Nonresident applications drop 19.5 percent at CU
Applications from nonresidents are down 19.5 percent
By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 24, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated February 24, 2009 at 8:54 a.m.
Darin McGregor © The Rocky
Students make their way to class on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo. on Monday Feb. 23, 2009.
Photo by Darin McGregor © The Rocky
Freshman Patricia Helfenbein reads in front of the Norlin Library on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Out-of-state student applications to the University of Colorado's Boulder campus are down sharply, a victim of the recession, school officials say.
The 19.5 percent decrease from last year could mean trouble for a school that depends on the higher tuition out-of-state students pay. At $223 million this year, out-of-state tuition is the biggest income source for the Boulder campus - almost as much as resident tuition and state funding combined.
School officials cautioned Monday that the drop in applications does not mean the number of freshmen - resident or non resident - will be down next fall.
"I don't want to press that panic button," said chief financial officer Rick Porreca. The applicant pool is large enough to produce an adequate freshman class, he said.
Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, vice chairman of the legislature's Joint Budget Committee, said the financially strapped state has no money to bail out CU if out-of-state revenue declines.
"This is an early warning sign," Pommer said. "I think you have to take this very seriously."
Boulder campus admissions director Kevin MacLennan said the recession is also battering in-state students. Colorado resident applications are down 6 percent.
"Students are waiting to see how the finances come together (for their families)," MacLennan said. "These are kind of unprecedented times in terms of what families are dealing with in terms of the challenges."
More parents of applicants are asking to speak to the financial aid office, MacLennan said. The economy was a major topic among high school counselors he met with Monday.
Overall, applications from residents and nonresidents are down to 19,165, from 22,453 at this time last year.
The nonresident applications dropped from 14,239 to 11,456. Resident applications are down from 8,214 last year to 7,709.
The figures could change as new applications come in, MacLennan said.
At Colorado State University, nonresident applications are up slightly, from 6,239 to 6,416 over this time last year.
The University of Northern Colorado is seeing a decline in nonresident applications to 916 from 1,080 at this time last year.
CU officials and some lawmakers have been concerned for several years that research institutions like CU, CSU and UNC are becoming too dependent on non- resident tuition as state funding declines as a percentage of the total budget.
At CU, out-of-state undergraduates pay $26,756 a year in tuition, compared to $7,278 for residents. Tuition is even higher in professional schools, such as engineering and business.
The percentage of out-of-state students has edged up from 31.4 percent in fall 2006, to 33.9 percent last fall.
The number of applications last year was a record and produced a record class of 5,833 freshmen.
So far, this year's number of applicants is similar to the one that produced the 2007 freshman class - a record at the time of 5,555 students.
A decline in the number of out- of-state students to 2007 levels would cost CU $25 million at a time when the CU system is being asked to absorb $8 million of the state's recession-driven cuts.
"We would be in a difficult spot (if that happens), but I don't want to say we're absolutely headed there now," Porreca said.
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February 24, 2009
6:26 a.m.
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SanctuaryCity writes:
Probably the reason for the drop is that our state legislators granted in-state tuition for the illegals.
February 24, 2009
7:20 a.m.
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pstanley writes:
Maybe it is not the economy --stupid.
Is it just possible that some parents and students do not want to spend $25,000 per year to attend a school where the biggest recent news was a gay/lesbian make out session being held on campus?
Is it possible that the well cultivated leftist agenda which has garnered the reputation for CU as Berkley in the mountains is a turn-off to prospective students and their families?
Is it possible that people are choosing education over indoctrination?
Whatever the cause of this application decline CU needs to take action.
Where is Wade Churchill when we need him.
February 24, 2009
7:32 a.m.
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MPTX writes:
Our older son applied and was accepted at CU five yars ago. It would have cost $40,000 per year with no help from the school. No way we could afford that for him or his younger brother who didn't even bother to apply. My husband and I are CU grads, but our sons went where they were welcomed The older one went to Nebraska for 1/4th the cost and got a great education. The younger son goes to a private school for half the 2004 cost of CU. He,too is getting an excellent education. CU is just way too expensive for what one gets out of it.
