive” admissions system in contrast to neighboring Lawrence University’s “need-blind”.  “Need-sensitive” admissions require applications be reviewed not only on ability to succeed academically, but also on ability to pay. In a perfect world I’m sure Beloit would select “need-blind” system–those academically able are accepted regardless of ability to pay.

The debate is whether it is better to admit students, not have adequate support and have them graduate with high debt or in essence force them to make a better economic choice by rejecting them. What do you think?

The lesson is different for different applicants. If you will need financial aid then you must research carefully colleges/universities that have need-blind admissions.  If you do not believe you will need financial aid when asked on the application so indicate and make sure you find a few “need-sensitive” schools to apply to. Whether all of this is right or wrong for society as a whole, it is what it is, at least for now.

As reported in LA Times today the results for UCLA’s 43rd annual “American Freshman” survey are in. Surveyed were 240, 580 freshmen at 340 four-year colleges and universities. 43% of students viewed financial aid as very important or essential to their choice of a college. That figure was up from 39.7% last year and the highest in the 36 years the question has been asked. 8.5% of the students said their ultimate choice of college was strongly affected by not being offered financial aid by their first-choice campus, the highest such response since the question was first asked 24 years ago. (1984). Note the most recent deep recession was on and around 1991…so the current economy appears to be having a greater impact on post-secondary plans.

For those of you who still have the courage to read the papers, college admissions are hurting just as much as your home values. Wednesday the University of California Regents voted to trim freshmen enrollment (those who actually attend) by six (6) percent. Ouchhh! But wait it gets worse for those of you who were hoping to attend UC Irvine or UC San Diego where they will be reducing enrollment by twelve (12) percent because last year they had the misfortune at those two campuses of having more freshman accept their offer of admission than they had budgetted for. Well there’s always UC Riverside one might say…maybe not this year when they cut enrollment by ten (10) percent. Making lemonade out of lemons UC Merced plans to increase enrollment by seventeen (17) percent…always a silver lining.

What does this mean to the individual applicant’s chances of acceptance? Let’s take UC Irvine and work through the numbers. Applications are reported to be up 3% so UC Irvine has 43,712 applications. Given that last year they accepted 48.7% (20,685) and enrolled 23% (4,804),then they must lower to 19,685 those accepted in order to have 3,859 enroll. And it is my guess that the number accepted will be much less that 19,685 for fear the economy and rejections at other UC/Cal States will increase the number of students deciding to enroll at UC Irvine. Big Ouchh!

I hope this example illustrates how a cut in enrollment translates into cuts in acceptances…obviously you say. The problem then is that your son or daughter will have fewer acceptances and fewer choices..these kind of cuts put even more power in the hands of admissions officers who have such limited time to get to know the applicant. Again to save money, the UC’s and Cal States do not require teacher recommendations. The Cal States do not require essays. It’s all numbers.
Advice…diversify…spread the risk! If at all possible apply to private schools outside of California where there is not so much capacity pressure (midwest is looking really good these days) and if that is not possible and you are not happy with the choices you have do careful research into community college choices…but that’s for another blog.

Below is an article from Inside Higher Education discussing first data available on this year’s applications. It had been predicted that with the weak economy that the number of Early Decision applications (student must go there if accepted) would drop because in part student is locked in to that school’s price and/or student promises to go before financial aid package is offered. Surprisingly many schools are reporting an increase in early decision applications. As article indicates it is unclear what this means for early action and regular decision…we’ll have to wait and see. Certainty in uncertain times?

“The Bubble That Didn’t Burst”

Jess H. Lord, dean of admissions and financial aid at Haverford College, says that “up until Friday I’ve been telling anyone who would listen to me to get ready because I assumed ED numbers would drop.” He said it was “absolutely my assumption that ED would be hit hard by the economy — that applying ED would be seen as a luxury and folks would hold off.” “ED” is admissions lingo for early decision, in which applicants apply early and pledge, if admitted, to enroll.

When his staff finished counting Monday morning, after the early deadline passed, Haverford’s early applications were up 13 percent.

Nanci Tessier, vice president for enrollment management at the University of Richmond, was more optimistic. She figured that the economic woes would translate into a flat year for early decision. The university’s numbers are up 14 percent.

