Economic Crisis and Colleges

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
1

<p>To those who are aware of the current state of the economy, how might it impact admission for prospective students to Wellesley College this year, especially in terms of the financial aid that they might receive?
I know Wellesley is very well endowed ($1.2 billion in recent years--I think it was 2005?)</p>

<p>click link to read full article:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/education/08college.html?hp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/education/08college.html?hp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>excerpt:</p>

<p>"Tough economic times have come to public and private universities alike, and rich or poor, they are figuring out how to respond. Many are announcing hiring freezes, postponing construction projects or putting off planned capital campaigns.</p>

<p>With endowment values and charitable gifts likely to decline, the process of setting next year’s tuition low enough to keep students coming, but high enough to support operations, is trickier than ever.</p>

<p>Dozens of college presidents, especially at wealthy institutions, have sent letters and e-mail to students and their families describing their financial situation and belt-tightening plans.</p>

<p>With endowment values shrinking, variable-rate debt costs rising and states cutting their financing, colleges face challenges on multiple fronts, said Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education.</p>

<p>“Budget cuts mean that campuses won’t be able to fill faculty vacancies, that the student-faculty ratio rises, that students have lecturers instead of tenured professors,” said Mark G. Yudof, president of the California system. “Higher education is very labor intensive. We may be getting to the point where there will have to be some basic change in the model.”</p>

<p>Many institutions with small endowments, however, will probably become more need-sensitive than usual this year, quietly offering places to fewer students who need large aid packages."</p>

<p>For further reading:</p>

<p>click link to read full article:</p>

<p>Donkeys</a>, Elephants, Bulls and Bears</p>

2

<p>No idea.</p>

<p>Wellesley College, like Vassar, is need blind, and states that it will offer 100% of student need. Through CC, I've met people who didn't get enough finaid to go to Wellesley, but I've also met people who chose Wellesley because they received the best finaid far and away.</p>

<p>Since admissions and finaid decisions aren't transparent, it is very possible that Wellelsey may not stick to the policies it publicly advocates behind closed doors, but that seems unlikely. Putting out some press release saying that Wellesley is still 100% committed to the new financial aid policies started for just this school year may also be possible.</p>

<p>At this time of year, most people are just determining where to apply. My two cents is this: a Wellesley application is free online.</p>

3

<p>Wellesley's President did release a statement about the economic condition. Online at H</a>. Kim Bottomly, President of Wellesley College</p>

<p>Here's a snippet where she talks about the commitment to need-blind and meeting 100% of need both for current students and prospies.</p>

<p>"...We know that families of current and prospective students are also concerned about whether their ability to afford Wellesley might be jeopardized. I will be sending a letter to families of current students ahead of the Thanksgiving break to assure them of the college’s ongoing commitment to meeting 100 percent of each student’s demonstrated need. As always, we are prepared to work individually with families and to extend help to those whose changed circumstances have reduced their ability to pay. Staff in Admissions and Financial Aid will continue to work closely with prospective students to ensure that they understand that Wellesley’s strong endowment allows us to enroll and retain the best and brightest young women...."</p>