<p>Imagine, what if Penn State increased its meager academic merit scholarships by TEN folds today -- which would have cost only slightly more than its football profit anyway? Of course, the school should also do all the other things it's doing post-Sandusky, but the money would demonstrate its renewed priority, and catch the eyes of top students and their families around the country. It might even turn a few critics into advocates in the admission arena.</p>
<p>I know this is a horrible example, but remember how Johnson & Johnson saved Tylenol after the cyanide scare? They did it with coupons! Yes, the safety packaging was a must, but it's the coupons that made people stay with the brand. I'm not saying Penn State can buy its way out of this scandal, not at all, but I think the academic scholarships would be a good way to show where the priorities are.</p>
<p>You should post your comment on the Psu admissions facebook page. It’s a great idea and would prove to us fence sitters they are serious about changing their image. Also, it would give an incentive to students/parents concerned about the financial fallout from the scandal.</p>
<p>unfortunately psu does not have the deep pockets that j&j has. programs are already being cut because of the budget situation and the financial fallout could make things worse. this idea is short-sighted at best.</p>
<p>They normally turn away 50% of applicants and I think they have plenty of students applying this year to fill up the programs! State schools do not OWE merit aid to students!</p>
<p>they can fill the programs, but if they can fill them with outstanding students everyone benefits (except the lesser students who don’t get in).</p>
<p>I agree with you 100%. Penn State’s goal should be to fill classes with high caliber students and on maintaining/improving academics and research opportunities.</p>
<p>PSU’s direct competitors (PITT, UMD, OSU, UMICH) all spend 5-6 times more than PSU, per capita, on academic merit scholarships. Of course they don’t OWE students merit money, and I’m sure they have their own budget problems, but they choose to compete for top students this way. It’s just a matter of priority. Besides, doesn’t PSU have a super-duper alum network to tap into?</p>
<p>Desperate times call for desperate measures. Penn State is on the defense now. It’s time for bold offense.</p>
<p>Pitt and UMich have much higher endowments (per student) than PSU. UMich has one of the highest among public universities; perhaps second only to UTA and more than four times PSU’s. I don’t know about UMD. (Where did you get your information? I’m a little skeptical.)</p>
<p>I got the numbers from the Common Data Set. Maybe these schools don’t interpret/report the numbers the same way, in which case I do apologize, but I think it’s well known that PSU is seriously lacking in merit aids.</p>
<p>Yes, we all know UMich is rich (despite its huge loss in state fundings). On the other hand, one can argue that it does not need to compete so hard for top students due to its higher rankings, yet it continues to do so. I was actually a little hesitant in including UMich as a direct competitor.</p>