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Vol. 24 No. 1
September 2009
WELCOME TO CB'S 24TH YEAR
of reporting on admissions and financial aid trends in colleges
and universities across the U.S., indeed the world. Ever since
CB began publishing, every admissions season has proven to be
unique, with surprising details and unexpected developments.
From fluctuating demographic shifts to early admissions programs,
from increased minority participation to growing student debt,
from new academic programs to merit scholarships, CB has brought
you the inside story. We look forward to reporting on yet another
unpredictable admissions season. Thanks for your support.
Admissions Watch
Roundup of Summer
Numbers
OF COURSE, it
is too early to carve this fall's trends in stone. (CB
is preparing its annual survey of colleges as we speak.) But
we've received early indications of how the admissions cycle
is panning out this fall. State universities, in many parts of
the country, are reporting larger incoming freshmen classes and
larger transfer classes. Many of the large private universities
are holding their own. But smaller private liberal arts colleges
are reporting decreased applications and enrollment, thanking
the economy for their situation.
In fact, by June, the National Association for College Admissions
Counseling was reporting that 60 percent of counselors had noted
a greater willingness of students to apply to public schools.
Seventy-one percent of counselors said that students did not
enroll in their "dream schools" for financial reasons.
Philip Vangeli, a guidance coordinator in Howard County, Maryland,
told NACAC, "I think a lot of students did apply to their
dream schools, but then they looked at the total picture and
decided that in-state was the best fit."
Here is a round-up of early returns from various states throughout
the country.
REPORTS
FROM THE STATES
Connecticut Sees Changes in Enrollment. According to The
Hartford Courant on August 25, Connecticut institutions are
adjusting their admission policies to address the changing landscape.
At U. of Connecticut and other schools in the state college system,
applications have increased considerably. Lee Melvin, interim
vice president for enrollment planning, management and institutional
research at UConn, said that applicants to the Storrs campus
rose 4.5 percent this year to 21,998. UConn accepted fewer students,
though, to ensure a reasonably sized freshman class. The school
admitted 494 fewer in-state students and 49 fewer non-residents
than last year. The incoming first-year class stands at 3,239
students, with the expectation that the numbers will rise to
3,250 to include international students. The Connecticut State
University System saw an 11 percent increase overall. For example,
Central Connecticut State U. enrollment is expected to rise between
3 and 5 percent.
Exceptional Fall Class in Florida. The incoming U.
of Central Florida class is expected to consist of 3,800 freshmen.
Their average GPA was 3.8 and average SAT score was 1221, which
were both records for the school. The class is likely to have
55 National Merit Scholars, which would rank UCF in the top 50
universities for its number of National Merit Scholars nationwide.
The total enrollment should be approximately 52,000, a rise
from 50,254 last year. Considering the $77.2 million budget cuts
that the school has experienced since July 2007, the increased
tuition dollars will aid UCF significantly, officials say.
First-year enrollment has remained consistent over the last
several years. But UCF predicts a record 4,700 transfers to enroll,
with about 4,200 coming from community colleges. Incoming community
college transfers register through "DirectConnect to UCF."
Graduates of four neighboring community colleges are assured
admission to UCF.
Enrollment Increases at Georgia Schools. Enrollment
rates are on the rise for mid-state colleges in Georgia, according
to an August 17 article on macon.com. Georgia C. and State U.
enrolled 6,665 students, a 15 percent increase from last year.
College officials credit the economic recession for these
higher numbers. "Young people these days are starting to
figure out that, in this economy, they're going to need a college
degree if they want to keep up. And our dorms are filled to capacity,"
said Judy Bailey, spokesperson for Georgia C. and State U.
At Fort Valley State U., 3,800 to 4,200 students enrolled,
an increase from last year's high enrollment of 3,106 students.
Gordon C. in Barnesville expects enrollment to go up from 3,800
to 4,000 students.
Maine's Ups and Downs. According to the August 3 Kennebec
Journal, "inexpensive" colleges with "flexible
programming" are increasingly appealing to students during
the economic recession. Kennebec Valley Community C. has experienced
a 17 percent applicant bump from last year, and registered students
are up 12 percent. "It is a huge increase, and more people
are coming every day," said Kennebec Valley President Barbara
Woodlee. Helen Pelletier of the Maine Community College system
expects enrollment at Maine's seven community colleges to increase
8 percent.
Both schools also have upped their number of online offerings
as well. At UMA, online students have increased to 817 from 375
over the past two years. U. of Maine at Augusta has seen an 8.5
percent boost overall.
