Summary
Admission and Financial Aid Committee Meeting
March 7, 2005
Jim Sumner led a broad discussion and overview of the College's admission
and financial aid planning, recent past and present, similar to his presentation
to the faculty at their Sept. meeting:
1) Goals presented in 2000; grow the applicant pool, improve the academic quality of the entering classes, increase ethnic diversity, protect/preserve need-blind admission, compete for the best students world-wide with the 20 best American colleges and universities, increase net tuition revenue, and build a class that is intellectually engaged, talented, well-matched to the College, diverse and full.
2) How are these goals being met? increased faculty involvement (key note speakers at key admission events on campus and elsewhere, and telephoning of top admitted students, for example, growth of prospect pool via acquisition of the names of more PSAT and ACTP early/high test takers, quicker and better response to inquiring prospectives, expanded markets, expanded direct mail/email campaign, consortia travel, expanded alumni volunteer program, new partnerships/relationships with community based organizations ( Posse and a dozen or so others), new multi-layered communications plan for prospectives, creation of a Committee on Marketing, and staff stabilization.
3) With whom do we compete? our key competition is, in order, Carleton C., Maclester C., Washington U. , and Oberlin, C. Most of our competition is with other independent college and universities.
4) Financial Aid; Grinnell has maintained its commitment to need blind admission and meeting the full demonstrated financial need of all admitted US students, along with 14 or fewer other colleges and universities (according to the ATLANTIC MONTHLY, Oct., 2003). About 90% of our students receive cash aid from the College, most in need-based grants and some in merit scholarships. The College is anxious to wean itself from its large expenditure of merit scholarship monies. This year the College is liberalizing its needs analysis methodology and its student budget in an effort to better meet the needs its admitted students.
5) Results; during the last 5-6 years the entering classes have improved academically, become more diverse ethnically and socio-economically, and the applicant pool has grown by 40%, and retention has improved to 88%. Net tuition revenue has fluctuated and generally not been very good.