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

[Anonymous]

^sure lol!

[Anonymous]

Is Syracuse a good school? Before the financial information came out, I was surprised that two kids from my son's school were going there. A couple friends and I were talking about it and we both said oh that's weird. Maybe they're not as intelligent as we thought. For me, Syracuse has always been a middle of the road school for average people except for their communications department. This could be a bias from when I was applying to schools, but it's the same impression other people in my circle have. Have I missed anything?

[Anonymous]

The only person I know that went to Syracuse became a social worker with massive amounts of debt. In no way, shape or form was her degree worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only person I know that went to Syracuse became a social worker with massive amounts of debt. In no way, shape or form was her degree worth it.

This isn't a Syracuse issue, this is a student issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only person I know that went to Syracuse became a social worker with massive amounts of debt. In no way, shape or form was her degree worth it.

This isn't a Syracuse issue, this is a student issue.

This. Anyone choosing social work after accruing significant debt is making a poor choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the significant drop in applications at Colgate, Middlebury, Bucknell. URochester, St, Lawrence, Kenyon, Oberlin, Hobart all struggle to fill enrollment targets. Moderate and Conservative kids/families don’t want that vibe at $100k for a meaningless degree from Northeast and Midwest Podunk locations. The facts are clear loads and loads of kids from high income families don’t need Syracuse and the others. Look at car decals on $100k luxury cars in most wealthy suburbs as long as the town is super lefty. Those folks aren’t going to Bama or Ole Miss.

Significant drop in applications? Bucknell had a high of 11,707 applications for the Class of 2026. I haven't seen numbers for the class of 2030 yet, but last year they had 11,561 applications. That's a decline of 1.2%. Hardly significant. Similarly, Middlebury had 11,831 applications for the class of 2029 and 11,458 for the class of 2030. That's a 3.2% decline year-over-year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the significant drop in applications at Colgate, Middlebury, Bucknell. URochester, St, Lawrence, Kenyon, Oberlin, Hobart all struggle to fill enrollment targets. Moderate and Conservative kids/families don’t want that vibe at $100k for a meaningless degree from Northeast and Midwest Podunk locations. The facts are clear loads and loads of kids from high income families don’t need Syracuse and the others. Look at car decals on $100k luxury cars in most wealthy suburbs as long as the town is super lefty. Those folks aren’t going to Bama or Ole Miss.

Significant drop in applications? Bucknell had a high of 11,707 applications for the Class of 2026. I haven't seen numbers for the class of 2030 yet, but last year they had 11,561 applications. That's a decline of 1.2%. Hardly significant. Similarly, Middlebury had 11,831 applications for the class of 2029 and 11,458 for the class of 2030. That's a 3.2% decline year-over-year.

It isn't just the number of applications, it's the quality also. If a college's reputation is slipping, fewer higher achieving students apply. Those who used to look at the college as unobtainable now start applying. It's a vicious cycle and one that Syracuse seems to be caught up in. For the lower rated SLACs, they need to avoid that fate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is sad to me that rather than just pointing out difficulties that Syracuse is facing as points of fact, some people seem to get tremendous pleasure in disclosing these and/or insulting Syracuse. Why be so childish and nasty? What did Syracuse do to you? Grow up. So sad.

I believe the fair minded believe Syracuse is a fine school. It will have to reshape itself due to market conditions.

One could guess that it becomes smaller and focused in certain academic disciplines. Not a negative except for faculty and employees.

Athletics will be a challenge. It has been a front door to the school. I am not sure how they will navigate through it all without generating lots of media revenue and success from football. It is a shame. Big East basketball in the 80’s was one of the best college entertainment offerings ever, and transitioning to a new reality is not easy. One can put too much emphasis on sports but Suracuse alums have real loyalty to their teams.

[Anonymous]

Syracuse students since 2010 haven't experienced that sports enthusiasm. Remember when Syracuse and Georgetown playing was a huge event? Now it's an afterthought. For a non selective private school keeping alumni engaged is a big deal. Look at how SMU keeps growing in popularity.

[Anonymous]

All it takes in college sports is one good coaching hire to begin a turn around. Has everyone forgotten about Indiana and Curt Cignetti already?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the significant drop in applications at Colgate, Middlebury, Bucknell. URochester, St, Lawrence, Kenyon, Oberlin, Hobart all struggle to fill enrollment targets. Moderate and Conservative kids/families don’t want that vibe at $100k for a meaningless degree from Northeast and Midwest Podunk locations. The facts are clear loads and loads of kids from high income families don’t need Syracuse and the others. Look at car decals on $100k luxury cars in most wealthy suburbs as long as the town is super lefty. Those folks aren’t going to Bama or Ole Miss.

Significant drop in applications? Bucknell had a high of 11,707 applications for the Class of 2026. I haven't seen numbers for the class of 2030 yet, but last year they had 11,561 applications. That's a decline of 1.2%. Hardly significant. Similarly, Middlebury had 11,831 applications for the class of 2029 and 11,458 for the class of 2030. That's a 3.2% decline year-over-year.

It isn't just the number of applications, it's the quality also. If a college's reputation is slipping, fewer higher achieving students apply. Those who used to look at the college as unobtainable now start applying. It's a vicious cycle and one that Syracuse seems to be caught up in. For the lower rated SLACs, they need to avoid that fate.

Love to see something to back that up. What have you got?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only person I know that went to Syracuse became a social worker with massive amounts of debt. In no way, shape or form was her degree worth it.

What a ridiculous take. Someone you know got a degree in social work from a private university and graduated with debt? You don't say!
I graduated from Syracuse and have had a very long and successful career, both because of my degree and because of the amazing alumni base. Every single one of my friends who graduated from Syracuse is incredibly successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only person I know that went to Syracuse became a social worker with massive amounts of debt. In no way, shape or form was her degree worth it.

This isn't a Syracuse issue, this is a student issue.

+100

[Anonymous]

While it's easy to suggest that Syracuse's slide could be arrested by cutting tuition 40%, do you realize how tuition-dependent Syracuse is?

The first thing they need to do is accept as many full pay students as possible. They are in the same predicament that UVM is in- but they have the chance to be more nimble than UVM. They are fighting for the same type of student- B average with an SAT around 1200. This won't cure the underlying issues but it would give the college some breathing space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All it takes in college sports is one good coaching hire to begin a turn around. Has everyone forgotten about Indiana and Curt Cignetti already?

Well, what it really takes is money to attract the Curt Cignetti-types and their players. While Syracuse has a large alumni base, there have not been Mark Cuban / Phil Knight / Texas oil at TAMU -types to infuse money, and therefore credibility, into the program.

I agree with the previous post. Sports isn’t the full answer, but it’s part of the solution (along with “right sizing” the school, administration and faculty).

I also think Syracuse is getting too cute by half on yield management. I know two kids (obviously, anecdotal) who would have seriously considered Syracuse and unquestionably had the grades/scores, but were waitlisted. One got in off the waitlist but had already committed to a peer school, the other, oddly, never got off the list despite a 3.8 UW GPA and a 34 ACT.