Maryland Colleges Hold Steady. A recent report from
The Baltimore Sun noted that nationally, college admissions
officers have noticed that students are flocking to less expensive
schools in the wake of the recession. However, Maryland's colleges
have seen only minor changes. Students are still enrolled at
both public and private colleges in high numbers, but financial
aid is reportedly still a big concern for Maryland residents.
U. of Maryland, Baltimore County, had a 2 percent increase in
applicants. Also, The Washington Post reported in August
that the U. of Maryland created a 450-student wait list to keep
up with its competitors.
But, The Baltimore Sun further noted on August 16 that
Maryland community colleges are experiencing increased enrollment
with students reporting that they see these schools as a good
alternative to four-year institutions for education and career
advancement. The Community College of Baltimore County anticipates
a 20 percent bump in enrollment this fall. Colleges throughout
counties in Maryland generally expect enrollment increases between
10 and 12 percent.
New Jersey Students Transferring Home. New Jersey college
students who went out-of-state for college have come back home
to save money, according to The Star-Ledger on August
10.
At Monmouth U., transfer applicants from four-year institutions
have increased 40 percent. Robert McCaig, vice president for
enrollment, explained that transfers have an 85 percent graduation
rate compared to 60 percent of incoming freshman. Elected officials,
colleges and universities have increased financial aid to help
recruit and retain New Jersey transfers.
New Jersey's 19 community colleges, with 400,000 students,
have sent more transfers than ever to four-year schools. Last
year, 61 percent of community college grads went on to get their
diplomas, eight percent more than in 2006, according to the Council
of County Colleges. These percentages put New Jersey among the
best in the country.
According to the report, transfers in New Jersey have become
a central part of recruitment because students have demonstrated
their academic excellence at other schools.
U. of California Campuses Reduce Enrollment. Of the
nine UC schools, UC Santa Cruz experienced the greatest decrease
in the number of incoming students who accepted their admissions
offer, with the school seeing a 2.3 percent drop-off since last
year. The Mercury News reported in June that the campus
planned for such a decline. Jim Burns, a representative of UCSC,
explained that the UC regents asked the school to reduce enrollment
after a high number of accepted offers this year. "Given
the budget uncertainties this year, it was absolutely critical
that we enroll fewer students," added the associate vice
chancellor for enrollment management, Michelle Whittingham.
UC San Diego, Irvine and Davis also experienced at least a
1 percent decrease in enrollment by accepted students. Officials
state the drop-off is most likely caused by the 10 percent higher
student fees at UC campuses and the budget cuts to Cal Grants
and similar aid programs.
Renewed Wait Lists in Virginia Aim to Secure Fall Enrollment.
Virginia Tech adopted wait lists for the first time since 2006,
according to The Washington Post on August 13. The college
reported it is particularly concerned that deposited students
may choose not to start classes in the fall for economic reasons.
Mark Owczarski, a spokesperson for Virginia Tech, said, "It's
critical we hit the target of how many kids are coming to Tech
in fallwe'll need that tuition money." Schools always accept
more students than will enroll, but this year, colleges admitted
especially large classes to ensure their target numbers.
Virginia Tech accepted 309 students off its wait list to guarantee
an enrollment of 5,025 students. As CB went to press,
the school has 5,092 "committed" students, a decrease
from 5,490 last year, because 175 students were lost in the "summer
melt."
Meanwhile, Northern Virginia Community C. started a program
of "guaranteed admission" with 39 colleges, including
the U. of Virginia, according to The Connection. The agreement
allows those with a degree from the community college to transfer
to another university if they meet certain expectations. For
example, students who earn at least a 3.4 GPA are guaranteed
a place at UVA. Students must also earn a "C" or better
in all their community college courses, a "B" or better
in two required English classes and enroll in certain required
classes, including a "non-Western perspective" course.
West Virginia Expects Enrollment Increase. Because
students are more concerned than ever with cost, West Virginia
schools believe that their enrollment numbers will climb, according
to an August 9 article in the Herald-Dispatch. "Applications
to our institutions statewide are up slightly, with the emphasis
on 'slightly,'" said Brian Noland, Higher Education Policy
Commission Chancellor. Noland explained that institutions in
West Virginia are cheaper than other states' schools. "We
are seeing more students applying to our institutions, because
we're a low cost set of institutions. Around the country, you're
seeing more students declining private schools in favor of public
institutions or low-cost privates."
Also, at Marshall U., applicants, admissions and enrollment
in summer orientation have all increased. The school projects
a 5 percent bump over last year's enrollment.
Economic Insecurity Aided Increased Applications to U.S.
Military Academies. The combination of the recession, job
security worries and heavier recruitment efforts by the military
have all led to the increase in students who are applying to
military academies. According to the Associated Press, the U.S.
