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Vol. 23 No. 8
April 2009
"Most Confusing"
in 30 Years
ACCEPTANCE LETTERS from
many colleges across the nation were in the mail as CB
went to press. We'll have more results next month.
But already this admissions season has become "the most
confusing" in 30 years, Jonathan Brown, president of the
Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities,
told the Los Angeles Times.
However, the March 8 New York Times predicted that
the uncertainty of this year could be good news for students.
"Colleges will admit more students, offer more generous
financial aid, and, in some cases, send acceptance letters a
few weeks earlier. Then again, it could prolong the agony: some
institutions say they will rely more on their waiting list. But
there is no question, admissions officers say, that this year
is more of a students' market."
Barbara Fritze, vice president of enrollment at Gettysburg
C., told The Times, "It's like the dot-com burst
for higher ed. We've been in this growth mode for a period of
time. Now there's a real leveling going on."
And now the wait begins for admissions officers. This year
they are wading in un-chartered waters. "College admissions
directors all across the country are flying blind this year,"
Louis Hirsh, admissions director at the U. of Delaware, told
delawareonline.com.
"We honestly don't know what the impact will be of the economy
and that has us all sort of sitting on the edge of our seats
waiting for May 1 to see exactly what is happening."
Although May 1 is the traditional deadline for deposits, it
may not be that simple. "Those who think they're going to
get the full picture on the May deposit day may in fact be optimistic,"
says Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American
Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
"There may well be students and families who are actually
quite interested in attending and they might actually write a
check and put a deposit down but all it takes is one parent losing
their job, or another precipitous hit on the stock market, or
another huge drop in housing prices" for them to change
their minds.
California Cuts. Applications rose at both the U. of
California and the California State U. system, but budget cuts
are requiring enrollment reductions of 3 percent at UC and 4
percent at Cal State. Cal State usually accepts about 75 percent
of its applicants, but that number is being reduced this year.
San Jose State U. had to turn away qualified applicants for the
first time in its century-long history, according to The Mercury
News. UCLA, which was exempted from cuts, received 55,665
applications this year. Last year it accepted 20 percent. This
year it expects to admit a smaller percentage, since it expects
more of those accepted to enroll.
Chicago Record. The U. of Chicago attracted 13,589
applications this year, 9.6 percent more than last year, and
an all-time record. Approximately 1,300 new undergraduate students
will enroll. "Students are clearly drawn to the rigorous
education, study abroad opportunities, internships and the exciting
array of activities available on and off campus," Michael
Behnke, vice president and dean of college enrollment, told the
University of Chicago Chronicle.
Diversity increased as well. Applications from African American
students rose by 21 percent, from Asian students by nearly 5
percent and from Hispanic/Latino students by nearly 15 percent.
One reason is the university's new Odyssey scholarship program
that replaces grants with loans to students earning less than
$60,000 and cuts grants in half to students from families earning
$75,000 and less.
Colorado State Up. Applications from Colorado residents
to Colorado State U. rose 10 percent from 7,243 last year to
7,987 this year, and were up from 6,311 to 6,477 this year from
nonresidents, as of early March. Factors leading to the increase
are increased outreach around the country, a focus on first-generation
students in Colorado and attention to its core constituency of
high schools in Colorado.
"We've tried to be very visible and make ourselves well
known to students who would be interested in coming here,"
Jim Rawlins, executive director of admissions, told coloradoan.com.
We're certainly trying to make sure we don't pull back from out-of-state
markets because of budget cuts."
The school also saw a 10 percent increase in applications
for financial aid.
Delaware State. Delaware State U., where tuition runs
$6,400 in-state and $13,700 out-of-state, received 6,300 applications
this year compared to 5,800 last year.
Florida Atlantic. For the first time in its history,
Florida Atlantic U. has posted an enrollment wait list. This
year, the Boca Raton school attracted 11,360 applications, a
28 percent increase over last year, for 2,500 freshman seats.
FAU sent out at least 100 wait list letters in March, according
to the Palm Beach Post. Reasons for the increase include
a bad economy forcing more students to stay closer to home; a
freshman enrollment cap at Florida's 11 public universities and
FAU's two football bowl wins.
Georgia. Georgia C. and State U. at Milledgeville received
nearly 4,000 applications, and will admit about 2,200. "It's
totally unpredictable," said Mike Augustine, director of
admissions, "but we hope to see about 50 percent in the
fall." SAT scores have risen among those accepted so far.
