College vs. economy

The wretched economy has taught many of the nation's college-bound seniors a hard lesson: You can't always get what you want.

In a survey to be released Tuesday, 71 percent of high schools reported that more of their students are forgoing their "dream schools" this year than in previous years. And there is little doubt that money is a big reason.

"With the exception of one or two students, it was THE determining factor in their decision," one high school official wrote. Said another: "Parents were willing to pay for prestige in the past. This year they wanted prestigious schools IF the financial aid packages would work for them."

The survey was conducted by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, made up of high school and college admissions and financial aid professionals. This is the first time the organization has done such a survey; it set out to study students' picks in light of the economic downturn.

Laura Mueller-Soppart, graduating Thursday from Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago, knew Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service was her dream school when she visited last year.

She got accepted, but when the financial aid award letters arrived, her family's expected contribution was way beyond what they felt they could afford, given how the drop in the stock market had cut their savings by more than half. She also had two younger brothers to think about.

So when Northeastern University in Boston offered her a nearly full ride, she asked herself: "Do I go $200,000 in the hole because so many told me Georgetown was indispensable, or do I take the full ride?"

She is taking the full ride.

Of the 632 high schools nationally that responded to the survey, nearly 85 percent reported no change in the number of students planning to delay college.

However, the survey had a disproportionate number of private and better-off public high schools, said David Hawkins, NACAC director of public policy and research. That means the findings probably understate the number of students forgoing their dream schools or postponing college altogether.

It is still not entirely clear how the recession will affect the college outlook for most of the nation's 3.3 million 2009 high school graduates.

Sixty percent of high schools surveyed said they were seeing more students enroll in public instead of private universities, and more than 70 percent of public universities said applications were up. But more than half of private colleges also saw applications rise, indicating students are trying to give themselves more options.

Public universities stand to gain as students stay closer to home but also might lose students to even less expensive community colleges; 37 percent of high schools reported more students attending two-year schools.

What is clear is that money played an outsized role in this year's college search. Students are lobbying for every last financial aid dollar.

In some cases, students' decisions about where to go to college might be influenced primarily by their parents' financial worries and not necessarily by any cutbacks in financial aid. A December survey by National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities found 92 percent of private schools responding planned to increase their financial aid budgets this year.