8 Secrets Colleges Don't Want You to Know

Yes, the economy is showing signs of turning around. But the recent financial crisis inflicted severe financial damage on American colleges and universities.

• Endowments plummeted. The National Association of College and Business Officers reports an average decline of 18.9 percent in endowments to 842 American colleges and universities for fiscal year 2009.
• Even America’s most prestigious universities were hit hard. According to Business Week, Dartmouth College’s endowment lost $824 million and fell to $2.82 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. In that same year, Yale’s endowment fell from $22.9 billion to $16.3 billion.

Problems, Problems …

In response to those financial setbacks, colleges began taking drastic measures to cut costs:

• One prominent women’s college in New England closed its healthcare center on weekends, shuttered several dining halls, and cut back on meal plans.
• The University of California sends faculty members on “furlough,” meaning that they now work one or two days less every week.
• Colleges and universities everywhere have fired non-academic employees, turned down the heat in dorms, canceled classes, and abandoned plans for expansion.

Yes, American colleges face hard times. But they aren’t talking to reporters or mentioning these problems on their websites. Why? In order to generate income, colleges need students – lots of them – which they won’t attract if they hang out their dirty laundry for prospective students and their parents to see.

Just the opposite ... many colleges want to distract would-be students from noticing what’s really happening on their campuses. They have unpleasant secrets they don’t want you to know.

What Secrets?

Let’s take a look at some of the trends colleges don’t want to talk about and how they can decrease your return on investment for every tuition dollar you spend.

Secret #1 -Financial Aid Is Not What It Seems
Secret #2 -Courses and Professors Listed in the College Catalog Might Not Be Available
Secret #3 -You Could Be Required to Take College Courses Elsewhere
Secret #4 -Students Get Pushed Out of Classrooms and Into Computer Labs
Secret #5 -Your College Might Want You to Drop Out
Secret #6 -State and Public Colleges are Losing Their Bargain Status
Secret #7 Colleges are Doing Weird Things to Achieve Higher Rankings
Secret #8 -Colleges Favor Income-Producing Applicants

How Can You Avoid Becoming a Victim?

Is there a way to eliminate the risks – the packed classrooms, closed-out courses, chilly dorms, and huge loans to pay off?

Yes, there is.

You can take reasonably priced college courses online at StraighterLine.com for as little as $49 per course through our monthly college plan.

Here are just a few of the other benefits you’ll enjoy as a StraighterLine student:

• You can slash your college costs by taking most or all of your required introductory courses for $1,000 or less.
• You can pursue your studies when you want, where you want. Our courses adapt flexibly to your lifestyle and schedule.
• You can earn college credits before you arrive on campus.
• You can reduce risks by “test driving” subjects before you enroll in the same courses at your regular college.
• You can move ahead at your own pace and repeat lesson sections as often as you like.