District Administration - November 2008 - (Page 50)

Simplifying College Admissions tricts in different economic, demographic and cultural settings. But when it comes down to it, it is safe to say that parents typically want the best for their children, even if they don’t know much about college or how to get there. Parents recognize that further education is essential for their children’s future security. Schools can play an important role in educating whole families and communities about the importance of learning and postsecondary education. They can then provide the tools to help students get there. Among families who have long considered college an integral part of raising their children, or families where parents didn’t attend college but believe in the benefits of a college education leading to a better life for their children, there has been some wishful thinking going on of late. It starts with an acknowledgment of a few trends: the growing number of high school graduates and the rising cost of a college education. The number of high school graduates has increased from 2.5 million in 1996 to 3.3 million in 2008, according to the College Board and the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. Over the next 15 years, the number is predicted to stay between 3 and 3.5 million. “We understand that this is the toughest admissions year for seniors applying to college, but then it’s going to get easier, right?” such families will ask us. (Parents and students are asking their counselors and high schools the same question.) Unfortunately, we must disagree. More Applicants Primary among the key trends that school districts must understand is the huge increase in the numbers not only of high school graduates but also of college applicants and attendees. You certainly are aware of the demographics of bigger class enrollments in your own school systems, although there are variations from state to state, region to region, and even within states. The “bubble” moving through many school systems is evident at 50 November 2008 various age levels currently, but our view of the numbers nationally is that there is not going to be a precipitous drop in high school graduates, and thus college applicants, anytime soon. The numbers will plateau over the next few years but will not decrease to the lows experienced during the early 1980s. There will be a diversification of the college applicant pool, with so-called nontraditional applicants, students of color, and first-generation college appli- knowledge-based economy of the future. For those who haven’t read Thomas Friedman’s most recent edition of The World Is Flat, we encourage you to tackle its section on education and the competition our young people will face as they move into the global working world. In sum, we have seen in the last several years the largest high school graduating classes in U.S. history, with the highest percentages of those applying to college. Selective colleges and universities, and not “We understand that this is the toughest admissions year for seniors applying to college, but then it’s going to get easier, right?” such families will ask. Unfortunately, we disagree. —Matthew and Howard Greene cants becoming a larger percentage of the college pool. Yet the aggressive marketing and enrollment management efforts begun by the colleges to counter lower applicant pools two decades ago have not only not abated, but they have increased and intensified, magnified by the explosion of the Internet. Selective colleges will continue to strive for a national applicant pool to counteract the tendency of most high school students to attend college within a few hundred miles of home. Public universities will continue to ramp up requirements in order to reduce campus growth while enrolling those interested and qualified from within their state, and from other states and abroad. International Students Interest in U.S. colleges and universities among international students will continue to grow. More international students, especially from India and China and other developing countrie—with their growing numbers of students able to afford an American education—will apply. These students will be qualified and focused, challenging the best and brightest, let alone the average American high school graduate. And that graduate will need the advantages of a higher educational degree in the increasingly just at the most competitive level, are seeing record numbers of applications, with institutions such as Boston University, UCLA, USC, or Yale receiving 20,000 to 50,000 applications for 1,500 to 4,500 freshman spaces! The marketing will continue, as will the need and desire to attend a four-year college or university, so high school seniors will continue to face more uncertainty, more unpredictability and more pressure. At the same time, a growing proportion of students will start their college education at a less selective and lower-cost two-year college—a real gateway to higher education. Higher Costs The other big trend is the increasing cost of a public or private education. Unfortunately, college cost increases have far outpaced the rate of inflation, and today the cost of a public or private university education comprises a much higher proportion of a family’s income. The share of an average four-year degree covered by the need-based Pell Grant program has decreased markedly. Student loan debt has ballooned, with the average debt of a four-year degree recipient climbing above $20,000. Apocryphal stories abound of students (and parents) borrowing $50,000, $80,000, $100,000 or more to pay for District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - November 2008

District Administration - November 2008
School Breakfasts: An Added Value
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
1-2-3 Campus Safety
News Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Snacks as Part of Your School Nutrition Program
Technology
Facilities & Construction
Admissions
DA Web Seminars
Leadership Assessment
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Technology Books
Professional Opinion
Supervisor’s Opinion
Crisis Response
Problem Solution
Research Center

District Administration - November 2008