Considering declining birth rates and economic growth in Syracuse's traditional recruiting areas, our worsening national economic morass, and parental responses to hyper-tuition inflation, it's no surprise Syracuse is "... vigorously expanding (its) admissions base to reach the best students in growing population centers such as the southwest, southeast, and west coast...".
Meanwhile, a
10/4 Stamford Advocate article on UConn's growing popularity among Stamford high school students focuses on the school's academic improvement and the rising cost of overpriced private institutions.
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The saturation of state schools in Stamford's top 10 is a new phenomenon, too. In 2007, before the Great Recession hit lower Fairfield County, Syracuse University, Boston College, Fordham and New York University were comfortably placed in that list. This year, Fordham and Syracuse were Stamford students' 11th and 12th pick, respectively, while Boston College and New York University dropped to 18th and 19th, respectively.
All four of those schools cost more than $50,000 a year when tuition, fees and room and board are included. In comparison, UConn's cost hovers slightly above $20,000 for in-state students.
Stamford students and families aren't the only ones hunting for that bargain. 'We've been seeing a trend of increased applications for more than a decade,' said UConn spokesman Michael Kirk. 'In 1995, we received about 10,800 applications. This past year, they were at more than 28,000.' The larger pool has allowed the school to be a bit choosier when picking its freshman class.
In 1998, the average SAT score of an incoming freshman at UConn was 1121; a dozen years later, that figure jumped by exactly 100 points. The mean SAT score for the UConn's incoming class last fall was 1221. 'The reputation and the standards have risen in the past even five years for UConn ..."
As much as some may wish to believe, other things beyond football may be getting tossed or kicked around.