Luther's Leap. Luther C. in Iowa received a record
number of applications, up 72 percent from 1,943 in 2008 to 3,346
in 2009. Applications from Iowa were up 66 percent; from Minnesota,
up 61 percent; up 101 percent from Wisconsin; up 114 percent
from Illinois; and up 123 percent from all other states. This
year Luther accepted 1,895 students, 52 percent more than 1,247
last year, without lowering its standards. The college hopes
to enroll 700 new students.
MIT Cuts. The admissions office at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology has taken a hit. Faced with a mandated 5 percent
cutback, it laid off staff, will reduce travel of its representatives
by 30-50 percent and move much of its communication with students
to the Web, according to the student paper, The Tech.
These reductions come on the heels of record high 15,600 applications,
a 17 percent increase over last year, and the lowest acceptance
rate in the school's history. MIT accepts about 1,800 students.
Pennsylvania. Applications increased by 14 percent
at East Stroudsburg U. and deposits were up 44 percent end of
February. Applications are up over 6 percent at Kutztown U.
Stanford Deluged. Stanford U. was deluged by 30,300
applications, up 20 percent from a year ago. It's acceptance
rate is expected to plunge to 8 percent from last year's 9.5
percent. Part of the reason is its new financial aid program
that waives tuition from families earning less than $100,000.
U. of Dayton Record. U. of Dayton in Ohio fielded its
second straight record year with over 11,610 applications. By
mid-February it had already sent out most of its acceptance letters
and started its wait list with 100 students.
"The university's financial position is very strong,
applications hit a new record and we're seeing an applicant pool
that is academically better qualified, more ethnically diverse,
and for the first time in our history, we have a greater number
of out-of-state applicants," Rob Durkle, assistance vice
president and dean of admissions, said.
Dayton does have rolling admission, and will accept more applications
through May, the deadline for student deposits. No more acceptances
will be offered, but some of those students may be placed on
the wait list.
U. of Delaware. The U. of Delaware began rolling admissions
for in-state students this year, and has been sending out decisions
since early January. UD attracted 2,876 applications thus far,
200 more than last year. It received 21,320 out-of-state applications,
down from last year's 22,077. It hopes to enroll about 3,700
students. This fall, the university will also meet all demonstrated
financial need of admitted in-state students with a combination
of loans, grants and work-study. In-state tuition runs about
$7,700; out-of-state, $20,200.
U. of Iowa. The U. of Iowa is projecting an 11 percent
drop in new freshmen, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
Applications are down 3.2 percent, with decreases from both in
and out-of-state high school students. The bad economy is seen
as the chief culprit.
And according to the Daily Iowan, the university has
pushed back its application deadline from May 1 to June 1. "By
extending our deadline, we're giving people more time to think,"
Emil Rinderspacher, senior associate director of admissions,
told the paper.
But yields are unpredictable this year and the school could
do better than the pessimistic prediction of winter. Iowa is
coming off of three record size freshman classes, so the school
doesn't expect to see a great dip in tuition revenues. "You
don't want to put too much weight on year-to-year fluctuation,"
Iowa associate provost for undergraduate education, Beth Ingram,
told the Press-Citizen.
U. of Oregon. The U. of Oregon has raised the GPA standard
for automatic admission to 3.4, starting next year. The school
retains its regular admissions process where students must have
at least a 3.0 GPA and undergo a comprehensive review of classes
and test scores. Freshman enrollment is at record levels. Admissions
officers hope the higher standards will give the school more
control over those numbers.
U.W. Applications to the U. of Wisconsin-Madison fell
by 3 percent from a record 25,000 to about 24,300 this year.
USC. The U. of Southern California received 35,600
applications, about 200 fewer than last year, Timothy Brunold,
director of undergraduate admissions, told the Daily Trojan.
Last year, USC accepted about 22 percent of applicants, this
year it will increase acceptance to 23 or 24 percent, Brunold
said. "We are not interested in growing the student bodywe're
actually interested in shrinking it some. We don't have a great
tolerance for under or over enrolling." USC is boosting
undergraduate financial aid by 8 percent.
Wesley C. Way Up. Wesley C. in Delaware attracted about
1,600 applications last year. This year, it has fielded more
than 2,700.
Whitman. Early Decision I and Early Decision II applications
were up for this year at Whitman C., while total applications
were "just shy" of last year's record of 3,300, with
1,450 acceptances, for a fall 2008 class of 415, according to
the Whitman College Pioneer.
