<p>Just posted a link to this article on another thread, but wanted to mention it here because it came to mind twice already this morning: once when Mini asked how much we would pay, and then again when I saw yet one more thread on merit offers displacing need based offers. </p>
<p>Take a look at Economic Challenges for Liberal Arts Colleges by Michael S. McPherson and Morton Owen Schapiro. It is quite fascinating. As to why we are not typical, here's some numbers:</p>
<p>"...fewer than 250,000 students out of more than 14 million experience education in a small residential college without graduate students.... if one made the definition of a 'liberal arts college' more stringent, focusing on a place where the majority of students major in the liberal arts and live on campus, and where admissions is moderately selective (turning down, say, more than a third of those who apply) [it would be] fewer than 100,000 students."</p>
<p>Even if you add back in everyone who attends an ivy and selective university, you still are talking "bupkis" compared to 14 million. And that 14 million figure is probably 5-8 years out of date. It is even more today.</p>
<p>The article also has an excellent explanation on pps. 56-66 of just how the economics play out for merit vs. need based aid, how such grants effect SATs scores a school can report, and why the colleges discount, along with a scenario for Conjectural University, to make it more clear. </p>
<p>Thanks, TheDad - I saw that space before too, and was suspicious. So I went back to google to verify and sure enough, google had that space! That's why I said it looked correct. So I guess I inadvertently passed along their error. Sorry. Did you read it? What did you think?</p>
<p>wish<em>it</em>was_april ~ a very interesting article! I especially enjoyed the analysis of why merit aid is rising (Conjectural University). It's interesting as well to see that the kids of rich families are slowly drifting away from LACs, and that this thrend creates the underlying pressure for more and more merit aid as the colleges try to sustain (or improve) average SAT scores by providing merit aid to low need/high scoring kids.</p>
<p>I liked it too - there is so much conjecture here on CC that it was good to have some real data to think about. As a few posters keep reminding us, the schools are businesses, and economics play a significant role in how they can carry out their missions. </p>
<p>I also appreciated that the article gave us some real context. Our opinions here, I think, are skewed, because they are not at all representative of the 14 or 15 million college students in the US. Not that our opinions aren't valid - they just aren't representative. So when we speculate about the future of financial aid and other such things, we post from the experience and aspirations of a pretty knowledgeable group of parents and kids, who have high aspirations, and many of whom also have significant assets. As a group, their first choice is probably not State U or one of the LACs that is desperately seeking students.</p>
<p>Someone else posted the link here some weeks ago. I don't remember who, or in which thread, but thank you. Keep those data filled articles coming!</p>
<p>Picked the name in the fall, when I was wishing it was April and the whole college search/application process would be over and done. It was very stressful then (duh!) and having gone through it with one child already, I knew it could and probably would get worse! So I became Wish<em>It</em>Was<em>April. Given my son's senioritis which is causing much grief for us both, I think I am changing my name to Wish</em>It<em>Was</em>August. Then, I suppose, when I start to miss him, Wish<em>It</em>Was_Winter Break!</p>