Colleen Eaglehouse, a high school senior from Blairsville, Pa. wandered the halls of the Tolley Administration Building after taking her first official tour of Syracuse University.

She’d checked out the interior design program and found it acceptable. She’d looked into the SU marching band —– a must for her college — and found it entertaining. The weather wasn’t a problem because she visits Cortland twice a year. And surprisingly, Syracuse’s $ 30,000-plus price tag didn’t bother her either.

In October, The Wall Street Journal announced, due in large part to a down economy, many students who had previously considered attending college at expensive private schools were choosing less expensive public alternatives.

So far the impact on SU has been minimal.

“There was just something missing at the public schools,’ Eaglehouse said. ‘I don’t know what it is, but they just weren’t as nice.’

Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw said judging by early admissions applications, instead of a decrease, Syracuse has seen an increase in interest. The number of applications has increased by more than 10 percent, he said.

He cautioned, though, that the increase in interest could stem from the fact that more students are sending out multiple applications, as well as the fact that online applications make it much less time-consuming to send out multiple forms.

He said he expects enrollment to stay nearly the same. However, he cautioned his guesses of last year’s enrollment were well off the mark.

Shaw expected a number of students to decline admission to SU after the Sept. 11 attacks when the economy dropped. To help reduce the impact, the school accepted an inordinate number of early applicants. Because relatively few of the applicants declined their admission, Shaw said Syracuse had to stop accepting applications immediately at the May 1 deadline and decline a number of potential transfer students.

‘Right now we see no indication that next year will be any different,’ Shaw said of the school’s enrollment. ‘Early admissions are up. Overall applications are too difficult to tell.’

Henninger High School guidance counselor Amelia Nigro agreed that students are sending out more applications and that the economy’s impact on the college selection process was minimal.

While Eaglehouse was finishing her guided tour, Nigro sat in her office talking to three graduating high school students.

‘Do any of you worry about how to pay for college when our economy is in the toilet?’ she asked. ‘Anybody? Nope, they seem to be oblivious to it.’

The school has dealt with parents who have lost their jobs and the stresses that it causes in students, but no student has directly told Nigro they can’t afford to go to a private school because of the economy.

‘I’ve heard a few people walking down the hallway saying, my parents can only afford to send me to a (State University of New York) school, or I’m going to have to go to (Onondaga Community College),’ Nigro said.

The economy has not affected low-income students — 40 percent of Henninger students receive free or reduced-fee lunches — but rather middle class students.

While students with less income can still rely on financial aid packages to help them, many middle-class students receive little financial aid. It’s these students whose parents are sometimes restricted in choice, Nigro said.

SU may not be feeling the effects, but SUNY schools have taken advantage of the public school popularity. Enrollment in New York public schools increased by more than 8,000 students during 2002, a 2.2 percent jump.

SUNY College at Oswego Associate Director of Admissions Jerry Oberst said he believes the current economic climate, as well as a new recruitment campaign, have combined to create the increase. SUNY schools, though, have seen an increase in the past five years, regardless of the economy.

‘We certainly believe that finances are a significant part of the increase,’ Oberst said. ‘We also put out some radio advertisements for the first time. There was an enrollment increase across the board (for all SUNY schools).’

Eaglehouse decided the scholastic benefits of a private school outweigh the financial advantages of a public school. She will receive some scholarship money, but much of her college education will be funded through loans.

‘We’re going to do our best to be able to afford it,’ Colleen’s mother Cathy said. ‘It’s her first choice. If we can’t afford it, she’ll probably try to get into a private school like Chatham (College). Her third choice is Ohio State.’

Eaglehouse said she would rather attend a local private school like Chatham, receive in-state aid, and benefit from a private college setting, than go to a public school such as Ohio State.

Shaw said if SU’s enrollment drops substantially, the school would be forced to completely re-work the budget, because most of SU’s revenue comes from tuition fees.

The Senate Budget Committee is working on a plan to make budget changes if the economy falls into a deep depression, Shaw said. Three years ago the same committee was working on a plan in case the economy kept improving, but never needed to put the plan into effect.

Adjusting financial aid isn’t a major concern, Shaw said. Each year a number of students need more financial aid than in the previous year due to changing family situations.

‘You run into things like a divorce when one parent refuses to pay,’ Shaw said. ‘That stuff’s always going on. You build that into you’re expectations. If the economy takes an enormous hit, we’ll reorganize.’

At this point, the committee has changed a few predictions in their five-year budget due to the economy, but has not made any monumental changes, he said.

‘Parents seem to be saying that it’s worth the cost,’ Shaw said.

Eaglehouse agreed. ‘I was walking around some of the public schools and they weren’t nearly as nice,’ she said. ‘The food wasn’t as good and they just didn’t look as clean. I guess you get what you pay for.’

Published on December 4, 2002 at 12:00 pm