February 24, 2009
7:55 a.m.
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rjnova writes:
Good news. That is 19.5 % fewer students to get the leftist/liberal brainwashing they offer at CU. Nothing like a downturn in business to straighten out ones thinking. If enough go elsewhere they might try for a more rounded education---but I doubt it.
February 24, 2009
7:58 a.m.
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IRUNMAN writes:
No pstanley, it's the economy, stupid.
Your conservative fabricated fear mongering excuses don't work.
Leave the fear flinging in the past duuuuude.
February 24, 2009
8:06 a.m.
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SockRayBlue writes:
pstanley....
You are a lot closer than you think.
irunman......
Get a grip.
I have a niece that has two degrees from CU and still can't find what she wants to do.
February 24, 2009
8:08 a.m.
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leavemealone writes:
Hey IRUN-WOMAN,
Obama is nothing but fear.....& a snake oil salesman.
February 24, 2009
8:18 a.m.
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peachy0301 writes:
Our state hasn't granted in-state tuition to illegals yet - it's been proposed and in the legislature but hasn't been done yet. Maybe this will make them look at that policy. The drop is probably because IF the legislature grants tuition to illegals federal law states they have to give the SAME tuition to all U.S. citizens. That means there is no more out of state tuition. Maybe they are waiting a semester or a year to save almost $20,000 PER YEAR.
Of course they'll have to sue to get it just like in all the other states that offer in-state tuition to illegals...
February 24, 2009
8:25 a.m.
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LadyBird112 writes:
Yeah I think it may be the economy, sure, but look at all of the recent news that CU has made. Maybe people haven't exactly viewed that as positive?
February 24, 2009
8:45 a.m.
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Outlaw writes:
Now come on. Boulder gets in the news all the time about how the City Council wants to ban this and make that illegal. Not really a place anyone would feel welcome moving to.
Couple that with the fact that illegals would pay less for tuition than you and where would you want to spend your money.
February 24, 2009
8:59 a.m.
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Madre2 writes:
Wow. Perhaps more than any other medium, the Web has really uncovered how the feeble human mind latches onto any issue to further its own petty agendas. Just look at how each of your comments reflect your pathological obsessions with immigration, your negative perceptions of the state's flagship university and all of the other fear-based issues exposed here today.
For the record, CU is not the only public research university in the country forced to raise tuition because it receives so little support from state government. The harsh reality is that Colorado has long put higher education at the bottom of its list of priorities. Sadly, Colorado is nearly dead last (48th out of 50 states) when it comes to per-student state funding.
Large public research universities such as CU are major economic drivers for their respective state economies. CU is Colorado's fourth-largest employer and contributes to the well-being of our state in countless ways. It's much easier--and intellectually lazier--to latch onto the bad behavior of a few individuals rather than to explore the complexities of achievement by thousands of students, professors and high-achieving alumni affiliated with CU.
February 24, 2009
8:59 a.m.
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Who_Me writes:
The point of the picture (the freshman reading a book) is to prove what, how poor the reporting is at RMN? What is the relevance of a freshman reading a book? Is she from out of state? What a stupid article.
February 24, 2009
9:07 a.m.
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IRUNMAN writes:
Wow, referring to me as a woman, I don't think thats happened since grade school.
Way to "blast me"
Go get a degree.
February 24, 2009
9:50 a.m.
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rorygebbers writes:
Well said, Madre. This article could be about just about any large state school in any state. The economy slows down and lo and behold there is a drop in the number of applicants. To take this article and twist it around whatever political agenda one may have is a bit of a reach. I personally blame the folks who shove global warming down my throat, as the reason for the decline in applicants.
February 24, 2009
11:26 a.m.
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JustSayin writes:
"Is it possible that people are choosing education over indoctrination?" Hmm - are applications down at bible colleges and military schools, too?
February 24, 2009
11:27 a.m.
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Madre2 writes:
You don't have to have anything "shoved" down your throat. Just continue to bury your head in the sand. We'll have lots and lots of sand to bury our heads in!
