Economy a Big Factor in College Choices

Most of this year's graduating seniors at Rye and Blind Brook high schools are now applying to colleges and awaiting acceptance decisions. But for many students and their families, the recession is a big factor in deciding where to go this fall.

"The economy is impacting families," said Blind Brook High School's Director of Guidance Mary Mediate.

Mediate has seen a jump in students choosing to apply to state schools.

"There's been an overall increase in students applying to state schools in our own state and other states because the tuition tends to be lower at those schools," she said.

SUNY, for example, charged full-time, in-state students $9,940 for tuition during 2009-2010 school year, up $610 the previous year.

Compared to the $37,920 average undergraduate tuition at Brown, Columbia, NYU, and Cornell--four Ivy Leagues that have already accepted Rye students for the fall semester--public schools are still markedly more affordable.

Despite student protests across the state after SUNY trustees approved the tuition hike in late 2008, New York's public colleges and universities are receiving a record number of applications.

"Application rates for the fall already significantly exceed last year's levels, as more New Yorkers pursue higher education in a difficult economy," according to a statement issued by SUNY Chancellor Zimpher and CUNY Chancellor Goldstein last month.

While rising tuition and boarding costs are making it more difficult for students and their families to afford a college education, both Rye and Blind Brook's guidance offices continue to offer help in the planning process.

Patricia Taylor, Assistant Principal for Guidance at Rye High School,  said that her offices hosted a workshop for parents in December in which parents learned about the FAFSA, various local scholarships and other means of financial assistance.

Mediate said that a similar workshop at Blind Brook High School brought in about 25 percent more parents than last year's event.

Last year, nearly 100 percent of high school seniors in the Rye area went to  college.

While Taylor said that there's only been a slight increase in applications to SUNY schools from last year, she anticipated that there would be more students choosing to apply to community colleges in lieu of four-year schools.

However, Taylor said this wasn't the case after many students had completed the application process. 

"It wasn't the tremendous increase we thought it could have been. It was fairly consistent with the last couple of years," she said.

While students may not be opting to remain at home with their parents in large numbers, Taylor said that tuition concerns are becoming more prevalent.

"In our discussions with students and parents we are having more conversations about costs of colleges and the funding of attendance," Taylor said. "We see that this year more than ever before."

Community organizations have historically distributed scholarship funds to Rye's students. While the scholarships tend to be very competitive, last year, 61 organizations allotted over $150,000 in scholarships to many of Rye's college-bound seniors.

"The community is so supportive of our students," Taylor said.