The economic turmoil "may ultimately hit us harder in
the 2010 [high school] class," Kevin Dyerly, director of
admissions, said. "The class of 2009 selected their colleges
in September, October, before the market hit the tank. But now,
the high school juniors are going through their college selection
process with the market in mind and that may ultimately affect
who chooses a place like Whitman. It's like looking into a big
gray fog bank."
Yale Rejections. Applicants who did not gain admission to
Yale U. no longer have to wait for the dreaded thin letter to
arrive in their mailboxes. If a student has already checked their
admission decision on line, which 95 percent have done, they
can find their decision online. Rejections will be posted within
72 hours of the admissions committee's decision. Accepted students
will still receive the standard thick admitted student package,
while students placed on the wait list will also receive a letter.
The new policy will save "significant expense" of printing
and mailing "more than 20,000" rejection letters, Jeff
Brenzel, dean of admissions, told the Yale Daily News.
P.S. Some Decline. According to a roundup by the Daily
Pennsylvanian, applications were down 20 percent this year
at Williams C., down 12 percent at Middlebury C. and down 10
percent at Swarthmore C. Schools with declines in applications,
although less severe, included Amherst by 1 percent, Bowdoin
C. by almost 2 percent and U. of Pennsylvania by 90 applications.
While Others Accept More. Christopher Welna, president
of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, told the New York
Times that its 13 members, including Carleton, Macalester,
Grinnell and Colorado C., planned to accept 10 to 11 percent
more applicants to make up for a 10 percent decline in applications.
And Marquette U. planned to accept 600 more students, even though
applications were up 17 percent.
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Obama Budget Transforms
Student Loans
BIG CHANGES ARE COMING
to the nation's student aid programs. President Obama's FY2010
$3.6 trillion budget proposal entitled, "A New Era of Responsibility:
Renewing America's Promise" calls for the biggest transformation
of the federal student aid program since it was established under
the Higher Education Act of 1965. The size of federal aid programs
will grow substantially.
Pell grants will rise automatically with the rate of inflation
and more families will be eligible to participate in the various
programs. The Pell grant funding would be mandatory and the grant
maximum has been increased to $5,550 for 2010-11.
The biggest higher education change, should Congress pass
Obama's budget unchanged, will be a complete shift of student
aid programs from private lenders to the federal government.
Currently, the federal government handles about $13 billion a
year in grants and loans. Approximately $57 billion in loans
go through private banks and other loaning institutions as part
of the Guaranteed Student Loan Program.
Under the Obama plan, the federal government will handle about
$60 billion each year in student and family lending through the
Direct Student Loan program, whereby loans go directly through
the Department of Education to individual colleges and universities.
That change alone could save the federal government $4 billion
a year. The change would take effect July 2010.
"Rather than continuing to subsidize banks, we want to
help more students," President Obama's new Secretary of
Education, Arne Duncan, told COLLEGE BOUND and other reporters
in a special briefing. Secretary Duncan said the current Guaranteed
Student Loan Program is already on "life support" because
of the current credit crisis.
But the New York Times called opposition to the plan
from private lenders "fierce." It is certain to set
off a fight between lobbyists for higher education and the banking
industry. And The Times noted that the stock value of
one of the biggest student loan companies, Sallie Mae, fell by
nearly 31 percent after the Obama budget plan was released. Critics
also charge that the Dept. of Ed cannot handle the $60 billion
traffic flow. But Duncan said it is already contracting with
private companies to service the loans.
Additionally, about $17 billion from the new stimulus package
will go directly to Pell grants, Duncan told honor students at
Miami Dade College in March. CB will keep you up to date
as President Obama's plan moves through Congress.
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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
International Affairs
International Initiatives. Each year the Institute
of International Education awards colleges and universities for
outstanding new international education programs. This year,
Champlain C. in Vermont was cited for its "Institute for
Global Engagement," which seeks to make the school's curriculum
more international. It also created a Global Modules program
that links more than 3,000 students in 12 countries through online
projects. And it provides faculty with stipends for summer travel
abroad. The Universidad de Monterrey in Mexico was awarded for
its strategic goals to reach 50 percent study abroad goals.