Naval Academy experienced a 40 percent boost in applicants (about
15,300 applications for 1,230 spots). The U.S. Military Academy
and the U.S. Air Force Academy have had 9 percent and 10 percent
application increases respectively.
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What's New with
U.S. News?
A STUDY RELEASED
in the August issue of Research in Higher Education, "Getting
on the Front Page: Organizational Reputation Status Signals and
the Impact of U.S. News and World Report on Student Decisions,"
asks whether the publication's rankings actually affect college
admissions. The three major findings were:
- Admissions are significantly aided by being in the "Top
50" rankings for public universities and small liberal arts
schools alike.
- When schools are in the "Top 25," they benefit
from further increases in their ranking, but the effect is not
noticeable for liberal arts colleges or schools in the bottom
of the "Top 50."
- The report further said that potential "consumers of
liberal arts colleges" saw "institutional quality"
in terms of "expenditures on student instruction."
The New U.S. News Rankings. With the above said, the
U.S. News Media Group released its "2010 America's Best
Colleges" at the end of August, looking at 1,400 schools
across the country. Harvard U. and Princeton U. are both ranked
first on the Best National Universities list. Williams C. is
listed as the number one Best Liberal Arts College. But beyond
that...
"As it becomes increasingly difficult to choose the right
school-and pay for it-U.S. News strives to provide students
and families with the best information to help guide them through
the entire college process," said Brian Kelly, U.S. News
& World Report Editor. "This year, the recession
has seriously challenged the traditional model of paying for
college, and so we've developed ranking and editorial content
to address the many ways to finance an education as well as information
on how to get the most out of such a big investment."
Thus, the list also includes a ranking of the Best Colleges
for Financial Aid, Best Historically Black Colleges, A+ Schools
for B Students and Up-and-Coming Schools. New this year is the
Best Colleges for Undergraduate Teaching, which ranks schools
by the strength of their undergraduate professors. To see the
full list, go to www.usnews.com/colleges
or buy the September U.S. News & World Report magazine.
New Interactive Guide. In addition, U.S. News Media
Group and HP released information about the "U.S. News 100
Best Colleges and Universities interactive guide." Parents
and students can look at schools by size, tuition, acceptance
rates and student-to-faculty ratios. Families can use a touch
screen to look at "fast facts," photos and videos about
these schools. To check out the interactive guide, see www.hp.com/usnews.
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THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER
Tours, Tests, Technology
What are counselors likely to hear about this fall
as they prepare students for the college admissions process?
Over the summer, the following trends evolved and are likely
to play an important role this year.
Colleges Address Facebook. Tulane U., St. Norbert C.
and Pace Law School have collaborated with Varsity Outreach to
create admissions Facebook Applications, according to PR Web
in July. Since Facebook has become one of the most popular internet
sites for students, these three schools saw the need to create
more than just the standard school Group or Fan Page. The Application
enables prospective and incoming students to meet each other,
chat with enrolled students and interact with the admissions
office. Prospective students can search for others who live nearby
or share their academic interests and use Facebook without giving
the school access to their personal profile page. The admissions
office can, in turn, provide prospective students specialized
information. "Facebook is a great way to reach out to our
prospective students on their terms," said Jeff Schiffman,
associate director of admission, Tulane U. "Our new application
will serve as an easy, one-stop-shop for everything for Tulane
admission."
Tour by Colleges That Change Lives. In August, the
Colleges That Change Lives announced it launched a 21-city tour
to undermine the idea that "a college can't be any good
if I've never heard of it." The tour will end on September
17 in Columbus, Ohio.
Marty O'Connell, executive director, CTCL, said, "The
past few years of record high numbers of applicants, coupled
with narrowly focused media stories about college admissions,
have led students to believe that their college choices are severely
limited or unaffordable. CTCL aims to correct this misperception
by presenting accurate information about college accessibility
and value, as well as strategies that work to lower the anxiety
of parents and students." For more info see www.ctcl.org/events/programs.
Campus Visits Increasing. Despite the economic recession,
the costs of travel and an increasing number of online virtual
tours, colleges are reporting high numbers of campus visits,
according to The Boston Globe, August 3. Parents and students
reported that, despite economic concerns, they need to see a
campus in person to decide if the school is a good fit.
Almost 55,000 people come to Boston C. yearly. Jack Dunn,
a spokesperson for the college, said that visiting rates have
remained consistent this year. Northeastern U. saw fewer visitors
last year, but numbers rose back to 35,000 to 40,000 this year.
Amherst C.'s visitors increased by 1,000 students. "We were
all bracing for a dip," said Heather Woodcock Ayres, admission
director, Wellesley C. "This spring we were pleasantly surprised."
