[dafleur]

Private Colleges Worry About a Dip in Enrollment
By TAMAR LEWIN

First came the good news for St. Olaf College: early-decision applications were way up this year.

Now comes the bad news: the number of regular applications is way down, about 30 percent fewer than at this time last year.

“To be quite honest, I don’t know how we’ll end up,” said Derek Gueldenzoph, dean of admissions at the college, in Northfield, Minn. “By this time last year, we had three-quarters of all our applications. The deadline’s Jan. 15. If what we’ve got now is three-quarters of what we’re going to get, we’re in big trouble. But if this turns out to be only half, we’ll be fine.”

Not all private colleges are reporting fewer applications this year. Even in the Midwest and Pennsylvania, where most colleges seem to have dwindling numbers, some are getting more applications than ever. Still, in a survey of 371 private institutions released last week by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, two-thirds said they were greatly concerned about preventing a decline in enrollment.

Getting exactly the right enrollment — always a tricky proposition — is especially crucial for small colleges with tuition-driven budgets. One case in point came last month, when Beloit College in Wisconsin announced it would eliminate about 40 positions because 36 fewer students than expected had enrolled. The college has about 1,300 students and gets three-quarters of its $55 million budget from tuition.

Admissions officers nationwide point to several possible reasons for the drop in applications. Some students have pared their college lists this year. Many more are looking at less-expensive state universities. Many institutions accepted more students under binding early-decision programs, and each such acceptance drains off an average of 8 to 10 regular-decision applications. And some experts suspect that students are delaying their college plans.

The deadline at most colleges is still a few weeks off, so a last-minute flood of applications could raise the numbers to last year’s level. But admissions officers say they are not counting on that.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I don’t remember a year when applications started out behind and didn’t end up behind,” said Steve Thomas, director of admissions at Colby College in Waterville, Me., where early-decision applications were higher than usual but regular applications are running about 14 percent behind.

At Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, where early-decision applications were up, regular applications are down about 15 percent, said Gail Sweezey, the director of admissions.

“One thing that’s happened this year is that there’s all this talk, and one-sided media stories, about how private colleges are unaffordable,” Ms. Sweezey said. “It’s become almost viral that there’s no loans, that schools are having problems. The truth is that a lot of private colleges have more financial aid available this year, but there’s lots of misinformation out there. And my guidance counselor friends tell me students may be applying to fewer places and turning to their state university, which will be at capacity.”

If some private colleges are grappling with the specter of too few applications, public universities and community colleges are having the opposite problem — more students at a time when their state financing is being slashed.

In California and Florida, some public institutions have been forced to cap enrollment. And even in states like Pennsylvania, where the number of high school graduates is declining, applications to public universities are growing.

“We have 47,971 applications as of now, compared to 45,760 at this time last year,” said Anne Rohrbach, executive director of undergraduate admissions at Pennsylvania State University. “We’ve been making offers since October, and we’ve already had 1,638 students say yes, compared to 1,096 at this time last year.”

Generally, Ivy League universities with generous aid packages to low- and middle-income families have as many applicants as ever — and even more applying for financial aid.

“We had 27,462 applications last year, and we’ve been running almost exactly on last year’s pace,” said William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions at Harvard College, which has eliminated early decision. “More students are applying for financial aid. It’s a significant increase, four full percentage points ahead of last year.”

Yale received 5,556 applications this year, 14 percent more than last year, for its nonbinding single-choice early action program, said Jeffrey Brenzel, the dean of admissions, who added that regular applications were running higher, too.

Dartmouth has more applications than ever, early and regular, as do Duke University, the University of Denver and the University of Rochester.

Jonathan Burdick, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Rochester, said the school’s reputation for generous merit aid helped draw applicants.

“This is a time when families may be looking at options that are less costly,” Mr. Burdick said. “There are a lot of families who may make $180,000 to $200,000 but can’t afford $50,000 a year and might apply to a Rochester, where merit aid this year can be as much as $14,000.”

Many selective private colleges say fewer applications are no problem.

“We’re down about 16 percent now, and I think we’ll be down 10 to 15 percent at the end, Jan. 1,” said Monica Inzer, the dean of admission and financial aid at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. “If our acceptance rate goes up a little, that’s O.K.”

Mark Hatch, vice president for enrollment management at Colorado College, said he expected to have about 5 percent fewer applicants this year and took a similar view.

“We admitted 26 percent last year, and if it’s 31 percent this year, we’ll make more people happy,” Mr. Hatch said. “I think the economic uncertainty has families, even families of means, telling their children to round out their college lists with state universities. This year, families want two safety nets, one for the first hurdle, admission, and one for affordability. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed a lot of parents this year listing their occupation as unemployed.”

At many colleges, financial aid requests are up significantly. At Connecticut College, for example, 42 percent of the accepted early-decision students applied for financial said, compared with 34 percent last year — and 36 percent qualified for aid, compared with 24 percent last year.

