The time just does not seem right either for school leavers or for those leaving graduate school. With stars in their eyes, these students had worked hard to get into their dream graduate school.
But with recession looming large, just hard work alone is not sufficient as money appears to be the reason many high schoolers are letting go of their dream schools and settling for second best.
A survey predicts that 71% of the high school graduates ruled out their choice of getting into a grad school of their choice because of money or the lack of it! Even parents who would pay any amount for prestige are doing a re think.
Every crisis teaches mankind a lesson. A lesson that these smart students have not been too slow in grasping is the fact that ‘you cannot always get what you want in life and that there are a million things in life that are beyond your control’. And just as any go getter of this generation would do, these students do not waste too much time brooding. Instead, they are quick to think on their feet and settle for a school that is a lot more economical and hence within reach.
In the light of the economic slowdown, with more focus being bestowed on companies going bankrupt and unemployment cases, sadly, little attention has been given to students. It is at this time that the National Association for College Admission Counseling which comprises of officials from the financial aid office from various universities conducted this survey. The aim of the survey was to bring forth the choices of the students in the face of recession.
Take the case of a student, Laura who will be graduating this week and knew all along that she wanted to go to the Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Impressed by the campus’ conversations on intellectually stimulating topics as well as the faculty members, she had worked doubly hard to get a letter of acceptance.
However, when she got her financial aid letters, her parents were not too happy to know that the fees that they would have to contribute would be more than their capacity as they had lost most of their savings in the bearish stock market. Laura has now accepted an admission into the Boston School which has offered her a full fee waiver but is disappointed that her hard work has gone waste.
As the survey does not all include a proportionate number of public and private colleges and with only 85% of the total number of students responding, the accurate number will only crop up when the students arrive on campuses this fall.
Meanwhile, education counselors advice parents not to act in haste as they feel that even private grad schools are trying their best to offer financial aid to as many students as possible. Giving both parties, (the school and the student) sufficient time will help their children make an informed decision avoiding too many tears and disappointments.