Updates on Colleges Rethinking Test Scores. The ACT
and SAT may be losing some of their influence in the college
admissions process, according to the Worcester Business Journal,
August 17. Over 800 colleges and universities across the country
have questioned the importance of standardized tests. Worcester
Polytechnic Institute, Holy Cross C. and Assumption C. in Worchester
no longer require students to submit their SAT scores with their
applications.
"I think we really came at it from two different angles,"
explained Edward Connor, director of admissions, WPI. "The
SAT was not proving to be the greatest indicator for the ability
to succeed [in college] and the curriculum here is project-based,
with lots of teamwork and hands-on work. The SATs are not a good
indicator for a student's ability to succeed in that sort of
environment." He added, "The exciting thing about this
is you get an opportunity to know the students a bit better.
We are seeing great supplemental material from many of our applicants,
which is kind of an unintended positive of this."
According to an August 18 Examiner article, American
U. has initiated a test optional pilot program for Early Decision
applicants. The school is looking to emphasize academic excellence,
essays, letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities
among these students. Regular decision students are still required
to submit their test scores.
New Requirements Announced. Purdue U. will require
incoming students in 2011 to have completed four years of high
school math. "Studies show that completing one additional
unit of intensive high school math increased the odds of completing
a bachelor's degree by 73 percent," said Ken Sauer, interim
Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education.
And all New Jersey high school students will be required to
pass college-prep courses to graduate. Nearly 80 percent of students
entering New Jersey two-year colleges and 40 percent entering
the state's four-year schools require remedial work, despite
passing a High School Proficiency test. So the New Jersey Board
of Education voted to toughen standards. Now all NJ students
will be required to take college-prep English, science and math
courses, with end-of-course exams. The fear is that these higher
standards may also result in higher drop out rates. To ease those
anxieties, the new standards will be phased in course-by-course
over seven years.
Meanwhile, the governors of 33 states have signed onto the
Diploma Project, promoted by Achieve, to make high school diplomas
more meaningful by increasing standards and expectations.
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COUNSELOR'S BOOKSHELF
Books on Surviving College
College Student Survival Manual by Darius Baumgartner,
DWBStudios; includes monthly calendar and chapters on surviving
stress, networking and emergency talk; ISBN 978-1-4392-4415-9;
$14.99. Available through www.amazon.com.
U Chic: The College Girl's Guide to Everything by Christie
Garton. Sourcebooks, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4022-1508-7, $14.99. And,
back by popular demand, The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other
Issues You Might Run Into in College by Harlan Cohen. Sourcebooks,
Inc. ISBN 978-1-4022-0909-3, $14.95. See www.sourcebookscollege.com.
Books on Preparing for College
The Anxious Test-Taker's Guide to Cracking Any Test
by the Staff of The Princeton Review; The Princeton Review; ISBN
978-0-375-42935-4; $14.99. And, The Best 371 Colleges,
2010 Edition, by Robert Franek et al, The Princeton Review; ISBN
978-0-375-42938-5; $22.99. See www.princetonreview.com.
Tom Joyner Presents How to Prepare for College by Thomas
LaVeist and William LaVeist, with a foreword by Tom Joyner, 2009,
Amber Books, $15/$16.95 Canada, 129 pages.
The Road to Career Success and Happiness by Yehia El-Ibiary;
ISBN 978-1-4343-9639-6; $15.95. And, It's Your Decision: A
Commonsense Guide to Making Better Choices by Al Foderaro
and Denise Schmidt; ISBN 978-1-4389-0534-1; $12.50. Both from
Author House. See www.authorhouse.com.
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FINANCIAL AID FLASH
GI Transferability Bill Benefits Families. The
Post-9/11 GI Bill began its family transfer option on August
1, which allows service members to shift their benefits to their
families. With the new bill, service members are granted three
years of educational benefits, and the unused benefits can be
given to a spouse or up to two children. Children must be at
least 18 to qualify and forfeit their benefits at 21-years-old
if they are not full-time students.
Thus far, more than 25,000 have applied, and over 15,000 have
been approved. "We've seen, roughly, a thousand applications
a day for the past week or so, and we expect that to continue,"
said Bob Clark, the assistant director for accessions policy
at the Pentagon. "Transferability of these educational benefits
has been one of the most requested provisions by family support
groups, family advocacy groups and the troops out in the field
and fleet." For more information, see www.defenselink.mil.
Siemens Foundation is offering
its 2009 Competition in Math, Science and Technology. The
yearly competition grants college scholarships to high school
students for their original projects, with prizes varying from
$1,000 to $100,000.