Lord and Tessier were not alone in expecting declining interest in early decision, which for a decade now has been growing rapidly in popularity. Admissions experts predicted that the binding nature of early decision would discourage students and families in a year when many are uncertain about their personal finances and would want to consider public college alternatives or to weigh aid offers from a range of colleges before committing.

With numerous reports of public colleges experiencing surges in applications, some have gone so far as to predict, as Forbes put it recently in an article called “The Coming College Bubble?” that private colleges may be “the next industry to pop.” After all, critics of private higher education have said, parents are outraged by high tuition rates, so this is the year they will stay away from colleges (excluding Harvard and a few others perhaps) that cost a lot and expect applicants to pledge to enroll before even receiving a financial aid package.

But what’s happening this fall — even as applications do flood public institutions — is that many private institutions are reporting significant increases in those very ED applications that were expected to decrease. While application deadlines vary, many colleges use either November 1 or 15. So these ED deadlines are the first instances of students making potentially binding decisions after the stock market collapse — and early applications are up at numerous private colleges.

Union College in New York is up 8 percent. George Washington University is up 30 percent — although because last year the university numbers were off, the figure is up a more modest 10 percent over recent years. But officials saw so much interest they just extended the early deadline by two weeks. Nebraska Wesleyan is still counting, but is up. Roanoke College’s early decision applicants have more than doubled.

St. Olaf College — which moved its deadline for ED from the 1st to the 15th in the hope of keeping its applications level — is up more than 50 percent. Smith College is still counting but expects a modest increase. Dartmouth College is up 10 percent. Northwestern University is up 15 percent. New York University is up 1 percent. Hamilton College is up 8 percent. Dickinson College is level. Warren Wilson College is up 30 percent. The numbers vary, but the declines didn’t happen.

Views about why this is the case vary — and many admissions officials at these and other institutions are so surprised that they haven’t had time to theorize. But many are saying that the idea that private colleges with high sticker prices were going to be uncompetitive this year has just not proven to be the case. And in an economic environment where the loss of a few dozen students can upend a college’s plans, emerging from this juncture in the admissions process in good shape is huge news for many of these institutions.

It’s important to know that this is likely to be an unusual year in admissions, with plenty of twists — and with any story on admissions trends, the colleges having miserable years tend not to rush to return a reporter’s calls. And the early decision market place is just a part of higher education. To have a viable early decision program, you need competitive admissions, and many of the private colleges struggling the most financially don’t. But admissions officials at these colleges and those still counting say that they consider it a sign of strength for their sector that institutions have held their own, let alone shown growth in early decision applications — especially since these applications have gone up so much in recent years, making the base higher than it once was.

All of this begs the question: Why?

One possibility is that colleges are focusing more on the applicants most likely to enroll — as opposed to everyone. This may be especially necessary in the Northeast, which isn’t favored by population trends — and may explain why some of the colleges experiencing early decision increases may not see increases in their total applications for the year. “We’ve been preparing for a smaller top of the funnel for a couple of years,” said Monica Inzer, dean of admissions and financial aid at Hamilton, which saw an increase in early applications but is slightly behind last year’s total for regular applications received to date.

With demographics shifting, she said it may be more important for colleges to focus on students with the right fit, and that means valuing different measures. For instance, Inzer said the college has had fewer inquiries about applications, but more visits from potential applicants and their families. Because of high “conversion” for those who visit, and enhanced financial aid efforts, Inzer said she was confident of attracting a great class. And for now, she said her admissions colleagues can relish their ED success, since she “never would have predicted” an increase this year.

Tessier said that the University of Richmond may have had success in a bad economic year by having a policy — and promoting it to families — of not treating financial aid applications from early decision applicants any less generously than those who apply without the pledge to enroll. Some colleges have been known to be less generous to students who pledge to enroll, saving aid dollars for those who will have other offers to consider. While there is some debate among admissions officials about how widespread (or reasonable) such policies are, families have heard that message.

“We’ve stressed to students that if they are worried that they may be disadvantaged in aid [by applying early], they won’t be. We’ll meet full need, if you apply early or regular,” she said. While that’s not a new policy, it has received more emphasis, she said.