Clemson U. and the U. of Kansas were recognized for providing
future teachers with global skills. Indiana U.-Purdue U. Indianapolis
was awarded for projects that unite faculty across disciplines
with partners in Moi U. in Kenya, Sun Yat-Sen U. in China and
the Autonomous U. of the State of Hidalgo in Mexico. Ohio U.
was cited for web-based programs that bring together students
and faculty with the U. of Liberia. Scottsdale Community C. was
singled out for its program that introduces American students
to Maori culture in New Zealand and Aboriginal culture in Australia.
To view all projects, go to: www.iienetwork.org/?p+BestPractices.
More U.S. Students Abroad? Only 0.3 percent of U.S.
college students study abroad. That compares poorly, for example,
to 2 percent of Chinese students, 2.5 percent of French students
and 6.2 percent of Norwegian students. And it's not because U.S.
students don't need the exposure. A 2006 National Geographic/Roper
survey found that 63 percent of Americans aged 18-24 couldn't
even find Iraq on a map of the Middle East and 70 percent couldn't
find Israel.
It hasn't quite passed in Congress yet, but a bill introduced
in March by Senators Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and Roger
Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, wants to give U.S. colleges
and universities more funds to send four times more students
abroad so they gain the cultural understanding they need to compete
globally. And instead of just sending them to Europe where 57
percent of today's students head, the funds would direct many
more to developing countries around the globe.
"I'm afraid we are far behind," Senator Durbin told
Andres Oppenheimer of the Miami Herald. "More and
more students from areas like Asia are coming to the United States.
Sadly, very few U.S. students are moving in the other direction."
ADMISSIONS
AROUND THE GLOBE
China Grads Hurting. Last year, China graduated nearly 5.6
million graduates. But given the nation's economic turmoil, about
27 percent were unable to find jobs by the end of the year, according
to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Taiwan Squeeze. More than 22,860 Taiwan university
students took graduate entrance exams to the National Taiwan
U. for only 2,101 spots. Many college graduates there fear that
if they don't get into graduate school they will simply be unemployed
because of the global recession, according to The China Post.
UK Up. The number of applications to universities in
Great Britain surged by 8 percent or about 42,000 early this
year, according to the Universities and College Admissions Service,
which manages applications. Applications from candidates over
24 years of age soared by over 12 percent. However, the national
budget for those students was cut substantially, so the universities
have been ordered to cut 5,000 slots this year and reduce the
parental threshold level for means-tested maintenance grants.
Australian Destinations. The number of overseas students
coming to Australia is up between 10 and 15 percent in the first
2009 term at 16 of 20 Australian universities contacted by The
Australian. The figures suggest that "the global economic
crisis will trigger a flight to higher education," the paper
speculated. "The magnitude of the increase at this point
is a clear indicator that the growth in international enrollments
in the higher education sector in Australia is not slowing,"
said one university international director. "We may be looking
at a continuation of the same strong level of growth that the
sector experienced in 2008."
Mandatory English. Tamaulipas, bordering Texas, has
declared itself the first bilingual state in Mexico. As a result,
320,000 elementary and secondary students will take mandatory
conversational English classes. "Our efforts are aimed at
preparing students for a more competitive world filled with technology
and English," said the state's governor Eugenio Hernandez.
Several other Mexican states are following its example, from
Mexico City to the Texas border states of Chihuahua and Nuevo
Leon, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Rosette Stone Scholarship. High school seniors graduating
in the spring who learned English as a Second Language could
land a $3,000 scholarship. The challenge is to write an essay
about how learning English "opened up the world to possibilities."
The deadline is May 15. See www.rosettastone.com/scholarship.
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FINANCIAL AID FLASH
Albright C. in Pennsylvania has tilted its traditional
50/50 need-based, merit-based financial aid formula to 60 percent
merit aid. It also is sending simultaneous acceptance and merit
aid award letters to students so families get a better idea of
the real cost of attending the school.
Cal Restores Grants. Governor
Schwarze-negger and the California State Legislature restored
$967 million to the California Student Aid Commission to fund
grants for nearly 275,000 students. The money had been eliminated
from a proposed budget. In urging all students to fill out their
FAFSA student aid forms by March 2, the executive director of
the Student Aid Commission said, "We want to remind all
California students that money for college is available for those
who qualify." Overall, more than 100,000 students enrolled
at the U. of California or California State U. can count on the
Cal Grant. For more, visit www.calgrants.org.
Changemakers. Mary Baldwin
C. is creating 50 new paid internship positions on and off campus
as part of its Changemakers program. The Virginia women's college
also offers 250 first-year students $2,000 talent awards for
the young women to participate in one of seven leadership "getaways."
