Syracuse University issues financial warning as admissions slump: We’re in the red

[Anonymous]

Syracuse has fallen so far behind in the private college space. Georgetown used to be its basketball rival. Now even that has gone away. High stat students are going to go to BC, Northeastern, Villanova, Michigan, over Syracuse. You can't blame it all on location as Michigan isn't a top geographic destination for most people. But Syracuse's location is so bad that it hurts it. It should try to form some partnership with the SUNY's as that would be a win win for both.

[Anonymous]

People keep blaming the “demographic cliff” for enrollment declines, but schools in the SEC and other popular schools have had enrollment increases.

The schools that are being hurt are the too expensive for what they’re worth, like Elon and Syracuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Syracuse has fallen so far behind in the private college space. Georgetown used to be its basketball rival. Now even that has gone away. High stat students are going to go to BC, Northeastern, Villanova, Michigan, over Syracuse. You can't blame it all on location as Michigan isn't a top geographic destination for most people. But Syracuse's location is so bad that it hurts it. It should try to form some partnership with the SUNY's as that would be a win win for both.

Let's forget about rankings and propped up admission rates. Are the college outcomes of BC, Northeastern, and Villanova dramatically different than Syracuse? Michigan most likely yes, but the other colleges you listed here probably no.

[Anonymous]

I know two kids who will start at Syracuse this fall. Both were able to negotiate significant discounts on tuition within recent months.

The school is obviously scrambling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know two kids who will start at Syracuse this fall. Both were able to negotiate significant discounts on tuition within recent months.

The school is obviously scrambling.

Yeah, my DC knows of 2 kids from their school who are going. But one parent who we’re close with said it was like being at a used car lot, negotiating with the school on the merit aid. No thank you.

[Anonymous]

I believe it was one of the Marx Brothers who said "I don't want to be a member of a club that wants me as a member" or something similar...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Google tells me that Syracuse's discount rate is 45% -- that means (if I'm understanding correctly) that the average student pays only 55% of the 100Kish sticker price.

Wouldn't it be bold for Syracuse, or some other private, to slash cost of attendance, say, by 35%? I'm not sure how the math would math but I think a much lower initial sticker price would attract a lot of donut hole families/ make them competitive with the SEC schools. . . .

This. I would love to see more schools do this.

I think the issue is that incomes are very bimodal. A bunch of kids paying zero or close to it via financial aid and a bunch of kids paying very high rate to cover everything. There's also some merit on top of that-- I think they essentially try to figure out willingness-to-pay at charge whatever that is. That's why at some schools it's possible to negotiate financial aid.

So conceptually, I like this model. But I think the math doesn't math, as you say, because they still have the same # getting a full ride, and they don't have it compensated by the rich kids at the top who are price insensitive. But I suppose if enrollments go down far enough, the math might change.

I'm pretty sure Syracuse is a need-aware school, which means that they don't guarantee to separate admissions decisions from aid decisions, and can't guarantee to meet the full need of all accepted students. They have had a strong commitment to trying to meet demonstrated need, but if enrollment (and esp. full pay enrollment) is falling, they might need to be more creative about how much aid they offer and to whom it goes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know two kids who will start at Syracuse this fall. Both were able to negotiate significant discounts on tuition within recent months.

The school is obviously scrambling.

Yeah, my DC knows of 2 kids from their school who are going. But one parent who we’re close with said it was like being at a used car lot, negotiating with the school on the merit aid. No thank you.

This is a good thing. Tuitions are grossly overpriced across the board. Power is shifting back to the “customers.”

[Anonymous]

I love talking about population. I studied demography many many years ago at UC Berkeley. If you look at the data at many school districts, you can see steady decline in elementary school enrollment, on average. Colleges will be competing with a smaller and smaller pool of 18 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Google tells me that Syracuse's discount rate is 45% -- that means (if I'm understanding correctly) that the average student pays only 55% of the 100Kish sticker price.

Wouldn't it be bold for Syracuse, or some other private, to slash cost of attendance, say, by 35%? I'm not sure how the math would math but I think a much lower initial sticker price would attract a lot of donut hole families/ make them competitive with the SEC schools. . . .

This. I would love to see more schools do this.

