From what I understand, they tend to have ambitious revenue goals for OOS. Because it is a competitive market they cannot price arbitrarily high. But if the revenue maximizing price loses them some admits, presumably that just means they compensated by admitting enough people OOS overall.
D24 is currently on the 3-day senior trip. Bus scheduled to pull into school later today. Sheās been pretty quiet text or phone call-wise the entire time. We got a couple of texts each day, so thereās proof of life. 
Iām sort of looking at this like itās a little window to her being away at college a little later this year. Our house is definitely quieter with her not here. Iām both ready and not ready for her to leave the nest.
On the subject of āshould colleges be required to show on the CDS what % of TO students were admitted vs what % of test score submitters were admitted,ā itās a great idea, but for the time being, itās not going to go anywhere unless the federal dept of education requires it.
I donāt mean to sound flippant, but itās a subject that, right now, I personally donāt really care about. If parents choose to ignore all of the good opportunities out there in college-application-land and only apply to a small number of select/elite institutions, then thatās their problem. At the moment, I donāt think āthe systemā is broken. Parentsā expectations are broken, but thatās a whole other topic for a different thread.
What I care about more right now is the royal mess that the feds have made of the revised FAFSA roll out. It really ticks me off. And guess what? Thereās nothing I can do about it. Iāll get over it though. To everybodyās kids who got accepted to and are planning on attending a CSS profile college, you probably donāt have to think about any of the FAFSA nonsenseā¦Iām jealous. 
Meanwhile, D24 got some mail from Austin College. It was a marketing mailer that had a list of all of their 3-week āJanTermā classes from last month. They had 7 different travel courses to choose from (canāt do a travel course as a freshman)ā¦1 of which is āHealth Education & Culture in Ghana,ā which D24 thinks sounds pretty interesting.
Their on-campus courses were interesting, too. Even had one thatās on a topic which D24 said a couple of months ago that if she could design any college course she wanted, what would it be? Well, one of the options on the list is almost that very thing. Pretty cool.
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I donāt agree the educational and other experiences at residential colleges are a commodity, I definitely think it is a differentiated product market.
But I agree some people focus too much on differentiation in terms of future prospects, and not enough on differentiation in terms of those actual four years. Four years is a long time, and those years matter as much as any others.
And then what that implies about optimal college choice is very personal, which is why it is not a commodity.
In that sense, it is indeed like choosing a restaurant, just for a āmealā that will last four years and involve a lot more than eating.
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Thank you !
This is the hardest part of the year (doesnāt help that January and February are doldrum months). While some students and families celebrate positive outcomes, others are dealing with either rejection or affordability issues.
There is still time to apply to excellent schools that could be both affordable and an almost guaranteed acceptance. There are plenty of schools with February 15th due datesā¦and the NACAC list of schools still accepting applications usually releases mid April.
I hope no family feels stuck at this point with a āsunk cost fallacyā. There are still options if a student/family is willing to think flexibly.
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Yes, they are differentiated - a steak at Flemingsā¦an experience at Flemingsā¦is far different than one at Outback.
But the outcome is the same - you eat a steak.
A BMW and Chevy are different - but they both get you from point A to B.
The result - a college degree - is what is a commodity.
But too many donāt want to eat the at McDonaldsā¦only Mortons.
At least thatās the bias you see on the CC.
There is, in reality, no difference between a Wyoming or Wisconsin. Or Tennessee or Texas.
Yes, environment, student selectivity, cost, etc. - but a college degree is attainable from each.
But someone who applies to Wisconsin from a pedigree POV sees - Minnesota or Ohio State as their safety.
Why not a Wyoming, Arizona, Florida Atlantic, etc.
They never cross their mind - and then they say - itās unpredictable and / or unaffordable when they apply with never having reviewed the costsā¦because of FUD.
hmmmm - no - itās not.
When I sold long distance back in the day 30 years ago - this was a classic AT&T trickā¦FUD. Yet all the other carriers were renting space from AT&T - and vice versa - AT&T was renting space from MCI, Sprint, Alltell, Worldcom, Frontier and the rest.
These schools - with the help of rating services - have created an industry and put big moats around their names.
Whatās FUD?
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Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
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I would not eat a steak at the McDonalds. (And on a related note, I teach at a regional state college, and we flat-out donāt provide the opportunities in learning/careers that the state flagship does. However, if you wanted to get there, you could start out with us and we would give you our level best. But not steak).
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Iām glad you posted this quote because for all the people saying that theyāre sure that there arenāt that many unqualified applicants, or arenāt meaningfully more unqualified applicants, his statement was clanging in my head. There are many, and the trend accelerated when highly rejective schools went TO.
