Reply to Jeff Selingo on people skipping "target schools"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My older child went to a lower-ranked SLAC with a lot of merit after the higher-ranked SLACs did not offer any. Now that it is my next child's turn, we are skipping over a lot of target SLACs because I knew they will not offer any money. There was no use getting hopes up or wasting valuable time applying. They also applied to a lot more state schools than their older sibling. I just don't think those second-tier SLACs are worth the full-pay cost when there are lots of great SLACs offering merit.[/quote]

I feel like a lot of 3rd tier and below SLACs...the whole "merit" aid is BS.  Basically, they quote a rack rate and give literally everybody merit aid.  For some reason, they still want to keep that rack rate high.

I guess, if you are fine skipping over 1st tier and 2nd tier SLACs...why not just pick a Bridgewater College that decided to drop their tuition by 60% because they were literally giving everyone a 60% discount anyway.[/quote]

There are many top-50 LACs that do this -- give $20k-30k in merit aid to everyone who doesn't qualify for need-based aid.  I wouldn't consider those third-tier.  [/quote]

OK...so it isn't really "merit" aid.  It's they don't want to reduce tuition and I guess make everyone feel like they are special.[/quote]

Well, it's "merit aid" in that these schools are selective and only give it to those whom they deem worthy of admission.  But regardless, it still means that for those kids who won't get financial aid, these top-50 SLACs are much less expensive than the SLACs that offer no merit aid.  You don't have to go to the "third tier" to get this benefit.  [/quote]

Colleges are slowly admitting that their tuition costs have so far outstripped inflation they're not sustainable. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that lowering the tuition costs even lets them all break even, but I guess high interest rates have helped a few endowments lately.

The gravy train that was free loans for kids stopped over ten years ago. That was part of what ran costs up in the first place, and low interest rates kept debt cheap enough to have it toddle along a bit longer.

Now we've got an economically polarized country and a pinched "middle" class, by which I mean us low six-figure wage earners, many of whom are still paying off our own student loans--never mind taking on more PLUS loans for our kids.

People are fleeing to state schools... except state schools aren't that cheap. My friend is looking at 55k coa for one--and that's with merit. Maryland schools are at 30K coa. And what are you getting with a state school? Slashed budgets, slashed programs, humanities programs gone because they're not profitable, budgets and programs weighted entirely to STEM and sports... I'm really not sure how many people you all think it takes to build or fix a robot, but I suspect it's not very many.

There's a pretty easy predictor that works for real estate, financial markets, life: when everyone is rushing off a cliff chasing the Big Shiny Thing, you've passed peak bubble.

Pursue something else.

Hypothetically, let's consider: what do you think will happen if Trump (and/or GOP) win next election? What if they have 4-8 years? Do you think any of these "government indoctrination centers" (aka state schools) are going to survive with any semblance of what they are now? Looks what's happened in Florida, West Virginia, New Hampshire already. And look what's happening now, even at the ivies, where groupthink seems to rule the day.

The SLACs are going to make it through this, I think. They offer individualized attention, a solid general education. They teach rhetoric and writing and history. A lot of you could stand to learn something about history.

The price adjustment is coming for all schools, be it as merit or as a tuition cut. I think we're over the arms race of new gyms and visitor centers and Dubai campuses. I am optimistic we can return to something that colleges are supposed to be for: educating well-rounded, civic adults. [/quote]

"what are you getting with a state school? Slashed budgets, slashed programs, humanities programs gone because they're not profitable, budgets and programs weighted entirely to STEM and sports... I'm really not sure how many people you all think it takes to build or fix a robot, but I suspect it's not very many."

There are too many humanities programs. Teaching humanities is a jobs programs for humanities PhDs, who have been massively overproduced for decades. But, on the second point, I'm in a STEM company and I can assure you the outlook is very very strong.

"when everyone is rushing off a cliff chasing the Big Shiny Thing, you've passed peak bubble. Pursue something else."

OK so you're one of these people who advises kids to become plumbers or electricians instead of going to college? If not, what is the "something else"?

"The SLACs are going to make it through this, I think. They offer individualized attention, a solid general education. They teach rhetoric and writing and history. A lot of you could stand to learn something about history."

You can get a solid general education at a much cheaper state school. Yes, with writing and history. The market for SLACs that do the same thing as public universities for twice the price is going to collapse for anything below a T20 school. And what is that solid general education going to lead to again?

"what do you think will happen if Trump (and/or GOP) win next election? What if they have 4-8 years?"

What did Trump do to undermine or starve the university system from 2017-2020? Nothing that I can recall. What can he even do?
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