And sophomores, juniors and seniors who have demonstrated academic
excellence are eligible to be placed on "Julia's List"
and receive additional aid. It's all part of an additional $700,000
that the school is reinvesting in student aid to meet hard economic
times.
Cornell Increases Aid. These
are hard times for most colleges and universities. For example,
Ivy League member Cornell U.'s endowment took a big hit in the
turbulent markets, falling by more than 25 percent, from $6 billion
to $5 billion. It's facing a 10 percent budget shortfall and
has already slashed its budget by 5 percent.
To help counter these blows, tuition will go up 4 percent
next year. But that is the smallest increase in 42 years. Faculty
and staff will receive no raise in salaries, and the president
took a voluntary 10 percent cut in compensation. The school also
has put all construction projects on hold.
Still, the university's president, David Skorton, told the
Miami Herald that Cornell is withdrawing another $35 million
from its endowment to increase student financial aid and to increase
the dollar amount of the package for the poorest students. "I
believe you have to lead or manage by a set of principles. The
student comes first," he said. "We are going to find
a way to maintain robust financial aid. Whatever it takes, we
are going to do it."
Top 10 Deals. Students who
place in the top 10 percent of their high school get a $14,325
tuition break at Lebanon Valley C. in Pennsylvania. Students
in the top 20 percent get a third off of tuition, while those
in the top 30 percent get a one-quarter reduction in a program
that has been popular since the early 1990s.
Wisconsin Tuition Freeze.
Students from families that earn less than the state's median
family income of $60,000 a year will be exempt from tuition hikes
at state schools for the next two years. State funding to the
U. of Wisconsin system will remain flat for the next two years,
at about $1.15 billion next year and $1.2 billion in 2011, reports
Madison.com, the website of the city's newspapers. A tight budget
likely means fewer class sections, larger classes and reduced
student services. The budget request submitted by Governor Jim
Doyle includes a $38 million increase in need-based financial
aid and $25 million for the Wisconsin Covenant, a program that
guarantees admission to students who meet certain academic and
social requirements.
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NEWS YOU
CAN USE
Disadvantaged Youth.
Three schools recently were cited for their outreach efforts
to help disadvantaged youth. Duke U., Brookhaven C. and the U.
of Missouri-Kansas City received top honors from the Corporation
for National and Community Service, sponsored by the President's
Council on Service and Civic Participation. The U of Missouri-Kansas
City has 14 programs designed to help the youth of its city,
including one that promotes careers in science and medicine among
minority and low-income students. "We are graduating students
who will contribute to their community through service,"
said one UMKC official.
Males in Trouble. "By
almost any measure, American males are in serious trouble,"
proclaims a new report on "Gender Distribution of Higher
Education Degrees by Degree Level and State 1960 to 2007"
from Postsecondary Education Opportunity. In 1870, males
earned 85.3 percent of bachelor's degrees. That fell steadily
to 43 percent during the World War II years when many males were
away at war. Then it rose again to 76 percent in 1950 with the
GI Bill. But the number has been tumbling ever since to just
42.6 percent in 2007. To find the entire report, go to www.postsecondary.org.
Freshmen Attitudes. UCLA's
43rd "American Freshman" survey, taken as 240,580 new
students at 340 four-year colleges and universities registered
last fall, found significant economic worries on their mind.
More than 49 percent reported they need to find a part-time job
to meet college expenses, up from 47 percent last year. The survey
found that 43 percent of the students viewed financial aid as
very important or essential to their choice of a college, up
from about 38 percent last year.
Since the economic meltdown was just beginning, John H. Pryor,
managing director of UCLA's Higher Research Institute, which
conducted the study, expects the number of students who express
economic worries to be "drastically higher" next year.
Politically, liberalism is back among the freshmen. Some 31
percent described themselves as liberal.
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COLLEGE BOUND's Publisher/Editor: R. Craig
Sautter, DePaul University; Chief Operating Officer: Sally
Reed; Assistant Editor: Emma Schwartz; Illustration:
Louis Coronel; Board of Advisors: Lisa Burnham,
Edina High School, Minnesota; Claire D. Friedlander, Bedford
(N.Y.) Central School District; Howard Greene and Matthew
Greene, authors, The Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning
Series; Frank C. Leana, Ph.D., educational counselor;
M. Fredric Volkmann, Washington University in St. Louis;
Mary Ann Willis, Bayside Academy (Daphne, Ala.).
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