<p>For the first time since 2006, the University of Maryland and Virginia Tech created lists of applicants who might get spots in this year's freshman class if enough admitted students decide at the last minute not to attend.</p>
<p>Here’s another article on summer melt.</p>
<p>For me, the most interesting fact was that Dickinson College has already lost 7% of its freshman class to summer melt as of mid-July.</p>
<p>[The</a> Chronicle: “In an Uncertain Summer, Colleges Try to Control Enrollment ‘Melt’” (About)](<a href=“http://about.campusphilly.org/Home/inthenews/industry-news/thechronicleinanuncertainsummercollegestrytocontrolenrollmentmelt]The”>http://about.campusphilly.org/Home/inthenews/industry-news/thechronicleinanuncertainsummercollegestrytocontrolenrollmentmelt)</p>
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Not Trinity College in Hartford. Their tuition is double that. But I don’t think this fits for Trinity University in San Antonio, either. Maybe the Washington Post meant a semester tuition at Trinity College? Or there are four Trinity Colleges in Australia… I am stumped.</p>
<p>@MidwestMom: The article refers to Trinity University in DC.</p>
<p>Thanks. It is the Washington Post!</p>
<p>I wonder how they get these melt numbers. Are they merely questioned in an email? Is this a number thats reported anywhere or is it just a number they keep track of for good business practies? Whats the probability that there are schools that are not exactly forthcoming? Like maybe those schools who say they aren’t concerned at all, really ARE concerned. While I understand the bottom line, when we talk about needed tuition dollars to meet budget, it only forces me to think about seeing students as chattel and cutting student services or activities. And if it’s hard enough for the family to write the check in the first place, what does thinking about those things (loss of value) do to contribute to summer melt? If it’s all perception, it does seem that connecting kids to each other and to the school goes a long way and a smart one to cement a positive perception. On the other hand, if a school took a larger incoming class and their NOT experiencing the summer melt, how does that affect dorm room quotients, class size and professor load? It’s so easy to play devil’s advocate to this issue regardless of what side you sit.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine what family life would be like if you could get an acceptance off the wait list at this point in time. Presumably you’ve already paid for the fall semester at a college or are close to paying and then you get a Congratulations! letter. So you have to change all of your plans and make new ones to go to the new first choice. And then you have to cancel with your safety, potentially causing cascading waitlist acceptances and cancellations down the road.</p>
<p>It is hard to imagine, but it also happened to one of my daughter’s friends – very recently was accepted from the Stanford wait list. So everything is changing for her and her family, very fast.</p>
<p>My niece was accepted to William and Mary almost exactly four years ago-- in the middle of August. She agonized and agonized, finally deciding her original choice was right, and this spring she graduated from U Va. In retrospect, life would have been happier if she hadn’t stayed on the William and Mary waitlist.</p>
<p>Interesting. But I’m a person who can’t understand shelling out $39,000 a year even in a good economy.</p>
<p>At University of Cincinnati, projected enrollment is UP. Already this spring they were catching students who say “A college education is a college education.”</p>
<p>Well… while a college education is a very valuable commodity, I would strongly disagree that all college educations are the same, and that a degree from one is interchangeable with another. I also don’t think statistics from graduate schools, income post graduation studies and a host of other markers would bear that out either.</p>
<p>Was totally expecting this at the Whittiers of the college world, but shocked that state schools are worried.</p>
<p>^ Many state schools operate on razor-thin margins. Each hundred tuitions at $10K per is a million bucks, and could be much more than that if any significant fraction of those are OOS tuitions, where melt is likely to be most extreme. A lot of people don’t realize it, but most publics are far more dependent on tuition revenue than on legislative appropriations. And tuition is something that’s usually more in their control. This makes them extremely sensitive to price/demand elasticities.</p>
<p>"Not Trinity College in Hartford. Their tuition is double that. But I don’t think this fits for Trinity University in San Antonio, either. Maybe the Washington Post meant a semester tuition at Trinity College? Or there are four Trinity Colleges in Australia… I am stumped. </p>
<p>There is a Trintiy Univ in Washinton DC that is Catholic
Comprehensive Fee:
Includes full-time tuition, double room, 19-meal plan, student activity fee, enrollment fee, and health insurance fee for one academic year: fall and spring semesters. Lab fees and other fees are additional. $29,009
Full-time Tuition per Semester* $9,680</p>
<p>Overall, from both articles, it seems as if there is only a little difference from last summer. It will be interesting to read the articles that come out in September.</p>
<p>The difference that I see is that there is more cumulative stress on families today than there was last year and that hopes of a quick turnaround in the jobs picture don’t look that good. The economy may recover with the massive spending/stimulus money but translating that to jobs will take a while.</p>
<p>One quick question: If you do get a last minute acceptance, how much money do you lose? </p>
<p>Let’s say you’re set to go Boston University and on August 20 a Harvard admissions guy calls to tell you you’ve been accepted. Generally speaking (not just asking about BU) how much money is down the drain?</p>
<p>I imagine that this varies from university to university. If you’re in that situation, call BU, identify yourself as John Smith and ask. I assume lots of universities are doing this so they should be understanding if it’s done to them.</p>
<p>I think that the money lost wouldn’t be much but the hassle in getting it back could be tough on cash flow.</p>
<p>bird:</p>
<p>depends on the individual college’s policy for tuition refund – the deposit is nearly always non-refundable. Some colleges allow for 100% tuition refund up to the first day of classes.</p>
<p>^ At BU it’s 100% refund of tuition up until the first day of classes. The deposits are gone obviously, and I couldn’t find a refund schedule for R&B and Fees.</p>
<p>[Boston</a> University - Office of the University Registrar - Important Dates - Refund Schedule - Fall 2009](<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/reg/dates/refdates-fall09.html]Boston”>http://www.bu.edu/reg/dates/refdates-fall09.html)</p>