<p>The stance that NMH is taking re underenrollment may be the norm this season. True, a FP quality candidate = money-in-the-bank but some schools will stop short of admitting a bunch of FP train-wrecks, if for no other reason than to protect their reputations.</p>
<p>Once you get passed the well qualified full pays, are only "train wrecks" available? Or is there a pool of reasonably motivated and qualified full pays who have been passed up all these years in favor of very talented FA applicants?</p>
<p>A pool, a puddle, who knows? I just think that underenrollment, in a time where every dime of a school's operating budget counts, speaks to something. And the willingness to forego that second category of FP...well, perhaps they weren't so "reasonably motivated" in the admissions committees' eyes.</p>
<p>Yes, underenrollment does indeed speak to something. It speaks to the fact that there are not sufficient paying customers to fill the seats.</p>
<p>With a minor change to pan1956's statement, I think nylecoj007 would agree.</p>
<p>It speaks to the fact that there are not sufficient QUALIFIED paying customers to fill the seats.</p>
<p>I heard this happened last year at NMH. There were not enough qualified 9th grade male applicants. They had nearly 20 less boys than planned.</p>
<p>CKSABS,
If it taking place at NMH, does it stand to reason that it is taking place elsewhere? How high up the prestige hierarchy of schools does it reach? Are there any indicators of the extent of the underenrollment problem????</p>
<p>pan1956 - You can probably look at overall school enrollment trends as well as the class size breakdown (including M/F) over time.</p>
<p>So I gather we will only know in retrospect, not concurrently.</p>
<p>Additionally, if the economic downturn (now hearing depression talk not just recession) continues for an extended period of time, schools will also start facing a declning target audience as we are getting past the boomlet point. Poor economy, drastically reduced endowments, declining target population = potential problems especially for 2nd or third tier schools.</p>
<p>Exactly creative1. Day schools in large cities will not be as impacted but boarding schools and private day schools in areas with good public schools will be heavily impacted.</p>
<p>During the heady financial times of the past 2 decades these schools had a big uptick in interest from the newly wealthy in the US and internationally. These folks will go back to finding cheaper school options until there is another economic boom.</p>
<p>And the schools' growing endowments let them reach out for greater diversity and to set much more generous policies they can no longer afford to extend to nearly as many.</p>
<p>At all but the top handful of schools we will see major changes.</p>
<p>I'm guessing this will be the year for the wait listed. Many applicants will have changed their minds about attending boarding schools and many won't like their aid packages. We will probably see unprecedented wait list movement for those who can pay in full.</p>
<p>And anyone who missed deadlines and would like to still apply will find many willing schools.</p>
<p>If you look at the thread about endowments and FA, on September 30th of last year, Newyorker22 was prescient:</p>
<p>
[quote]
This is just my perspective, but I think this is going to be a tough year for boarding schools. The top schools will get all the "full pays" and the second tier is going to have a tough time making their budget. I think it will be easier to get into the top tier if you are a full pay.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Whoa.. Exeter announced that it's not need-blind? SHOCKING. But do we actually have proof?</p>
<p>The Exonian, Exeter's newspaper.</p>
<p>Have you actually seen the article though? Until we have cold, hard, proof, I refuse to believe that Exeter has retracted its need-blind policy!!</p>
<p>Well, hastalavista has. I don't refuse to believe it because Exeter seems like the kind of place that would have fewer moral scruples about giving priority to the rich in the admissions process. After zero contact with Exeter over the past six months, it seems as if they just don't give a crap about their applicants.</p>
<p>No school is truly need-blind...</p>
<p>Biased much? You have a point though. Throughout the entire admissions process, Andover was definitely more attentive and helpful. I don't think that Exeter would just arbitrarily take away something so important to current and future applicants.</p>
<p>That's really weird! When did they annouce this? I find it hard to believe that they'd implement it with less than a week left until students are notifed. </p>
<p>Hasta: Can you type some of it for us? I find it REALLY hard to believe this for <em>2009</em> year, almost 2 months after app. deadline. Frankly, if I knew this was going to happen I may have not applied to Exeter; it's need-blind policy was a huge draw for me.</p>
<p>What you guys need to understand is that the schools' hands are tied. Most have lost a great deal of their endowments. They have existing students whose parents have lost money and jobs. They need to give these kids top priority so they can stay. The aid budgets just can't stretch to meet the needs of the schools, their employees, the current students and still be as generous to new students.</p>
<p>All the the schools will continue to give all the aid they can, but for most more full paying students will be needed for awhile to keep them healthy and to help them give the aid they can give.</p>
<p>I understand that hmom, but I still believe implementing such a dramatic change in their school's profile SO late in the process isn't terribly honourable.</p>
<p>Like I said, that's what I admired about Exeter; thier amazing need-blind policy. To change that with 4, 5, 6 days until students are notified (<em>notified</em>; the decisions were made before today) is astonishing. To avoid significant backlash, this would then mean re-analyzing all of their admits w\ FA, due to the unfairness to other applicants that hadn't been reviewed prior to the new policy.</p>
<p>(if that makes sense, kinda messy :-P)</p>