College Admission Help

Getting into college is less of a worry than financial aid and college grants
BY LORI YOUNT
The Wichita Eagle
The most anxious envelope-opening for some college-bound high school seniors this spring might not be of the acceptance-or-rejection letters, but of the ones containing financial aid offers.
Almost 7 out of 10 students nationwide said the recession has affected where they applied to college, according to a survey by the Princeton Review, a test-preparation company and developer of college guides.
And as the acceptance letters arrive this month, local college counselors said Wichita families are being more deliberate about deciding which school will give them the best education for their dwindling bucks.
"I'm hearing students and parents asking more questions," said Wichita guidance counselor Matt Gallagher. "WSU and KU offer excellent educations and in-state tuitions. Is it worth borrowing $10,000 to $20,000 a year to go somewhere else?"
About half the students he advises in East High School's International Baccalaureate program typically end up attending college out of state, and Gallagher said he doesn't expect to see the number change significantly this year.
But the University of Kansas admissions office is hearing more appeals of financial aid offers because more families have had changes in their ability to pay, such as a parent being laid off, Gallagher said.
"They need to tell financial aid about that," he said.
Financial aid offers are playing a larger role for students, said Amy Alvarez of Southeast High School's college career center.
"Now those scholarships are weighing a lot more in their choices and whether they stay close to home or live at home," she said.
A choir scholarship that covers tuition and books at Butler Community College was a deciding factor for South High School senior Monica Sosa to spend the first two years of college in El Dorado. After that, she said she hopes to transfer to a university that offers a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.
She said four years at a private university, such as Friends or Newman, were out of the question.
“(My parents) expect me to go out and do it myself," Sosa said.
With the scholarship, she decided she can afford to live on campus rather than with her parents.
"This will keep my options open," Sosa said.
Friends University officials said they're trying to show that the more than $19,000 a year in tuition and fees the university charges is about as affordable as some state schools if students win academic scholarships, which have been expanded this year.
"We've given more students the opportunity to receive scholarships," said Erin Haneberg, executive director of admissions at Friends. "We've seen an increase in interest."
She said most of that has come from local students who decided to explore options close to home.
Rising interest in scholarships is evidenced by incoming freshmen delaying turning in ACT scores so they can try to take the test again and qualify for a larger scholarship, Haneberg added.
South High senior Don Phillips Jr., who plans to major in aerospace engineering at Wichita State University, said he knew he wanted to stay near home, but not live at home. His scholarship earnings dictated other decisions.
"Honestly, I wanted to try living in the dorms... but it wasn't going to happen unless I had a full scholarship," he said.
A partial scholarship and a job will help pay his way, but Phillips said if he doesn't receive government aid, he will have to take out loans.
His grandparents set up a college fund for him. "But with the recent economic situation... it's not much of one now," Phillips said.
At the private Independent School, about 30 percent of college-bound students each year attend out-of-state institutions, director of college guidance Nancy Wheeler said. She expects the percentage to remain the same this year.
"It'll be a very typical year, but I don't know about the future," she said.
Colleges will feel the "big hits" to their endowment investments more next year, restricting their ability to offer financial aid, Wheeler said.
Students considering out-of-state schools are more conscious of the money that colleges offer them, she said.
The Wichita Collegiate School has noticed a similar pattern, said Kevin Mykel, dean of the Upper School.
"Some of those looking at Ivy League schools are looking at schools (that are) a step back but give merit scholarships," he said.
Those deciding to stay closer to home are finding it more difficult to get merit money, though. Wheeler said the University of Kansas Honors College received about four times as many applications this year as in a typical year.


Getting into college is less of a worry than financial aid and college grants