On Campus - Thursday, October 22, 2009 7:00 - 5 Comments

John Beckman’s Response To NYU Financial Aid Post

The following was submitted as a comment (and to me as an email) by NYU Spokesman John Beckman, in response to my piece yesterday, Is NYU Squeezing Everyone But Its Neediest Students? My comments are offset in quote form.

I appreciate that Charlie wanted to open a conversation on this topic; however, there are a number of factual errors – some serious, some disappointing — that really need to be corrected.

I’d like to start with the big picture, if I may. Between 2002-03 and 2009-10, cost of attendance rose 40.0%; institutional aid (gift, scholarship, and grant aid provided by NYU) increased by 94.8%. We gave Charlie information for two five-year periods – the one he was using (2002-03 to 2006-07) and the most recent (2005-06 to 2009-10) – and, in each, it showed that the percentage increase in institutional aid exceeded the percentage increase in tuition.

I would have thought this might have been highlighted as the key issue. Or the fact that NYU is providing some $160 million in institutional aid – far more than most other universities. Continue…

Featured, On Campus - Wednesday, October 21, 2009 12:30 - 21 Comments

Is NYU Squeezing Everyone But Its Neediest Students?

An extensive analysis of tuition data provides compelling evidence that NYU is giving more aid to its financially neediest students at the expense of its other students with significant need. Additionally, a comparison of NYU and uptown rival Columbia’s financial aid data shows in stark terms how little NYU has done (until very recently) to make attending college more affordable.

It is easy to bash on NYU for its stingy financial aid department. Everyone has heard about the University topping the list of schools with “Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid.” You may also recall that, last semester, the school began calling students with a large gap between their need and their financial aid award to make sure they really, truly could afford to come to NYU.

But something has been missing in all the yelling about how expensive it is: actual evidence (particularly since administrators have some good arguments on their side).

NYU has a huge student population and therefore a small endowment per capita, which makes meeting full financial need impossible. University Spokesman John Beckman writes me, “NYU is not among the relatively small set of institutions that ‘meet full need’ – meaning that our financial aid resources are not sufficient to fill the ‘gap’ between the expected family contribution (as determined by FAFSA) and the cost of tuition. That’s largely a reflection of our per student endowment,” which was 148th 184th in the country in 2008.

Beckman also frequently points out that we have one of the highest percentages of Pell Grant-eligible students among major research universities. (Since Pell Grants are generally awarded to low-income, very needy families, the previous statistic is often used as a proxy for economic diversity on campus).

But that last point raises a big question: why does NYU attract so many needy, low-income students if its financial aid is so bad? Continue…

National - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 16:16 - 1 Comment

Colleges Choosing Wealthier Students

The New York Times reported yesterday about US colleges’ need to admit more affluent students this year, as endowments have plummeted along with the stock market. The article notes that even need-blind schools (like NYU) are finding ways to increase the number of students who can pay tuition, often by admitting more international students.

Colleges note that “the inevitable result is that needier students will be shifted down to the less expensive and less prestigious institutions.”

It’s unclear whether or not NYU will attempt to pull in more full-paying students – it was not exactly notorious for doling out the financial aid even before the stock market crashed. But, if I had to guess, based on the falling endowment and cost-cutting plans, we’ll likely see an increase in the number of international students admitted to the class of 2013.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Steve Wampler.

National - Tuesday, March 10, 2009 12:09 - 0 Comments

Obama Lays Out Education Agenda

Today President Obama delivered a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce calling for new measures to revamp the education system at all levels and cut the dropout rate “with the goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by the year 2020.” This was his first major education speech since inauguration.

Here is a highlight from the speech:

Well, the time for finger-pointing is over. The time for holding ourselves accountable is here. What’s required is not simply new investments, but new reforms. It is time to expect more from our students. It is time to start rewarding good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. It is time to demand results from government at every level. It is time to prepare every child, everywhere in America, to out-compete any worker, anywhere in the world. It is time to give all Americans a complete and competitive education from the cradle up through a career. We have accepted failure for too long. Enough. America’s entire education system must once more be the envy of the world.

Policy specifics after the jump. Continue…

National - Wednesday, December 3, 2008 17:32 - 6 Comments

College is F-ing Expensive

A number of reports out today paint a bleak picture of college affordability both now and in the future. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education released a study that showed that college tuition and fees (including housing) has increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 (adjusted for inflation). Compare that to a median family income increase of only 147 percent. When directly compared, a four-year private university (like NYU) costs 78 percent of median family income. And that number is calculated after subtracting out financial aid from the cost.

Additionally, as seen above, 49 states failed the college affordability test, which looks at the cost of community colleges, public and private universities, and the availability of need-based scholarships. Continue…