The aid issues matter in part because of concern that early decision tends to favor families — generally white and wealthier — who are more familiar with the college application process. Notably, both Dartmouth and Northwestern said that they saw significant gains this year in their minority early applicant pools. They, along with other colleges reporting ED increases — Haverford and Union, for example — also made improvements to aid policies in the last year.

While conventional wisdom has held that parents would be scared off by price this year (even at colleges that have generous aid packages), some say that families are reacting to the recession in ways that extend beyond sticker price.

Robert J. Massa, vice president for enrollment and college relations at Dickinson College, said he is just back from a program on New York’s Long Island for prospective students and families. When he brought up the economic mess, Massa said that the questions were “not what I thought” they would be. “They were mainly concerned that colleges would cut back significantly in program support in the next several years, so that the college that their child agreed to attend could be significantly altered during their student’s enrollment time.” Massa said he is able to answer such questions with confidence that Dickinson wouldn’t make such cuts.

Another admissions official, who asked not to be quoted by name as he didn’t want to offend his state university, offered a possible explanation for Massa’s experience. Public university leaders in this state are telling anyone who will listen — repeatedly, and backed up by student and faculty groups — how budget cuts anticipated for this year and next will lead to the state’s colleges having larger class sizes, fewer sections, overcrowded dormitories, more buildings in disrepair, and so forth. The barrage of such statements, intended to preserve a quality public system, may be having the unintended consequence of raising questions about the system’s quality in the next few years.

Many others said that they were stunned by the increases, happy and still uncertain about why they took place. Derek Gueldenzoph dean of admissions at St. Olaf, said, “We braced for very different scenarios” and now that the numbers are in, “whatever the reason was for the increase, I’d love to bottle it.”

Early decision is, of course, only part of the equation and many private colleges operate without it. Many of those institutions also are reporting healthy admissions increases — although some see the possibility that fewer of these students will eventually enroll.

Westminster College, in Utah, is up 38 percent in applications over this point last year. Wartburg College, in Iowa, is up 4.5 percent. Some colleges have early action programs — similar to early decision in that students apply early and find out if they are admitted, but different in that they make no pledge to enroll if accepted. Several report significant increases in these programs’ popularity, likely related to the economic uncertainty.

Mary Grondahl is vice president for enrollment management at the College of Saint Rose, in New York, which has a December 1 deadline for early action. To date, the college has received 1,560 early action applications, up from 1,395 at this point last year. By the end of the year, these students will not only know if they have been admitted, but how much aid the college will offer. Students are “very eager” to get the scholarship information, Grondahl said, and that is encouraging early applications. “It could not be more clear this year that students and their parents are extremely concerned about the bottom line and how that equates to overall value,” she said.

At Goucher College, early action is also up. Last year, 66 percent of all applications in at this time were early action. This year, the total is 77 percent. And applicants are focused early in the process — visits to the campus are up 10 percent from last year.

Michael J. O’Leary, vice president for enrollment management at Goucher, said that the “jury is still out” on whether the students will apply to more colleges, given that application fees add up. But he said that it’s clear that “families want more information sooner,” and that explains his college’s early action spike. “Come April, families will have had additional time to review offers of admission, offers of financial assistance, [and] their own personal financial situations,” he said.

Augustana College, in Illinois, was prompted by such concerns to announce its tuition rates for next year in October, several months earlier than is the norm for private colleges. The early announcement “has taken one of the unknowns out of our conversations with families,” said W. Kent Barnds, vice president for enrollment and communication. To date, applications are running 30 percent ahead of where they were a year ago.

Several admissions deans said that they expected those considerations to involve more colleges than in the past as students who don’t apply (or gain admission) early seek to have more options. Tessier of Richmond said she would advise students worried about aid to submit more applications than they might have in the past. This will, of course, complicate life for Tessier and her colleagues as “yield” — the percentage of admitted applicants who enroll — may be more difficult to predict.

Barnds said that he expects many students to “be applying all over the place to hedge their bets in this difficult time.” He envisions more students coming up with a “top three list,” rather than a “top choice” as they consider their applications. As a result, an application surge for non-early decision “is unlikely to mean that you are truly more popular,” but rather “probably means you and two or three other college are going to need to compete programmatically and financially more than ever before for the attention of the same student who is more willing to shop around and decide later in the process.”

