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Everywhere you turn, budgets are getting slashed due to the horrible condition of the economy. People are losing their jobs, families are taking big hits on their incomes, and students are not going to college. The high school senior classes of 2009 face the biggest challenge of getting accepted to state universities as well as top tier private colleges.

This year more than ever, parents are considering public universities for their children simply because it is more affordable. Financial aid is scarce, resulting in paying more for college or choosing more affordable colleges. The only problem with this is that the best education might not be provided. Another option is taking out a loan, but most parents and students prefer not too because of the interest piled onto it. Because some colleges cannot provide financial aid to all students, fewer financially needy students will be accepted to those colleges.

Students are not the only ones taking the hit, but colleges are too. College endowments are based off stocks and investments; with the dramatic drop in stocks, many are losing money. This mainly affects small colleges because they depend heavily on their endowment. Recently, four Christian colleges in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Oregon have announced that they will be shutting due to the economic conditions.

For four-year colleges and universities, there will be a $54 million budget cut. Alone, UMASS Amherst will experience a $12 million loss. Within the last year, Harvard University in Cambridge, MA has lost 22% of its endowment, which is $8 billion. MIT, Harvard, Dartmouth, Boston University, and other colleges are freezing open potions and salaries as well as making budget cuts to counteract their shrinking endowments. The most critical factors in a college's health is their student enrollment and these colleges are doing as much as they can to guarantee that their enrollment rate does not decrease because of financial problems. To lower operating costs, compressing class schedules would mean that more buildings would be closed for an extra day. Consequently, this may mean bigger class sizes than the already large size.

Despite the rough economy, dreams should never be forgotten. Getting into college will be more difficult, but there is always a way to outshine the other stars. All you have to do is find it and beat them to it.

-Emily Tran and Kendra Puckerin

Labels: College