<p>How do you think the financial crisis will affect class 2013? Since school fund melt a lots recently, do schools consider to reduce the size of class 2013 or change financial aid policy?</p>
<p>I''m wondering if kids will be more selective in where they apply. Maybe the less expensive colleges will get more applications?</p>
<p>At the risk of oversimplifying, my little brain has concluded that less-expensive in-state publics will be inundated with apps while more expensive privates will see fewer. The result will be lower acceptance rates at the publics and higher acceptances at the others.</p>
<p>$.02</p>
<p>There will be even more frustrated students and families than in the past. More students will be holding acceptances and will not be able to pay to attend. I agree wiht DougBetsey's $.02. IMO, publics will be busting at the seams with students. There will be more triplets in the dorms, and 101 classes will be as large as is possible IMO.</p>
<p>A new definition of safety for the next crop of applicants should or must include a low cost affordable best choice public state university. And there should be at least three on the list.</p>
<p>Let's not forget that an amazing amount of global wealth has been created in the last 2 decades. While people are letting go of their yachts and homes in the Hamptons, they will still be able to, and want to, pay for the very best colleges. My guess is that we will not see lower applications or matriculation at top schools. The 50% that were paying full sticker price will continue to.</p>
<p>The schools that do not offer decent aid to the solidly middle class will see a decline in matriculation in that population, the ones some top schools just made a comittment to include.</p>
<p>i think students will apply to fewer schools...</p>
<p>I think that fewer families will decide to pay $50K per year for each year's worth of college expenses.</p>
<p>I think that applications and matriculation at the ivys/top few schools will remain the same and thus won't get less competitive due to the economy. At least 50%, if not more, of the students there don't need any financial aid (or very minimal aid) and their families aren't really stretching to send them there. As for regular middle class families, at least for now - on the assumption that this is a "short term" downturn, I think they'll still try to do whatever they can to send their kids if their kids can manage to make it into an ivy, MIT, Stanford etc, even if it means loans at higher rates.</p>
<p>I think the schools that will see fewer apps and thus less competition will be the "regular" private universities. I think families will start to question the value of taking out substantial loans for BU, Pepperdine, Emory, etc if they have a good in-state school; nothing against any of those schools but they are expensive and I think people will look for alternatives. Generally, I think students will look a bit closer to home, whether it's in-state/neighboring state publics or privates. Air travel is a significant expense, as is retail shopping, when you have to fly to school with a few suitcases and pretty much buy most of your dorm supplies there at regular or even marked up prices. </p>
<p>The whole situation is unfortunate. I graduated relatively recently and all of my classmates benefited from having peers from every background - from the kids of the wealthiest real estate moguls in the world to the sons of Nebraska farmers to every imagineable upbringing in between. If this continues over time, it'll once again become one of those situations where elite educations will be reserved for wealthy families.</p>
<p>Dunno. Depends on how long the depression lasts.</p>
<p>In a word, yes. It will affect where students apply--a lot more applications to "financial safeties," lower-cost in-state publics (and a few OOS publics that have low OOS tuition) as well as privates that give merit aid. Probably more apps than ever to HYP and other blue chip schools that offer grants-only financial aid and promise to meet 100% of need. On the colleges' side, a lot more unpredictability on yield as families shop around harder than ever for the best FA package---or more accurately, the lowest net COA (after grants and scholarships). Especially hard-hit will be expensive second- and third-tier privates that don't offer merit aid and can't afford to meet all or most of demonstrated need with grants.</p>
<p>I think that parents will feel less comfortable with taking on lots of loans to finance college, especially since they can't feel secure about their jobs. There is a section of the middle class who is paying $50K a year in college costs at uber-selective schools at least partly through loans. Those people on the bubble could well decide that the risk isn't worth it and those kids will end up saying no to even "very prestigious" colleges when May 1 comes.</p>
<p>ellemenope, I agree with you. Also, some parents have been borrowing against their homes and that option will likely not be available to many families.</p>