February 24, 2009
11:35 a.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
Maybe, just maybe, the recent drop may involve the kind of place the CU campus has become..
Inviting KNOWN TERRORIST types to speak. Having KNOWN PLAGARISTS on the staff.
High ratings as a PARTY school with the local PD Chief APPROVING underage drinking by not enforcing the law...AND SAYING SO ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!
HUBRIS is quickly followed by NEMESIS...
February 24, 2009
12:06 p.m.
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the_ripper writes:
Nobody wants to shell out those kind of bucks to Wardoville, and I can't blame them.
February 24, 2009
12:30 p.m.
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MavrickG writes:
ITs dropping because of their heavy liberal teachers. Just look who they have coming to speak, churchill and terriorist boy! Parents don't want their kids coming to this socialist campus.
February 24, 2009
12:52 p.m.
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Mouthpiece writes:
It might interest some here to know that a recent study reported on Forbes online showed that CU-Graduates are ranked number 7 nationally for post-graduate earning power/income.
Also, the numbers reported in this story only show a small decline in resident applications -- bringing the school back to what its numbers were in 2007, which itself was a record year for CU applications.
Numbers such as these are very dependent upon the economic picture. In tough times, folks tend to stay close to home, and then ratchet down their choices from there based on affordability.
It might interest people to know that CU-Boulder's resident tuition, when compared to its peers nationally, is about in the middle -- towards the bottom of the middle, actually.
Think what you want about the campus -- liberal, conservative, whatever -- but the impact of its graduates on business, the public sector, medicine, and the state's economy over all, is huge.
February 24, 2009
1:06 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
" Think what you want about the campus -- liberal, conservative, whatever -- but the impact of its graduates on business, the public sector, medicine, and the state's economy over all, is huge. "
[sarcasm] Yep, that is why the country is doing so well...And the outlook is really improving...[/sarcasm]
February 24, 2009
1:12 p.m.
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Madre2 writes:
Plenty of "conservative" speakers have appeared on the CU campus and will continue to do so. So you can let that pathological obsession go. Also, three student groups invited Ayers and Churchill to speak, not the university administration or its faculty. I've never seen so much black-and-white posturing.
February 24, 2009
1:22 p.m.
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Beergut writes:
MavrickG: The concept of state schools for education is Marxist. So if people didn't want a "socialist campus" they would have gone to a private school to began with.
So do most of you have a degree? Have you even been on a campus? It doesn't sound like it. I missed the lesbian make out session; I might have to go back for masters.
February 24, 2009
1:29 p.m.
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The_Punnisher writes:
You would be surprised at where and what gave me my education...
And what qualifications I had to to the jobs I have had...
I DID make it out of those campuses alive; No thanks to Ayers...
February 24, 2009
2:48 p.m.
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44roger writes:
I'd say the comment about Nebraska may be the key, better education, reputation, and cheaper, and, a better football team, lots of fan support that spills into Colorado, in fact, I see more folks with Nebraska logos on them than Colorado here.
February 24, 2009
2:54 p.m.
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fifty writes:
This is typical during a recession. All it means is that the student body will be less talented and instate students will grab more of the top grades. Instead of selecting out-of-state students from a pool of 14,239, the school will simply accept the same number of out-of-state students from 11,456 applicants.
The financial officer basically is letting the state know of this situation and the state has given its response, which is that it isn't going to provide anymore funding and the school will just have to accept less talented students.
The message to students is that if you are a bit slow and your parents have money, apply to C.U. because it will now accept you. If you are bright, as the lady posted above, don't count on money from C.U. Head to either a public or private out-of-state school.
February 24, 2009
3:24 p.m.
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GoldenKid writes:
Maybe people are figuring out with the bad economy and CU's reputation for leftwing and the homosexual indoctrination not to mention their Ivy Leaque tuition fees, they can do better at a real college in Kansas or Oklahoma for less money. If you want to screw up your kids mind and pay a fortune doing it go ahead and send then to CU and to Boulder.