I think the issue is that incomes are very bimodal. A bunch of kids paying zero or close to it via financial aid and a bunch of kids paying very high rate to cover everything. There's also some merit on top of that-- I think they essentially try to figure out willingness-to-pay at charge whatever that is. That's why at some schools it's possible to negotiate financial aid.

So conceptually, I like this model. But I think the math doesn't math, as you say, because they still have the same # getting a full ride, and they don't have it compensated by the rich kids at the top who are price insensitive. But I suppose if enrollments go down far enough, the math might change.

I'm pretty sure Syracuse is a need-aware school, which means that they don't guarantee to separate admissions decisions from aid decisions, and can't guarantee to meet the full need of all accepted students. They have had a strong commitment to trying to meet demonstrated need, but if enrollment (and esp. full pay enrollment) is falling, they might need to be more creative about how much aid they offer and to whom it goes.

I know two kids from objectively affluent families who can easily afford to pay full tuition, and both were able to negotiate a ton of merit aid far beyond what was initially offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Google tells me that Syracuse's discount rate is 45% -- that means (if I'm understanding correctly) that the average student pays only 55% of the 100Kish sticker price.

Wouldn't it be bold for Syracuse, or some other private, to slash cost of attendance, say, by 35%? I'm not sure how the math would math but I think a much lower initial sticker price would attract a lot of donut hole families/ make them competitive with the SEC schools. . . .

This. I would love to see more schools do this.

I think the issue is that incomes are very bimodal. A bunch of kids paying zero or close to it via financial aid and a bunch of kids paying very high rate to cover everything. There's also some merit on top of that-- I think they essentially try to figure out willingness-to-pay at charge whatever that is. That's why at some schools it's possible to negotiate financial aid.

So conceptually, I like this model. But I think the math doesn't math, as you say, because they still have the same # getting a full ride, and they don't have it compensated by the rich kids at the top who are price insensitive. But I suppose if enrollments go down far enough, the math might change.

I'm pretty sure Syracuse is a need-aware school, which means that they don't guarantee to separate admissions decisions from aid decisions, and can't guarantee to meet the full need of all accepted students. They have had a strong commitment to trying to meet demonstrated need, but if enrollment (and esp. full pay enrollment) is falling, they might need to be more creative about how much aid they offer and to whom it goes.

I know two kids from objectively affluent families who can easily afford to pay full tuition, and both were able to negotiate a ton of merit aid far beyond what was initially offered.

Real numbers please. Not “far beyond” or whatever. How much exactly off the 97k COA?

From what I could tell, the ones who said they got it at a bargain are embarrassed to tell you exactly how much they are still very full pay.

[Anonymous]

How bad is the weather in Syracuse?

[Anonymous]

Weather is northern weather. School is great. Lots of excellent opportunities for the students. My son is a rising junior in Whitman who has excellent internships lined up for this year and next which are comparable to the best internships from an Ivy League School (IB with a bulge branch bank) He got them through his own merit. It’s all good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Syracuse University's competition are the SUNY's, UConn, UMass, Rutgers, etc. Why anyone would choose to pay $95,000 a year to there over these other schools is a mystery? Maybe if wanted sports broadcasting or something similar for Newhouse?

Syracuse is ranked <<< compared to Rutgers though the college experience may be better because Rutgers campus sucks.

Sorry but Rutgers isn't remotely as good as Syracuse. Keep dreaming.

Rutgers ranked 42
Syracuse ranked 75

And UC Merced is tied with George Washington. We’re really going to give credit to these new goofy rankings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Syracuse University's competition are the SUNY's, UConn, UMass, Rutgers, etc. Why anyone would choose to pay $95,000 a year to there over these other schools is a mystery? Maybe if wanted sports broadcasting or something similar for Newhouse?

Syracuse is ranked <<< compared to Rutgers though the college experience may be better because Rutgers campus sucks.

Sorry but Rutgers isn't remotely as good as Syracuse. Keep dreaming.

Rutgers ranked 42
Syracuse ranked 75

And UC Merced is tied with George Washington. We’re really going to give credit to these new goofy rankings?

UC Merced is ranked ahead of Syracuse. UC Merced is also cheaper for OOS and has better weather. If you can look past the 90% acceptance rate, 10% yield rate and average SAT below 1100, it would be a good fit for a student who is Syracuse-quality.