<p>You raise good points, and at the risk of being accused of (again) highjacking the thread, I would note that these institutions are already fulfilling their obligations under the tax code by providing a public service and/or reducing a burden that would otherwise be placed on the government (I believe this is the common rationale for tax exemptions). So another way of looking at this is that these universities that accept billions are providing a service that the government would have to do itself. I also don't see anything wrong with the endowments generating enormous returns - I think we disagree on who dictates how those returns get allocated - by the trustees or our beloved government.</p>
<p>Very well said! I have no dispute with any of that.
Now, back to the business of this thread. Assuming several years of negative or sluggish economic growth and of increasing demands on relatively fixed endowments, how will the top tier schools respond with respect to admission strategy? At what point in the downturn will financial aid get tighter? Might they turn to more international full pays? Are there sufficient full pays to go from say 55% to 65% full pay? Are some middle or lower tier schools at risk with respect to survival? And I ask all this fully aware that even the full pays are subsidized, as 40k is really a bargain for a year at boarding school, given that the real cost is upwards of 60 or 70k.</p>
<p>neato:Where did the quote from Laura Dickson come from, I didn't see it in the article you linked to?</p>
<p>It was from a different article that basically said the same thing that the one I linked did. If you google the entire quote, it'll probably come up. I didn't link both of them because they were so similar....sorry.</p>
<p>Thank you, Periwinkle!</p>
<p>From the article Periwinkle posted:</p>
<p>"It's likely, though, that the full effect of the faltering economy has yet to hit steep reductions may come this spring when parents who paid tuition for the current school year before the meltdown decide whether to re-enroll their children. "</p>
<p>When do students currently attending bs have to let the school know they will be re-enrolling? Is it before or after admissions decisions are made? Anyone know? If it's after, I think we may expect a little bit of waitlist movement for full-pay students if new slots become available because an existing student drops. This may be good news for the 10th and 11th grade applicants especially (if they are full-pay or even 1/2 pay).</p>
<p>in my school, which is not boarding or in america as i have said so many times it's very comical, the decisions are on april 10th. i have a feeling that boarding schools are the same? it would make sense, because it's a little less hassle if you have "enroll decisions" from both prospective and current students on the same day. THen you know how many said yes, how many say i'm coming back, and how many just flatout said no. that's when you turn to the waitlist.</p>
<p>or is it something different?</p>
<p>Yeah, westcoast. I assumed it was the same as new admits but wouldn't it be nice for the admissions director to know before decisions, so they would know how many new students they could admit. I imagine they would rather admit than waitlist since the yield from the waitlist must be pretty low (kids taken offers of acceptance elsewhere). They may have 500 kids on the waitlist on march 11th and 50 on April 11th. I don't know this as a fact but it wouldn't surprise me. It seems reasonable that the only kids left on the waitlist would be the ones who didn't get any offers.</p>
<p>Is the Periwinkle article relevant to all private schools up and down the feeding chain or only to those institutions at the fringes that are barely making ends meet even in prosperous times?</p>
<p>Our date for returning students to return their contracts is March 23, although we are usually pretty lenient.</p>
<p>As for the article, I think the schools that will be most greatly affected are the many faith-based day schools that have sprung up in the past few years. Tuition is a real struggle for many of these families and they have the readily available cheaper options of public school or homeschooling.</p>
<p>What I am curious to see is how many families will ask for financial aid or more financial aid this year because it will feel more socially acceptable. For many of us, the only affect the economy has had on our wallet, so far, is some notion that we have lost assets that really only existed on paper (retirement accounts, estimated house values) but we all feel more financially precarious. Things will also be tough for families who were using educational loans or home equity to pay tuition.</p>
<p>If you pay tuition from income, and your income hasn't changed, my take on it is that there is no better place for your money to be than in your child's education. It's likely to be the only investment you'll make next year that will have a meaningful return. Feel free to be skeptical - I am on the payroll - but I do believe it.</p>
<p>Really concisely put, sbergman! But even though it may be more "socially acceptable" to request aid, the strict by-the-book criteria that are used to establish the level of support that any given individual merits have not changed, right? The SSS, EFC, etc still apply, no? So you can ask, but you are not more likely to receive?</p>
<p>Markets worldwide in a deep funk; unemployment and underemployment expected to reach near 10 and 15% respectively this year; downturn looking deeper and longer by the day; effectiveness and wisdom of fiscal stimulus package in serious question.</p>
<p>Is all this going to affect generosity with FA this admission season or only in future seasons since nonprofits average spending from endowments over years, in order to smooth out the bumps?</p>
<p>Pan1956, I think it's too soon for anyone from a private school to be able to predict the future with certainty. That's partly due to things which they aren't allowed to discuss with each other, due to antitrust concerns.</p>
<p>My impression is that a school can offer full FA to a few candidates, or partial FA to many more, and that even before this year, schools differed in their philosophy on the proper uses of FA. How has this turmoil affected the applicant pool? If the segment of the population which financed their children's education through home equity loans has vanished, that's a different situation than a marginal increase in the number of current families needing FA. </p>
<p>If a school can't find a full-pay candidate to fill an open spot, they lose all the potential tuition. In such a situation, offering a discount on tuition to a middle-class kid, who can pay some tuition, but not all, is better than being under-enrolled.</p>
<p>Thank you for the prompt answer!</p>
<p>But surely elite schools have a plethora of full pays from which to choose. In other words, are they ever confronted with a situation such that they have a slot which they wish to fill with a full pay (in order to attain their quota of 50-70%) but only partial pays are available to fill it? Put another way, are there always sufficient full pays to reach the 50-70% critical mass?</p>
<p>I'm only a parent. I have no way of knowing, and as far as I know, the schools have never made such data available. The elite schools may always be able to pick and choose, even in difficult times, but I'd think no school would go out on a limb to say, "we're in trouble." </p>
<p>We're living in "interesting times." I would have thought that banks would never fall for "liar loans," but whaddaya know? I was wrong.</p>
<p>And I know that we can speculate endlessly without the benefit of hard data, but don't you think that things have changed radically? The financial and real estate and construction and retail sectors are devastated and are going to get worse. I can't imagine that the schools are not wondering where people who have the wherewithal to pay 40k yearly for a discretionary expense are going to come from.</p>
<p>One implication of the current market conditions seems to be a much more proactive admissions team. In the last week, we have received calls from each of the schools where my son has/is applying. In addition, several of the coaches emailed him and asking how he's doing or if he has any questions. </p>
<p>I do not see this as a mere coincidence and believe the schools recognize they cannot wait for March 10 for students they want, especially the full pays. This is clearly a buyers market for those with discretionary income.</p>
<p>CKSABS:
All schools, top tier, middle tier, which?</p>
<p>pan1956:
Two top tier need-blind schools and one rising mid-tier with historically generous financial aid.</p>