<p>.... Both private and public universities are nervous for slighly different reasons as detailed in this LATimes story:
Colleges</a> share applicants' anxiety - Los Angeles Times</p>
<p>There’s a front page article in today’s NYT that covers the same topic.</p>
<p>I think they are right to be concerned— We are feeling very glad that son applied to several schools likely to provide significant merit packages. A year ago I was much more enthusiastic at the idea of him going to the “best” school he gained entrance to.</p>
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<p>A couple of years ago, our high school senior redefined “best” to include graduating without debt so he could leave school with money in the bank instead of owing a big chunk of his paychecks. It can be a complicated calculation–finances are not the only factor–and students need to do their homework. In my son’s case, that included making pointed inquiries about research opportunities, flexibility in course/program requirements, sitting in on classes and talking personally with some professors. He visited the school with the best merit offer twice before deciding that although he liked the “other” city a bit better and preferred the overall ambiance of the “other” university, the merit school actually had a better program for him and the financial offer couldn’t be beat.</p>
<p>He hasn’t regretted that decision for one moment. And believe me, as we have opened our mail the last few months and gazed upon our shredded investment picture, and swallowed pay cuts and increased contributions to our benefit plans, we are thankful our son is both smart and wise.</p>
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<p>He is probably feeling good about that decision right now. I passed up wharton to go to a State U because I didn’t want to be a burden to my family. They thanked me last summer and again after the stock market crashed last fall. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, who knew things would have changed so much in six months.</p>
<p>Unlike last year, the picture is more dismal – and the foreseeable picture more bleak. The chances are more families and informed students will make the “prudent choice”, not the “first choice school” or the “best” school. People will lean toward making sure they can complete where they start and not go for glamour and risk, where they might need to supply their own life vest in an emergency or bear the consequences.</p>
<p>I loved the quote from the Director of Admissions at USC where she said she’d rather err on a higher acceptance rate and a higher yield and have to put up the additional students at her home, than a situation where say 200 to 400 budgeted students didn’t show up. Wouldn’t that be sweet?</p>
<p>For UCs, the problem really is the opposite. What if more students accept their offer? Then what? It is difficult enough to enroll in the right courses at the top UCs, what happens with the overcrowding. The cost is buried in delayed graduation etc… What happens to housing? Does a double become a triple overnight?</p>
<p>The NY Times article appears in a lot of Sunday papers today.
[Admissions</a> staffs put to the test - The Denver Post](<a href=“http://www.denverpost.com/education/ci_11862453]Admissions”>http://www.denverpost.com/education/ci_11862453)
I think Kenyon is a good example of a college for which it will be hard to predict yield for this fall.</p>