Begin again…

Even though we are still welcoming the last of our new students for 2012 into the fold, we have already begun turning our attention to the class of 2013, many of whom arrive today, Friday, May 11, for Junior Visit Day. Just under 12 months from now, they’ll be making their final decisions about where they’ll spend their four undergraduate years.

So last night we had this reverse radio call-in show…

Last night, for students who had not yet finalized their college plans, we hosted Lawrence’s first “Reverse Radio Call-In Show” using some technology that involves robo-calling. (That we did so during an election cycle gave us pause, knowing that many households still attached to landlines are receiving calls from various and sundry political candidates).

On the phone with me were Dean of Student Affairs, Nancy Truesdell, and Dean of the Conservatory, Brian Pertl. They answered questions from students calling in from coast to coast. Seriously. We had students from Boston and students from Alaska–and many places in between–on the line last night.

If you have half an hour to burn, you can listen to a recording of the phonecast here (skip past the first 30 seconds unless you like hearing a lot of back chatter). It works well if you’re looking for answers to questions about student life (including a great question about starting a formal group house dedicated to “slow-food cooking”) and life in the Conservatory of Music. It also works well if you’re having a hard time sleeping and you find the dulcet tones of university administrators to have a soporific effect.

Phonecast May 1

On May 1 at 7 p.m. CST, we’ll be holding a last-minute phonecast for students and families who may have some last-minute questions before they make their final decisions. On the line with the dean of admissions and financial aid will be members of the Lawrence community who can have a live conversation with you and your fellow admitted students (and their families). It’ll be like a radio call-in show, except we’ll be calling you using some kind of new-fangled robo-calling equipment. If you’re interested, simply pick up the phone. If you’d rather not be bothered by it, please ignore the call.

Reason #72 Why We Love Lawrence: The Visitor List

I poked my head outside my office just as our lunch hosts were preparing to take a gaggle (I think that’s the term) of prospective students over to the Warch Campus Center for lunch. As is the usual custom, our students introduce themselves and where they’re from. (This particular group included Lawrentians from Milwaukee, Madison, the Twin Cities, Orange County, and Cameroon.) They then ask the prospective students clustered around our visitor lobby (pictured below)  to introduce themselves and where they’re from.

View of the lobby just after our visitors trekked off to lunch.

Today’s visitors for lunch (note: this doesn’t include the other 25 people who visited at other times today):

Sacramento, California (2 students)
Minocqua, Wisconsin
Highland Park, Illinois
St. Paul, Minnesota
Hong Kong

That’s right: 12,000 miles’ worth of traveling right here to Appleton, Wisconsin. (And we’re thrilled they’re here on such a nice day.)

Sorry we couldn't have had a nicer day for you today...

Paying for College: What the Media Fail to Point Out

It’s a truism to say that the current financial upheavals in the world have prompted many of us to feel insecure about the future. Predictably, the media have begun to run stories about students who are changing their college choices because (according to the media), “they can no longer afford to attend the higher-priced private colleges they originally were interested in.” It’s easy to find these students and to report their stories–there’s dramatic tension in them, so they lend themselves well to storytelling. But, as is so often the case with media stories about higher education, they are also dangerously simplistic.

The most unfortunate part of these stories is that they encourage other students (and their families) to alter their college choices inappropriately. These stories focus on the cost of college–or, more accurately, on the perceived cost of college–as the primary factor on which to base a college choice. In doing so, they distract attention from what should be the primary factor–that of how good a match a particular college is for a particular student. Students who follow the path the media has set out for them are encouraged to “settle” for colleges that are not perhaps the best match for them.

The scenario typically offered by the media makes the assumption that a student’s family would pay the entire cost of college and, confronted by a decline in its financial resources, the family (and the student) is relegated to choosing a lower-priced college. At most high-priced private colleges, many (if not the majority of the) families cannot afford the full cost of education, so they receive financial aid to allow them to do so. If a family in this group has suffered a financial downturn, it will now be eligible for more financial aid than it might have been previously. Similarly, if a family that previously could have afforded the entire cost of education suffers such a downturn and no longer can afford the entire cost, it will now join the ranks of those who qualify for need-based aid.

Certainly, there is a small number of families who, like those featured in the media, have suffered a substantial downturn, but still will not qualify for need-based aid even at a private college. Those families are probably among the top 3 to 5 percent of the nation’s wealthiest families. So even though the cost of college is now higher in relation to their financial circumstances, the argument that they “must” choose a lower-priced college really is not accurate. They may “decide” to choose a less expensive college–but it is a choice, not a financial necessity.

College should be viewed as a long-term investment, as it will pay dividends over a lifetime. Students should not abandon their college dreams because of short-term financial challenges. If a student has a great experience at a college that is a great match for him or her, twenty years from now that experience will still be paying great dividends.

Stay tuned… there is more to come.

Steve Syverson

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid