Do you think our graduating seniors will have a normal college experience?

[Anonymous]

Spouse works at a top private college with a large endowment. They are just waiting to see what the next fed budget looks like to start making cuts. Expect some of the following:

--Cancellation/"Pauses" of all Phd programs
-- Getting rid entirely of less popular departments that can be deemed non-essential to the mission. I think any ethnicity or women's studies likely on the chopping block, but also some humanities departments with low enrollment
--End of anything DEI
--End of merit aid
--End of any non-essential spending on student services

Again this is a well funded school, so expect the same or worse elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as they're not hoping to engage in research while in college, should be fine.

Schools are going to over rotate on the humanities – history, English, philosophy and government — because that’s just where we are as a people. We need graduates with those skills to get us through the next few decades.

Software engineers and coders are not going to help get us out of this mess.

Wishful thinking.

It's all about tech and AI.

But with the humanities list you have, we'll need more lawyers, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spouse works at a top private college with a large endowment. They are just waiting to see what the next fed budget looks like to start making cuts. Expect some of the following:

--Cancellation/"Pauses" of all Phd programs
-- Getting rid entirely of less popular departments that can be deemed non-essential to the mission. I think any ethnicity or women's studies likely on the chopping block, but also some humanities departments with low enrollment
--End of anything DEI
--End of merit aid
--End of any non-essential spending on student services

Again this is a well funded school, so expect the same or worse elsewhere.

Adding that one of my family members is a trustee at another private discussed frequently on this board. Less research oriented, but also smaller endowment. I don't know details, but was told they are now having significant budget concerns due to Trump's proposed cuts.

I expect this is good news for full pay students but even so, there is going to be less on offer everywhere. I don't know how public schools are going to deal, but I would avoid state schools where the state is not well funded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spouse works at a top private college with a large endowment. They are just waiting to see what the next fed budget looks like to start making cuts. Expect some of the following:

--Cancellation/"Pauses" of all Phd programs
-- Getting rid entirely of less popular departments that can be deemed non-essential to the mission. I think any ethnicity or women's studies likely on the chopping block, but also some humanities departments with low enrollment
--End of anything DEI
--End of merit aid
--End of any non-essential spending on student services

Again this is a well funded school, so expect the same or worse elsewhere.

My DC is in at a mid-sized private schools with a decent merit aid package that is for 4 years assuming DC keeps up the grades. Would those be in danger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as they're not hoping to engage in research while in college, should be fine.

What does this mean? Why not research?

He's cutting all the funding and grants. Anything with the word "woman" or "female" or "diverse" or "environment" especially. I guess anything with the word "male" may survive as long as no "females" are studied or referenced in the same work. Nearly all NSF grants and other grants are frozen or "paused".

[Anonymous]

Trump is a tyrant who is halting educational development for our kids while simultaneously and intentionally starting a recession and global trade war.

He should be impeached so we can go back to functional government.

[Anonymous]

I have one graduating from high school and another from college in a few months. It hurts my heart that they’re taking steps into their young adult life in such a chaotic and cruel time. The kid starting college will be fine, he’s going to a place that’s really nice, left-leaning, thi he’s not a particularly political kid himself so I think he will bump along and be OK. The one graduating college has had to make some major pivots in her work plans, but she’s seeming to do that with a good attitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spouse works at a top private college with a large endowment. They are just waiting to see what the next fed budget looks like to start making cuts. Expect some of the following:

--Cancellation/"Pauses" of all Phd programs
-- Getting rid entirely of less popular departments that can be deemed non-essential to the mission. I think any ethnicity or women's studies likely on the chopping block, but also some humanities departments with low enrollment
--End of anything DEI
--End of merit aid
--End of any non-essential spending on student services

Again this is a well funded school, so expect the same or worse elsewhere.

My DC is in at a mid-sized private schools with a decent merit aid package that is for 4 years assuming DC keeps up the grades. Would those be in danger?

I think they might be. It all depends how big the cuts are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spouse works at a top private college with a large endowment. They are just waiting to see what the next fed budget looks like to start making cuts. Expect some of the following:

--Cancellation/"Pauses" of all Phd programs
-- Getting rid entirely of less popular departments that can be deemed non-essential to the mission. I think any ethnicity or women's studies likely on the chopping block, but also some humanities departments with low enrollment
--End of anything DEI
--End of merit aid
--End of any non-essential spending on student services

Again this is a well funded school, so expect the same or worse elsewhere.

My DC is in at a mid-sized private schools with a decent merit aid package that is for 4 years assuming DC keeps up the grades. Would those be in danger?

I would check with school. It's a form of financial aid so I would guess that if a school, for budgetary reasons, decided to cut back on it or rescind they could. Though, I would hope that would be a last resort. They might for example decrease aid from newer classes. But I suppose they could also raise tuition which would have the same effect as a reduction in merit.

[Anonymous]

Maybe American colleges will stop supporting all these athletic teams. It would be a welcome use of funds.

Maybe colleges will focus again on teaching and not research.

40 years ago many fewer students did research, or only in the last year of college. I think that will be the new course of action. Also MD students waste time on research and that too should be removed. Few doctors really engage in pure research today.

Still going to be tough going.

[Anonymous]

Assume an academic institution with scientific research and a hospital system — this is most of the top privates and state flagships. Here’s the Trump policies that might affect them:

Endowment Tax
Cuts to NIH, NSF, other agencies that fund research, such if Department of Education—fewer grants given
Cuts to NIH research overhead calculation
Cancellation of all research related to equity issues or the environment
Loss of non profit status for hospitals
Cuts to Medicaid reimbursements for hospital services

[Anonymous]

I worry about the anti-DEI orders and the effects. Not sure how deep this will go and how broadly it could impact our kids. Things like classes or clubs or organizations that could be deemed as DEI not being allowed anymore, for example Women’s studies, Women in Economics club, Black (or any ethnic group) Engineers, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trump is a tyrant who is halting educational development for our kids while simultaneously and intentionally starting a recession and global trade war.

He should be impeached so we can go back to functional government.

And then we are stuck with Vance. Arguably, he will be worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worry about the anti-DEI orders and the effects. Not sure how deep this will go and how broadly it could impact our kids. Things like classes or clubs or organizations that could be deemed as DEI not being allowed anymore, for example Women’s studies, Women in Economics club, Black (or any ethnic group) Engineers, etc.

All of these “studies programs” and professors will just become part of the history, literature, anthropology, or sociology departments as they always were before the special “group studies” programs emerged. Meaning they’ll just stay there and be a certain “track “but won’t be an official major.

In this way, history, political, science, English, anthropology, sociology majors will actually get larger because they will incorporate all of the smaller group studies programs.

Source: private T10 general counsel’s office

[Anonymous]

I am sending my kids abroad for college, so I don’t think any of this will affect them much.