Some may say no. But I remember them. And no one can deny that in recent years the admissions process has become more adversarial and less collegial. While this plays out in several ways, none is more disturbing than the change in the nature of the relationship between colleges and families. There is stress on both sides of the relationship, stress that seems to be born mostly of fear and finances.
Families feel financial pressure.
The federal government has contributed by shifting its student aid policy away from grants and toward loans, forcing universities to spend more money on grants, which in turn inflates prices. That's added stress for the admissions office, which is under increasing pressure to balance the school's budget, part of which is based on tuition. The colleges then feel obligated to resort to businesslike marketing tools and modeling methods to try to predict and influence an unstable market. Controlling the spiraling increase in financial aid becomes a major goal. Finding the right students today means not only attracting those who are the best academically and who bring special talents to campus, but also enrolling a critical mass who can pay all or a large part of that sticker price.