Entries for the competition are due on October 1. For more
information, see www.siemens-foundation.org
and www.collegeboard.com/siemens.
National Competition Provides
$670,000 in Scholarships. The U.S. News Media Group and AXA
Equitable Life Insurance Company announced that their AXA Achievement
Scholarships will grant $670,000 to students in every state,
Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. In all, 52 students will receive
scholarships of $10,000. Of these students, 10 are awarded a
national scholarship of a supplementary $15,000, as well as the
chance at an internship with AXA Equitable.
For applications and deadline information, go to www.axa-achievement.com.
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
2009 ACT College Readiness Report. The "2009
ACT College Readiness Report," released at the end of August,
showed that the number of high school graduates who meet the
ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks went up somewhat in 2009.
The percentage of grads prepared to receive a "C" or
better in first-year college English, math, reading and science
classes went up from 22 percent last year to 23 percent this
year. These numbers are higher than in 2005 and 2006, and consistent
with 2007. The increase in percentages is a plus, but there is
still plenty of need for schools to better prepare their graduates
for college, said ACT. Over three-quarters of high school grads
do not have the academic training to earn at least a "C"
in college courses!
Science and math are where college preparedness is at its
lowest. About 28 percent of the grads are prepared for college
biology, the same as in 2008 and an increase of 2 percent from
2005. Only 42 percent of students are ready for algebra in college,
a decrease of 1 percent from 2008 and an increase of 1 percent
from 2005.
Graduates are somewhat more ready for college-level English
and social science courses. Sixty-seven percent of grads are
prepared for English (a decrease of 1 percent from 2008 and 2005),
and 53 percent are prepared for the social sciences (the same
as in 2008, up 1 percent from 2005).
The countrywide average ACT score was 21.1, the same as in
2008 and 0.2 points higher than in 2005. The average scores by
subject were: English was 20.6, the same as in 2008; math was
21.0, the same as in 2008; reading was 21.4, the same as in 2008;
science was 20.9, a 0.1 increase since last year. All scores
were up from 2005, except for science, which is unchanged.
Almost 1.5 million 2009 graduates took the ACT, an increase
from 1.42 million last year. The number of test taking graduates
has gone up 25 percent since 2005, although the number of U.S.
high school grads has decreased since last year, according to
the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. Also important
to increased participation is the ACT's fee waiver program for
low-income students. Last year, 100,000 waivers were granted,
but this year the number skyrocketed to over 400,000.
For the full report, go to www.act.org.
Gallup Launches First Poll to
Look at Student Responses. The Gallup Student Poll last May
looked at whether 70,078 students between the 5th and 12th grades
in 335 schools across the country are "hopeful," "engaged"
and "thriving." The poll found:
- Half of students are "hopeful;" they actively think
about and plan for the future. The rest of students are pessimistic,
feeling that they are unable to solve problems or eventually
succeed. About 95 percent believe that they will graduate from
high school, but only 75 percent actually do.
- Half of students are "engaged," meaning they are
excited about school. While the other half of students are "not
engaged" (30 percent) or "actively disengaged"
(20 percent). The poll also found that engagement is at its height
during grade school, dropping during middle school and leveling
off in high school.
- About 63 percent of students are "thriving," and
the rest are "struggling" (36 percent) or "suffering"
(1 percent). A total of one-fourth of students can be considered
hopeful, engaged, and thriving.
For more information or the full report, see www.gallupstudentpoll.com.
Finally, Beloit C.'s Latest
"Mindset" List. Beloit C. has released its renowned
"Mindset List for the Class of 2013." Since 1998, the
school has developed a list that tracks the "cultural touchstones
that shape the lives of students entering college." For
incoming freshmen this year, the college reported the following:
"They have never used a card catalog to find a book. Salsa
has always outsold ketchup. The KGB has never officially existed.
And American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes
educational testing." For the full list see www.beloit.edu/mindset.
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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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In This Issue
Feature Articles
Roundup of Summer Numbers
What's
New with U.S. News?
THE COUNSELOR'S
CORNER
Tours,
Tests, and Technology
COUNSELOR'S
BOOKSHELF
-Books
on Surviving College
-Books on
Preparing for College
FINANCIAL AID FLASH
-GI
Transferability Bill Benefits Families
-Siemens
Foundation is offering its 2009 Competition in Math, Science
and Technology
-National
Competition Provides $670,000 in Scholarships
NEWS YOU CAN USE
-2009
ACT College Readiness Report
-Gallup
Launches First Poll to Look at Student Responses
-Finally,
Beloit C.'s Latest "Mindset" List
HAVE A GREAT NEW SCHOOL
YEAR!
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