Of course, that’s why the healthy early decision numbers are so encouraging to many colleges. The reality, many college officials said, is that this admissions year will be difficult and unpredictable. Massa of Dickinson said that at his college, total applications submitted (regular) are down from the point last year, but total applications started online and not yet completed is up. That means this isn’t time for panic, he said, but for continuing to do what colleges do. “This year — in spite of the volatility in the economy — is more like last year than something completely different,” he said.

Lord of Haverford also said it was important to remember — perhaps especially in a volatile year — that there’s so much that’s not known. Even with the healthy increases, did some students opt not to apply early for economic reasons? With the economy and colleges’ policies changing, he said that admissions officials need to remember both “our ability or lack thereof to predict or control these outcomes.”

— Scott Jaschik Inside Higher Education November 18, 2008

Given our uncertain economic times, it’s more important than ever for students and parents to know precisely what the total cost of their son or daughter’s college education will be.
1. Tuition: University of California around $7,000/ year. Private University closer to $36,000. Big difference ONLY if the student graduates in 4 years. At UCLA 59% graduate in 4 years and not until 6 years do 89% graduate. In contrast, Bucknell University graduates 85% in 4 years. There are two primary reasons students don’t graduate on time–student changes major and/or student can’t get required classes. Make sure you know the graduation rate at each school, and how difficult it is to get required classes because staying another year costs tuition and all other costs as well.
2. Room & Board: UCLA reports $12,420, USC $10,858, and Bucknell $8,052. Location. Location. Location. It’s cheaper to live in rural Pennsylvania than Westwood! More important check availability of on campus housing for the four years and the cost of off campus housing. A two story house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms in Oberlin, Ohio rents for $1,100 per month with utilities included. (Less than $400/month per student)

3. Personal Expenses: This is an area where you will need to set parameters with your son/daughter. Here is where concerts, auto expenses (parking fees)  skiing, movies, late night pizza, clothes, travel etc must be calculated.  For example, if your son or daughter plans to join a fraternity or sorority there are annual dues. Again, membership fees vary depending on college/university, but some are as high as $1,500 each year. Another unexpected additional cost can be attending a school on quarter system versus semester system. Everytime a student starts a new set of classes they spend on average $500 for books. Students on quarters do that three times, those on semester only twice. Parents of boys need to realize that they eat a lot, despite the limitless dorm food. Parents of girls need to realize that they do not stop shopping when they go to college. They “need” that new pair of jeans for the football game. In my experience, if a student is outside a major metropolitan area they can make it on $350 / month assuming they eat on campus. In cities like Los Angeles, Boston, New York…at least $500 or more per month.
4. Financial Aid: As a start research what percentage of Need Based Aid (calculated when FAFSA completed) is met by school. UCLA promises to meet 82%. Private schools with strong endowments (check that out as well) meet 100%–for example, both USC and Bucknell. Another important consideration is what is the average debt of the graduating student. UCLA’s graduate has an average of $18,257 in debt, while USC graduate owes only $15,996. Don’t hesitate to apply for financial aid particularly to private schools. They devote considerable resources (endowments etc) to bringing the “net” cost down as evidenced by USC graduates leaving with less debt than those from UCLA.

At a minimum, I hope this information inspires you to really know each cost item of each college your student is considering…because whatever the cost is now, sadly it will only increase over the four years your student is attending. For all of these reasons, to assume a public university is cheaper than a private is a dangerous oversimplification.

Online sites relating to the College Search process can be big business– for example, companies wishing to sell their products to parents and high school students. Colleges themselves buy from College Board (SAT site) your student’s personal and academic information (if student checks the box to release).As with all online sites, do some research as to the qualifications of individuals contributing and the reliability of material posted. Just because it says it’s so doesn’t make it so. Below are some sites I have found helpful with my students and families. If you find others contact me at Head Start College and we’ll share your “find”.

Current Trends / Issues in College Admissions, Individual Colleges, College Students:

            Head Start College blog: www.headstartcollege.com/blog