This has been a particularly difficult year for small private colleges that accept a majority of their applicants.

Stephen MacDonald, the president of Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., where applications are down about 15 percent, is taking steps to lure more students, including adding lacrosse for men and women and hiring a prominent coach, which he thinks will attract 20 to 25 students.

“We’ve also increased our scholarship award to children of alums, from $500, which is a nice gesture, to $2,500 a year, which is more than a gesture,” Mr. MacDonald said.

“We could still end up down 3 percent, which could sting,” he said. “This is a time when schools like ours, private liberal arts colleges that don’t have a big name, are in a potentially dangerous realm.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/educatio...llege.html?_r=1

[LeGaLLyKrN]

wow im not surprised....but these misconceptions are really influential....so many people think private universities are unattainable....so not true!

i had to work my *donkey* off first quarter to get a full scholarship to Uchicago but i still ended up getting it...and i wasn't even a national merit scholar or anything

btw they mentioned colby college! i went there this past october for a program...it was sooo lovely.

oops ^ ignore..i thought it was precollege section

[HtyPotter]

well, it makes sense. A lot of state universities are just as good or better than a lot of private universities, so why spend money unnecessarily during a recession?

[Lovenotwar]

I agree with the statement: people can't afford 50k a year colleges even if their parents make 150k+.

There's a big gap of people who don't qualify for aid and can't stomach the full cost. Lots of private schools don't give merit money. UChicago is an AMAZING school, and as a previous poster mentioned, they give merit. But honestly, it's WAY hard to get into schools like Chicago.

For me, private school -was- unattainable without significant debt. So i didn't do it.

[daehanminguk1345]

Not really surprised. With the way the economy is going right now, who could afford to spend all that money on what could be more or less the same education as a public state university?

[josebiwasabi]

this is what happens when you have numerous subpar privates without any particular strong programs charging 50k a year.

[annyunghee]

I agree with the person who said that public education is just as the same as private education.
I went to a public school for my undergrad and now am at a private school for my masters.
There is really no big difference. Instead of paying big bucks for private aid, just go a public school for so much less!
Anyways, I can't really speech for anyone else. I liked my undergrad education and am liking my grad education so.... =)

[krit]

my institution is getting inundated w/ applications. apparently the numbers started to skyrocket in '06, and it hasn't stopped one bit. Even for one of the smaller departments that just has 25 slots, one got over 7,000 domestic & intn'l apps. (back in 06 it was 3,000). its completely crazy.

[semi-fly]

A number of these private institutions (places like Harvard, Georgetown) are also striving to allow individuals from lower class families into their schools by increasing financial aid and other incentives. It's sad that people are willing to spend an arm and a leg to go to Brown, Yale, Rutgers, and the like simply because of its name and the possibility to network.

[dafleur]

A number of these private institutions (places like Harvard, Georgetown) are also striving to allow individuals from lower class families into their schools by increasing financial aid and other incentives. It's sad that people are willing to spend an arm and a leg to go to Brown, Yale, Rutgers, and the like simply because of its name and the possibility to network.

Rutgers is NJ's state (ie. PUBLIC) university.

[josebiwasabi]

lol i cannot believe you just mentioned rutgers in the same sentence as brown and yale lol

[superhumanchichi]

Private colleges cost way too much. I just spent a year and a half at a private and I FINALLY realized that I would get pretty much the same education and degree at a public one for much less (I just spent 30K for a year and half at a private, while I could have gotten a degree at a public for 20K). Universities should all go bankrupt. People give them too much praise. Go public. Seriously.

[dafleur]

Universities should all go bankrupt. People give them too much praise. Go public. Seriously.

there is such a thing as a PUBLIC UNIVERSITY. see my above post.

[semi-fly]

lol i cannot believe you just mentioned rutgers in the same sentence as brown and yale lol

It goes along with the name recognition scheme I was trying to point out. But sure pick on that if you like.

[superhumanchichi]

well, it makes sense. A lot of state universities are just as good or better than a lot of private universities, so why spend money unnecessarily during a recession?

That's true :/

Man I wish I knew that one sooner...

I just quit private and I'm going public now. Good decision since my family is going through some tough times with the recession

[itrayya]

luckily im finishing my private school this year.
it sucks regardless where you go to school.
if not tuition, then rent, or food, electricity, etc.

this recession touches everybody, rich or poor.

sucks.

but, we must move on.
be tough.

[watcher]

A number of these private institutions (places like Harvard, Georgetown) are also striving to allow individuals from lower class families into their schools by increasing financial aid and other incentives. It's sad that people are willing to spend an arm and a leg to go to Brown, Yale, Rutgers, and the like simply because of its name and the possibility to network.

the benefits of private schools are it's networks. it's not sad going to a private school for it's brand name recognition and network. it's sad to have that advantage and not make the most of it. if you take advantage of it, that 50K tuition will be just a small dent in your wallet. it'll be paid off in no time.