Economy Kicks Out College Students

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Economy sends students back home to college
Feeling the pinch, more high school seniors opt to forgo 'dream schools'
updated 4:45 p.m. ET, Thurs., June 25, 2009
SEATTLE - A few months ago, Rebecca Gottlieb faced a difficult choice: continue on at her $50,000-a-year private school in Massachusetts, or leave her new friends and life and enroll at a cheaper school near home in Washington.
Gottlieb, 19, decided to transfer, dumping Tufts University for Western Washington University and joining the growing numbers of college students realizing that attending their dream school was no longer financially sustainable.
"My parents set up a college fund for me when I was little," the 19-year-old from Bainbridge Island said. "One year there almost drained it."
For many transfers, the financial burden dawned on them after several years. The poor economy and high tuition has already filtered down to high school seniors. A recent survey showed that many don't want to make the same mistake as their old counterparts — they're forgoing costly schools now.
When she starts classes in the fall at Western's campus overlooking Bellingham Bay, Gottlieb will be paying about $15,000 a year and be in the company of plenty of other transfers.
Public university transfers on the rise
The public college had an unusually large number of transfer applications this year, said admissions director Karen Copetas. The school saw a 28.5 percent increase in the number of students who wanted to move from another four-year school.
Copetas said the students gave many reasons for their decision, but money came up repeatedly. She said they are being cost-conscious consumers and wondering if it's necessary to spend so much money on an undergraduate education when expensive graduate school may be in the future.
Admissions directors at public universities around the country are reporting bumps in transfer applications, said Barmak Nassirian, a spokesman for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
Indiana University has seen a 23 percent increase in transfer applications for next fall; the University of North Carolina had a 15.3 percent increase; and the University of California system saw an 11 percent increase in transfers of in-state students.
Giving 'safety' schools a chance
Graduating high schoolers are determined to avoid having to transfer due to money. A National Association for College Admission Counseling survey released this month showed 71 percent of high schools reported that more of their students are forgoing their "dream schools" than in previous years.
Gottlieb's parents told her they'd find a way to pay for her top choice — even after nearly draining her college fund — if she decided to stay. Thinking of majoring in environmental science, she knew Western had a good program and decided to give her safety school another chance.
"It was completely my choice. They said whatever I did, we'd find a way to make it work," said Gottlieb, whose father is a municipal bond lawyer.
Unjy Park of Tacoma had a scholarship and a federal grant, but was still struggling to pay a $10,000 bill at Philadelphia University this past year.
Her South Korean immigrant parents tried to help, but their drywall business had gone from extremely busy to almost nonexistent in the past two years. With plans for medical school, Park was also concerned about collecting too many student loans.
"I kept getting more and more worried about it," she said.
So Park, 19, the first person in her family to go to college, decided to transfer to Western Washington University.
Park was pragmatic about her decision, noting that Western has the major she wants to pursue as an undergraduate — a dual anthropology and biology degree. With her federal Pell Grant and financial aid from the state, her out-of-pocket college costs will be considerably lower next year....

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[emmanuel43]

You can create wealth without a college degree

[veemon]

@Rockynurse it's not like anyone is taught to think critically in college anyway...

[1XMarksSpot]

Ron Paul 2012! The only honest and constitutional presidential candidate! Research his consistent voting record and decide for yourself.

Ron Paul 2012!

[LetsgetphysicalAg]

Oh by the way good luck on the NFL draft! GO TO CAROLINA PANTHERS and kick that team in gear! LOL!!! Take care my man!

[LetsgetphysicalAg]

I got tons of money for my college education....It would pay for my college and books and with my change check, I would invest it in silver bullion....The silver I bought is worth more than the money I owe for college...So when I graduate, my silver will pay all my loans and send me on a nice vacation to party! Gotta stack in silver!!

College should lower their tuition..Its no wonder why no kids want to go to school after high school! Japan is kicking our ass in school because of this reason!

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

Congrats on graduating. I know this is old, so this info is probably old already but from what I do understand about the situation, loan money was so easily accessible that Colleges didn't really feel the need to lower tuition. The easier loans/credit hit these various sectors, the higher the prices tend to rise. An economics major can better explain what happens when too many dollars are chasing too few goods!

[prettylyricsmarie]

colleges can't survive with the high tuition, they need to charge the high tuition to keep the college afloat. this is what colleges would say. the bad economic situation has been building up for a while. economics is against being indigenous, natural human being. so economics/the world of business doesn't make much sense, yet people back it and support it. in times to come it will be people surviving over which jobs are left, regardless of a college degree or not.

[ikeashiasanders29]

College is all about money in todays society if your not going for MEDICINE, LAWYER....anything else is a waste of time

[jcs0009]

I think colleges should show their highly paid faculty the door to save money for the poor athletes like you who get free rides for playing games. And further that states should stop funding wasteful sports and athletics programs which only serve to denigrate other less athletic smarter students and spend the saved money educating students in the university level.

[Rockynurse]

@armarjaleo

Public not for profit schools are not businesses. University of Phoenix and Kaplan are publicly traded businesses so they have a profit motive. If this was a state university then the school has no motive to force you into more remedial classes. If anything it hurts them since they have to pay more $. The tuition students pay is a fraction of the actual cost of their education in most states.