<p>Well, I feel the need to drive it home as I'm hearing everything from lack of understanding about global realities to entitlement.</p>
<p>Yeah, I understand that... I still believe that people believe what they want to believe, and no amount of internet nagging will make them succumb to whatever realities may or may not be true.</p>
<p>All in time...</p>
<p>Wow! Where's ItalianBoarder when you need him?</p>
<p>I just did a quick calculation based on the information in the article:</p>
<p>Last year: 1900 applications w/ 50-50 FP/FA, so there were 950 in each pool. Assuming a 20% acceptance rate (just an estimate), 380 are accepted with 190 FP and 190 FA. Each group has a 20% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>Now: 2300 applications w/ 33% FP/ 67% FA, so there are 767 full pay applicants (down from 950 last year!) and 1,533 FA applicants. Assuming the same 20% acceptance rate, there would be 460 acceptances (will likely be lower). The article said about 33% admitted on financial aid, so there would be 153 accepted FA applicants out of 1,533 applications or 10%!!! Full pays would have 307 accepted of 767 applications or a whopping 40% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>The world has changed for the top schools.</p>
<p>Yes, we were doing similar calculations last night. Yes, full pay applicants this year have a MUCH better chance. Bad timing for FA applicants.</p>
<p>I hope the schools are embarrassed.</p>
<p>Haha. I am so screwed though.</p>
<p>So. Very. Screwed.</p>
<p>Except maybe not.</p>
<p>Time will tell... unfortunately.</p>
<p>The question isn't am I ready for the schools, but are the schools ready for me?</p>
<p>BOOM.</p>
<p>CKSABS, I see where you're going w/ your calculation, but it's unclear from the article whether they mean 50% of the ADMITTED class of 2012 was awarded financial aid or 50% of the MATRICULATED class of 2012 was awarded financial aid. </p>
<p>At most schools, full-pay and financial-aid candidates matriculate, or yield, at different rates.</p>
<p>Very true Gemma. </p>
<p>My Exonian friend said something different from the article... he said that half of the new kids will be on FA? That doesn't make sense. He must be mistaken.</p>
<p>How's your school doing Gemma? Are they staying afloat? If they were ever need-blind, have they continued to implement it?</p>
<p>Hogwarts is doing just fine, mmoynan. Thanks for asking!</p>
<p>Lol, good to hear... I hate hearing all these places goin' down.</p>
<p>i need fa and im not the smartest or best canditates. crossing fingers to get in !</p>
<p>to get into exeter</p>
<p>TomTheCat, please explain your comment "I hope the schools are embarrassed."</p>
<p>I hope you are not referring to the schools lack of availability of FA. It is hardly their doing.</p>
<p>One word: entitlement.</p>
<p>I guess when I said "schools" I meant Exeter. Sorry, but I find it ridiculous that Exeter, a school with an endowment formerly a BILLION dollars, is dropping their need-blind policy when Andover, a school with 300 million less than Exeter before BOTH schools' endowments dropped 22%, retains their need-blind policy and states that they believe they will be able to maintain it (<a href="http://phillipian.net/article/8073%5B/url%5D">http://phillipian.net/article/8073</a>). Andover has more students, a higher percentage of students on financial aid, and a lower endowment, and they will be retaining their need-blind policy.</p>
<p>Something isn't right here.</p>
<p>And, huh? Entitlement? Both of my parents are teachers and I live in a two bedroom apartment in a middle class neighborhood with them and my younger brother. If you're asserting that I feel a sense of entitlement, I'm sorry, but I vehemently object. My EFC is $12,000. Don't you dare group me with the kids who have everything handed to them on a silver platter.</p>
<p>I know you're young, but the state of the world is on every channel. A private education is an amazing privilege that schools have, in good times, been able to extend to many.</p>
<p>I do believe it's entitlement to believe you are being treated unfairly if because of a crisis you may have to settle for the public education the vast majority of kids who even get and education have.</p>
<p>No one gets to choose parents, but most have to live within the confines of what their parent's can afford.</p>
<p>And BTW, all schools are effected, some have just not been as open as Exeter.</p>
<p>I wouldn't call Exeter open. They published a newspaper on the exonian that more than 95% of their applicant won't even read. Send out an e-mail or something, thats open.</p>
<p>Listen to me. I'm going after Exeter here.</p>
<p>Andover seems to be staying afloat. Looks like they actually value their mission statement which, since 1778, has been to provide quality education to youth from every quarter. Exeter has this same mission. Somehow, with $300 million more than Andover, they are failing to uphold it.</p>
<p>And it IS unfair that, by no fault of my own, I don't have the means to buy myself into prep school education while there are others my age who were lucky enough to be born into rich families. All of this comes down to choices that I didn't make. You must understand the displeasure that I feel that I can't have the same opportunities as someone whose parents are better off financially.</p>
<p>And, on a personal level, who are you to talk down to me? I may be younger than you, but I guarantee you that I've devoted almost all of my waking thought to this process. It's important to me, and I understand the state of the economy because it's something that I have an active interest in, not least because NOW it will play a factor into whether or not I am admitted into Exeter. I may not have 3,500 posts and a college degree, but I don't need those to know the state of the economy. Or to defend myself when people like you feel the need to insult kids you've never met before.</p>
<p>Tom, my intent was not to insult you. And I was in your shoes many years ago when I arrived at a college filled with wealthy kids who had things I never dreamed of. So I'll recommend the approach I took--go out and make it happen for yourself. It won't take a prep school to do it. And you still may get lucky and get into one!</p>
<p>But it IS entitlement to feel you have a right to go to one and that Exeter or any other school has treated you unfairly when forced to react to a global crisis. What makes you think Andover or any other school is not handling this crisis the same way? Every school has to make cuts, you just haven't heard directly from them.</p>
<p>As a trustee of a school that is in this category, I can tell you that all are deeply saddened by the impact of this financial crisis on many levels. We would all like to continue to serve kids from every corner. But reality is just that, reality, and with deep losses the money simply is not there. And the need to protect those already under our roofs, which alone is hard to do, is paramount.</p>
<p>The fact is, wealthy kids are the ones who pay for those not wealthy. They always have and always will. So many kids will still get to benefit, even in these times.</p>
<p>So we are all, at every school, hoping kids and their families will understand this in context and not bad mouth schools whose hands are tied--all schools.</p>
<p>Splendid words, hmom! I had no clue that an honesto god trustee lurked these hallways!</p>