Of course, NONE of THIS applies to the RICH ELITE!!!!
"More-affordable colleges on student, parent minds" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | October 21, 2008
ARLINGTON - One of Tom Woodbury's sisters went to Vanderbilt University, the other to Boston College. But they didn't choose those pricey private colleges during a financial market meltdown that took a sizeable chunk of the family's college savings.
So the younger Woodbury, a senior at Arlington High School, is leaning toward the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, which costs less than half as much as many of its private counterparts. The more the Dow Jones industrial average declines, the more the state's flagship university seems to come up in conversation, he said.
"I've been hearing 'UMass, UMass' around the house for a while now," he said dryly, after attending a UMass recruiting visit Thursday afternoon with 30 classmates. "I'm getting the hint."
Cost, always a major factor in choosing a college, has taken on paramount importance this fall as high school seniors decide where to apply. Many parents, gun-shy over plummeting retirement funds and home values, are recoiling at the prospect of a high-priced college, and urging their children toward more affordable alternatives in what higher education specialists refer to as a "flight to price."
They predict public universities will see a surge in interest, while some pricier private colleges, especially those with relatively small endowments and modest financial aid budgets, will receive fewer applications. Just as parents have watched in horror as their investments went up in smoke, colleges have seen their endowments decline. Their losses could limit their financial aid budgets at a time when demand for reduced tuition will probably escalate.
Well, here are a couple "endowments" that are not hurting:
"As families suffer through the meltdown, so are the schools," said Stephen Michaud, a college consultant in Norwell. "It's definitely going to have an impact on what schools can provide in financial aid." Michaud, who advises one family whose six-figure college fund lost 65 percent in one week, said parents are taking a keen interest in the University of Massachusetts system and the state's public colleges, which cost an average of $6,400 a year. Enrollment at state public colleges rose sharply this fall, an increase that administrators attributed to the slumping economy.
The projected rise in families seeking financial aid is not expected to have a major effect at the wealthiest schools, such as Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, and Wellesley, which admit students without considering their ability to pay and meet families' full demonstrated need.
Nope, the RICHER ELITE just float above all the pain and PROFIT at the SAME TIME!!!!
But the vast majority of colleges, from small schools such as Simmons to large universities like Northeastern, lack such resources and must carefully consider finances as they assemble their incoming class. Some educators fear that a sustained economic downturn will make colleges, particularly smaller schools that depend heavily on tuition, more dependent on students who can pay full freight, and less able to meet full financial need. --more--"
Yup, but we got TRILLIONS for WARS, WAR-LOOTERS, and BANKS!!!!!!
But we LUUUVVV our KIDS so much!!!!
