Anonymous wrote:The Wall Street Journal wrote about this.
Prestige hunting, the top colleges are getting stronger and the weaker ones are getting weaker. UVM is in that gray middle area.

The Small Private Colleges Dying in a Winner-Take-All University Marketplace
Big-name campuses turn away students while hundreds of lesser-known schools struggle to fill seats


https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/college-tuition-loans-budget-cuts-7d0ea05f

Gift article anyone? Would like to read this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For context, the Boston Globe took early note of the challenges facing Vermont colleges in a 2019 article, "Higher education struggles are hitting Vermont hard."

Since that time, seven Vermont colleges have closed and Middlebury has run a string of annual budget deficits.

The demographic cliff is slamming small states like Vermont harder, plus schools like UMASS and UCONN are not only cheaper but more highly ranked. There just aren't many good reasons to pick UVM over those schools.

There are reasons for some kids to choose UVM. World class skiing a half hour away, an outdoorsy culture, walking distance to Burlington, airport close, and manageable campus size. Umass and UConn feel much larger and are pretty remote. Burlington has its issues, but it’s still a nice place for a group of kids to sneak off campus and get a weekend meal, or do some window shopping.

I don’t know the nuts and bolts of the rankings but I would think Uvm gets punished for the demographics of the state and their oos kids are not first gen. It’s still a great undergraduate experience.

The investment in the athletic center is a good idea. Basketball draws kids to UConn. College hockey is growing and if uvm could be competitive in that it will draw kids, along with basketball.

The Wall Street Journal wrote about this.
Prestige hunting, the top colleges are getting stronger and the weaker ones are getting weaker. UVM is in that gray middle area.

The Small Private Colleges Dying in a Winner-Take-All University Marketplace
Big-name campuses turn away students while hundreds of lesser-known schools struggle to fill seats


https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/college-tuition-loans-budget-cuts-7d0ea05f

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For context, the Boston Globe took early note of the challenges facing Vermont colleges in a 2019 article, "Higher education struggles are hitting Vermont hard."

Since that time, seven Vermont colleges have closed and Middlebury has run a string of annual budget deficits.

The demographic cliff is slamming small states like Vermont harder, plus schools like UMASS and UCONN are not only cheaper but more highly ranked. There just aren't many good reasons to pick UVM over those schools.

Anonymous wrote:For context, the Boston Globe took early note of the challenges facing Vermont colleges in a 2019 article, "Higher education struggles are hitting Vermont hard."

Since that time, seven Vermont colleges have closed and Middlebury has run a string of annual budget deficits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVM's President is delusional. Talk about a lack of accountability. She blames the plummeting enrollment numbers on the demographic cliff and losing out on international students because of visa concerns who enroll at presumably stronger colleges in the US.

In a normal year guess how many freshman students UVM enrolls who are international?

About 45! (out of almost 2800 students)

When your acceptance rate is over 70%, your yield is 15% and you rely on 80% OOS students paying $70k a year you have a problem.

With plunging enrollment a tidy death spiral problem.

The argument is that it’s trickle down from the high end schools not enrolling as many internationals. The t20 don’t enroll as many kids, so Americans who have them as a reach get in, then then the kids who would’ve gone to uvm go to the t20-50 per se.

And the demographic cliff is real. I think Maryland announced something similar last month.

I wouldn’t want to be an assistant administrator making $150k in some weird student services program right now.

International undergraduate students are flat or up at most colleges for last year, even the more selective ones. UVM's problem is that it relies on a bunch of families who are OOS and full pay. The colleges in the T50 are all getting more applications. Even the other New England flagships aren't suffering like UVM. Applications are up at UMass and UConn. The UVM president is a hoot with her excuses.

But, but, but, it’s a public Ivy. LOL!

For context, the Boston Globe took early note of the challenges facing Vermont colleges in a 2019 article, "Higher education struggles are hitting Vermont hard."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happened to the previous recent thread on this topic?

I wondered the same thing. Uvm is high on my kids list. Why delete a thread? Feels weird.

If the previous thread got off-topic and political (see 06:44 above), Jeff may have just deleted the whole thing rather than tried to clean it up and keep it.

Anonymous wrote:UVM's President is delusional. Talk about a lack of accountability. She blames the plummeting enrollment numbers on the demographic cliff and losing out on international students because of visa concerns who enroll at presumably stronger colleges in the US.

In a normal year guess how many freshman students UVM enrolls who are international?

About 45! (out of almost 2800 students)

When your acceptance rate is over 70%, your yield is 15% and you rely on 80% OOS students paying $70k a year you have a problem.

With plunging enrollment a tidy death spiral problem.

The argument is that it’s trickle down from the high end schools not enrolling as many internationals. The t20 don’t enroll as many kids, so Americans who have them as a reach get in, then then the kids who would’ve gone to uvm go to the t20-50 per se.

And the demographic cliff is real. I think Maryland announced something similar last month.

I wouldn’t want to be an assistant administrator making $150k in some weird student services program right now.

Anonymous wrote:What happened to the previous recent thread on this topic?

I wondered the same thing. Uvm is high on my kids list. Why delete a thread? Feels weird.

I'm sure the Democrats letting Burlington turn into a hell-hole had nothing to do with it.

UVM's President is delusional. Talk about a lack of accountability. She blames the plummeting enrollment numbers on the demographic cliff and losing out on international students because of visa concerns who enroll at presumably stronger colleges in the US.

In a normal year guess how many freshman students UVM enrolls who are international?

About 45! (out of almost 2800 students)

When your acceptance rate is over 70%, your yield is 15% and you rely on 80% OOS students paying $70k a year you have a problem.

With plunging enrollment a tidy death spiral problem.

What happened to the previous recent thread on this topic?

https://www.wcax.com/2026/05/13/uvm-projects-7-enrollment-decline-12m-budget-deficit/?outputType=amp