One of my droids observed after a tour of a remote LAC which shall not be named, that they thought they could last maybe a year and a half or two years before going completely stir crazy at the place, would definitely need to take a year abroad, and even then could not get their arms around applying.
The idea that this is a commoditized experience just doesnāt hold up. And Iād say that even if the academics were all exactly alike. Which of course they are not.
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OK - I couldnāt find a low end steakhouse with an M.
Career wise- some of the flagships have created a perception - and yes, that perception sells organizations that might be hiring - i.e. they built a moat around their campus.
But a kid can get the same job or grad school from ETSU or UTC or UTM as they could from UTK - to use my state (TN) for flagship vs. regional. Or from Wisconsin Stevens Point as opposed to Madison.
Yes, you could give your best level - and if the student had the āitā factor or the hustle, they could make it work - and get to the same place.
But guess what - many kids - wonāt consider your school - or a less selective flagship - and thatās the point Iām making.
A business degree from Missouri Southern State should provide the same knowledge as one from MIzzou.
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āA business degree from Missouri Southern State should provide the same knowledge as one from MIzzou.ā
It should, but it doesnāt in my region, because the underenrollment of non-prestigious schools is making a college degree (not the education itself) precisely the commodity that we claim itās not. Therefore, in order to compete with the other non-prestigious schools for enrollment, these schools are passing people through their courses who should not be passing. Even professors are subject to these pressures, because if no one will take their courses because they are too hard (and everyone can find out on ratemyprofessors.com), then they will get fired, tenured or not. It is a very sad situation, and my colleagues and I spend a lot of time trying to keep educational standards high through excellent teaching, so that the students will stay in classes that are challenging. In addition, many professors at these schools donāt have the same clout or relationships with businesses/employers that the professors at more prestigious schools do.
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I think there are kids - even at prestigious schools - being passed through unfortunately.
Graduate rates matter - and the āeliteā and yes they have more elite kids - but they also have kids coming from schools that are barely teaching them the basics.
But understoodā¦
My main thing here is simply:
Itās not that hard to find affordable safeties - the most important.
But many families are delusional.
And if it doesnāt go their way, find things to blame. Itās not current uncertainty - because this has happened for years and years.
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I get this on some levelā¦I also think a lot of those applications are easy rejections.
Look, highly selective schools were highly selective 30 years agoā¦with acceptance rates around 20-30%. Plenty of highly qualified applicants were being rejected then too.
What wasnāt the same were college searches being truly national searches for more applicantsā¦and college searches becoming even more international. As well as a rapidly increasingly number of people applying to schools whose overall enrollment numbers have remained pretty stagnant.
Itās not unqualified applications making this process so selective - it is so many very qualified students.
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They may be easy rejections (and I agree that by and large they are, though Iām not thrilled at the time wasted in the aggregate), but they contribute to the noise that creates urgency to apply to so many schools for highly qualified kids.
This was actually the case when the acceptance rates were 20-30%.
So unpopular opinion I have: I donāt think it is any harder for colleges to choose a class now than it was 30 years agoā¦there is just more noise.
Most of the applications, even the qualified onesā¦are pretty easy ānot admittedā. These choices are made on institutional priority, not may the āobjectiveā best application win.
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You can add me to your list. I share that take.
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Maybe.
But 30 years ago if you had a 4.0/1580 SAT, near the top of your class, with strong ECās you were getting into UT McCombs, CS or engineering.
Thatās not happening anymore. You may get into the school but not your specific major. Itās crazy competitive at some of the top publics.
Had my daughter not gotten into her ED school, Iām not sure she wouldāve made the cut at McCombs.
Thatās due to the Top 6% ruleā¦again it is institutional priorities.
That 4.0/1580 student can go to a state flagship, CS or engineering stillā¦just maybe not guaranteed UT.
Canāt believe Iām gonna say thisā¦but this is where Alabama and other schools like Indiana are the correct play. Especially for engineering and/or business.
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But she could have chosen a safety school - Iāll throw out Bama - and get into Business at Culverhouse or Engineering - and you can add many other schools with even higher selectivity that might be a safety for that kid - and in most cases get a similar job at a similar salary. Thereās a zillion they could have as back up.
And kids arenāt willing to do that.
And thatās why they miss - or act like the world has ended. They literally say it was their dream and now they donāt know what to do, etc.
UT has a great b school (I turned it down for MBA for a free one and Iām guessing Iām in the same place I would have been) - and it has a great engineering school.
But there are many - even less selective - that can give a substitutional experience result - and people are missing this.