I’m not getting any ads for colleges (except the same old get your degree from home using Phoenix) OR BS’s. I guess this means DD and DS are not sought out candidates and we just aren’t worth marketing.
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Someone thinks I might be interested in Hun…
Demand may be high… For the usual 8-10.
The less well known schools… not necessarily. And even if - well, matriculation is the # that matters.
My kid’s BS was advertising last fall a Dec 1 deadline for midyear applications! Not enough freshman matriculated.
And everyone has had staffing problems - Frederick Gunn School was advertising a faculty position (Mandarin) on the radio last fall.
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I, too, don’t understand why advertising would be up. Although, I don’t know that I ever see the big named schools advertise…?
For colleges, we do get a TON of emails and mailed flyers from lesser known schools (and some huge state schools, actually) which I thought would taper off after deadlines had passed. But we still see them. I guess same with BS – I am getting flyers and emails from schools I had never heard of. They have rolling admissions, obviously. But I would agree with @stalecookies that the app numbers are probably not significantly increased for the so-called “unknown” schools.
I work in higher ed in a mid-Atlantic state. Our whole region, plus many New England states, have been experiencing a drop in total high school graduates for the past few years due to lower birth rates. This issue is expected to worsen from 2025-2029 as a result of the 2008 financial crisis and its further impact on the birth rates in our region.
Word on the street is that total number of students applying to colleges has declined, but that students are submitting many more applications than they have in the past. Of course they can apply to dozens of schools, but ultimately attend only one. Colleges are terrified of not filling their classes. Of course the big name colleges (and many flagship state schools) have no problem filling classes. But there are really great schools who do get mentioned on the CC boards who have experienced a decline in enrollment. Some even went through their entire waitlist in the past two years and still did not fill their classes.
I think the same phenomenon may be happening in the boarding school world. Not for the big dogs so much, but for anyone else outside the T20. Some schools may not fill their classes until summer.
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Interesting conversation.
We’ve heard from a couple of the “non-tippy-tops” in zooms that they are having record applicant numbers this year too so just assumed it was all over.
I guess I am glad I waited until my late 30’s - early 40’s to start having children, then. I went across the grain and waited for the “lull”. Seems it may have worked out to my advantage. 
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Realistically, whether apps are up or not, covid has made a lot of families who might not have considered BS – and who may know nothing about it – a reason to think about it. From an advertising perspective, that’s just the opening many of these schools have hoped for.
Many families who DO apply either have their own history with BS or have been thinking about it for a while. Sure, there are a few who decide in the fall of their child’s 8th grade year to apply, but most need a longer runway. So my guess is that this may be a lift for the whole BS world.
I wholeheartedly agree with @dramakid2 that some schools and colleges have been impacted by the shrinking population-- that’s a real thing. But my guess is that what’s really killing them is the arms race in facilities, programs, and perks. When all the schools cost pretty much the same, you have to provide more for the money to be competitive and those with big endowments and lots of full pay students are the victors in that game.
My hunch is that over the next decade or two, there are going to be some major shifts in post-secondary education. It’s just not reasonable to think that tuition can just keep going up and up. I suspect some of this will impact BS but already, these schools account for such a miniscule part of the market that my guess is that the schools that are not destined to be around are already making their peace with that.
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We had a meeting today with someone who is not an Admissions Director but in touch with a lot of them. When asked about whether she knew about an increase in apps etc she paused and said, yes there was a big increase and many were unusual applications. Applications from outside the usual geographic areas, unfamiliar schools with no testing data, families really unfamiliar with process and BS culture, just a whole different group this year. Very hard to evaluate. So…should be an exciting application season.
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I think there are definitely parallels in the college and boarding school worlds, because of all the uncertainty lots of families are casting a really wide net and exploring many possibilities. But as someone said already everyone will ultimately have just one landing spot. And then there is the elephant in the room in terms of financial aid, most schools have limited amount and have seen increase in expenses in the last year, and many of their applicants have significant financial aid needs. Which a lot of them may not be able to meet, as they are in a precarious financial situation themselves.
Returning to the thread topic…we have been iced over since Thursday. It is now 3 degrees, with snow. Tomorrow will be 0. They’ve asked us all to limit the amount of electricity usage to avoid a brown out.
Chili is simmering in the crock pot, with Fritos at the ready for Frito Pie (trying to find them at the store was like a treasure hunt). I’m hunkered down in my comfy, Ugg slippers and Ugg blanket with two puppies on my lap and a steamy mug of tea. There’s nothing more I can do but bring some more wood in, when the fire gets low.
Welcome to Texas, y’all!!!
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Then you probably don’t want to see what it’s like here, @buuzn03. 
(End of our street)
Seriously, though, I DO miss winter weather. I always loved the snow. Enjoy it while you have it.
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I’m still waiting for it to get above zero here, and I only expect a few hours of that between now and Wednesday. I looked at the Anchorage, AK 10 day forcast and it is much nicer than here. I don’t think I could do AZ in the summer, but the older I get the less I like winter.
@ChoatieMom that is what Colorado vacations are for!
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We can’t do AZ summers either. That’s why God made Maine.
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I’d much rather be in triple digits than single… @ChoatieMom , the car is packed and I’m on my way!! 
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Hey - I think I know that golf course @ChoatieMom!! We looked at a house there about 10 years ago. 
Day 2 - no power. Generator has helped with essentials. The refrigerator is the warmest place in the house. We had no mobile service all day yesterday. Now I am able to use my hotspot to try and work for a few hours before battery on computer dies.
Welcome to Texas.
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Stay safe in Texas! Do you have a fireplace to keep warm?
@buuzn03 I’ve been thinking about you! I hope puppies are snuggly at least. Ever since my weekend of camping out on my couch with our golden retriever puppy on my legs, she heads to the couch every morning when she sees me grab my coffee and the house is quiet. So I follow. and now we officially have something called Morning Puppy in our house. Which means “doing anything on the couch with the dog asleep on your legs.” I read and signed a bunch of documents today during Morning Puppy.
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Thanks, @Golfgr8 and @Calliemomofgirls. We are good. We have a small generator (thank God for DHs line of work) and a fireplace with lots of firewood, thanks to dying trees on family’s properties in the past few years.
The hard part is trying to work. We’ve been told internet will not be available for at least 4 more days. This makes my job very difficult. And DH is really withdrawing from TV (he tried to use it without internet via the generator 
).
In any regard, we’ve brushed up our skills on Spades, Gin Rummy and Cribbage!
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