Choices

The Responsibility of Choice

This spring, like every spring, after years of struggle, high school seniors will finally experience acceptance in the form of an electronic letter or alert in an applicant portal offering admissions to this or that college. Once the initial elation fades, families begin deliberations in earnest to make a final selection by the May 1 national college enrollment deadline.* Essentially,…

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Chart: Tuition Discounts for all undergraduates, 2019-2020 academic year, NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study

College Tuition Discounts To Continue

Private universities discounted tuition in the form of merit scholarships and grants nearly 50% on average in the 2019-20 school year. Furthermore, tuition discounts for the 2020-21 school are forecasted to be 52.6% for full time, first year students, according to data from National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). And, in the current COVID-induced disruption of higher…

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Is Sentiment the Cost Now that Freedom Has Been Lost?

The Modern College, a place where students guided by mentors, supported by peers, experiment with adult responsibilities, free to discover their life’s purpose, only impersonates its Pre-COVID self.  To mitigate health risks of the pandemic, in March and again in Fall 2020, university administrators are restricting students’ freedoms, for which they believe they must, yet, in doing so, their actions…

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College Blues

As the 2020-21 school year dawns, with the United States mired in the global COVID-19 health emergency with no signs of abating, given vaccines or treatment protocols have yet to materialize, university administrators are scrambling to effectively respond, if even possible, in an increasingly political environment. In the heat of the epic man versus nature battle for dominance, what is…

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Students Balk, Lawyers Talk

Currently, students at 25 different universities are suing for fees and tuition refunds. Students’ sentiments can generally be summized in the language of the Cornell students’ lawsuit:  Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique. The remote learning options are in no way the equivalent of the in-person education the Plaintiff and…

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“I feel a change coming on…”

University enrollment has annually grown, despite four digit percent increases in the costs of college over the last three decades, seemingly making an inelastic demand for college eduation. Yet, for the 2020-21 school year, for the first time, there may be a a shift in the supply/demand equation given the changes in the recruitment for the newest class of students,…

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College Waitlist Leverage

Ahead of the traditional, widely accepted national enrollment deadline of May 1 for first year college students, although some colleges have extended the enrollment deadline to June 1 due to the COVID-19 health crisis, college admissions officers are already extending offers of admissions to waitlist candidates. I contacted two different admissions officers on the West Coast and another in the…

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Is COVID-19 Affecting Admissions Rates?

Below is a comparison of the admissions rates between Fall 2019 and 2020 at a sampling of the most selective universities, ranked from lowest difference to highest: COLLEGE NAME FALL 2019 ADMIT RATE FALL 2020 ADMIT RATE DIFFERENCE Brown University 7.1% 6.9% -0.2% Princeton University 5.8% 5.6% -0.2% Northwestern University 8.9% 9% +0.1% Duke University 8.8% 9.06% +0.26% Harvard University…

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Extended Enrollment Deadlines For Incoming First Year College Students

May 1 is traditionally the national college enrollment deadline for newly admitted first year students. However, given the widespread closures of college campuses and economic uncertainty possibly affecting students’ confidence to enroll in college, many college admissions officers have extended their enrollment deadline to June 1. The following is a list compiled by ACCEPT: Admissions Community Cultivating Equity & Peace…

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Leaving the nest

About the Author: Joe is a member of the Creative Marbles Consultancy and the Hubbubbaloo Creative team. He shares his experience transitioning into his first year of college away from home.   Sacramento was my bubble, it was all I really knew.  My life was school, having fun with friends, and large Filipino family functions—a weekly ritual that involved eating, gabbing,…

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