<p>Hi everyone-</p>
<p>Just wanted to hear come opinions on this:</p>
<p>Do you think that there is an increased chance of acceptance to a private college given the state of the economy? I would think that there are less people applying to private schools, which would make acceptance a little bit easier.</p>
<p>Actually, I would be surprised if that's true. I would think that students would be applying to a mix of schools and then seeing where they're accepted and compare cost of attendance based on total costs, financial aid package and merit aid received. I think the fallout isn't going to happen until it's decision time.</p>
<p>I agree with blackeyedsusan. Reality is in April. When financial packages and dropping confidence in income and home equity may lead a great percentage of parents to opt for public colleges. I think admissions officers must be careful not to overenroll this year. Yield in public universities will increase, and waiting lists will be used sparingly...perhaps the reverse is true for full price private colleges who offer modest need/merit money. Our family is looking at the risk of what could be 4-8 years of higher education completely differently for son number 2. We have to be in a position to not acquire mound of debt unless the outcomes for employment improve.</p>
<p>The affects will probably not be noticeable this year. Next year and the year after that (assuming conditions worsen, etc) should show signs.</p>
<p>Most significantly affected will be the amount of financial aid that colleges are willing to give. I would expect that for people who check the Financial Aid box on their applications, their chances of getting in would decrease markedly. That said, it could be that colleges deem their amount of financial aid so important that they are willing to make big cuts in other spending in order to keep their financial aid amounts high (given no insight into college's budget process, I have no idea what the priorities are).</p>
<p>In general, there is a trend of poor classes not applying to college as much. As the percent of poor families will increase, one might think that this means that more people (the recently poor, who's parents have been laid off) will not be applying to college because they cannot afford it.</p>
<p>I am not sure anyone really knows. If apps are down you may be right. One would expect that there would be a swing away from smaller private institutions due to cost. However, the Ivies (IVY group) and top LAC's may not see much if any change.</p>