Beyond the (College) Brochure

In this episode of Beyond the College Brochure, I explore a question most students and parents never think to ask: What happens when only five students graduate from your intended major? 

Small academic programs can offer personal attention and outstanding educational experiences, but they can also create financial challenges for colleges. When the number of graduates in a major continues to decline, colleges facing financial pressure may reduce faculty, limit course offerings, consolidate departments, or eliminate the program altogether. And while colleges generally provide opportunities for enrolled students to finish their degrees, the educational experience may look very different from what families originally expected.

I explain why families should investigate the number of students completing their intended major over the past five or more years, rather than relying on college marketing materials and promises. 

A small graduating class isn't automatically a warning sign, but a consistent decline in completions, particularly at a financially struggling college, deserves serious attention. 

At College Viability, we encourage families to examine academic program completions alongside institutional financial health and enrollment trends. The bottom line: Before investing four years and potentially $100,000 or more, make sure the academic program you're choosing today is likely to be there tomorrow.

There was a time in America when a college degree didn't need much explaining.

You earned one.  You framed it.  You hung it on the wall.

And everybody understood what it meant.

Or at least…........ We thought we did.

A college degree meant opportunity.  A better job.  A better income.  A better life.

And for decades, the federal government operated on pretty much the same assumption.

If an accredited college said its program was legitimate…

Washington helped students borrow the money to attend.

The college had the accreditation.

The student had the FAFSA.

The government had the checkbook.

And everybody went on their way.

But something has changed..............................................

If you were to wander through the apple orchards of Amherst, Massachusetts, you’d find a campus that has long prided itself on doing things a little differently. Founded in the mid-1960s, Hampshire College famously threw out the old playbook. No grades. No standard majors. They promised an "experimental" education where students could design their own learning, and ultimately, design their own lives.

For decades, it was a sanctuary for the dreamers, the creators, and the non-conformists.

And if you looked at the mailboxes of high school seniors early this year, it seemed the dream was more vibrant than ever. The acceptance letters were arriving, packed with handwritten postcards and warm phone calls from alumni. But more than that, they were packed with money.

But there is a secret in the front office of higher education that is rarely whisper to the public. A scholarship isn’t always a prize. Sometimes, it’s just a "butt-in-seat" strategy.

The experts will tell you that when a campus is half-empty, a student who pays just two thousand dollars is better than an empty desk. So, you invent an award. You hike up the "tuition discount" to fifty or sixty percent. You "buy" the enrollment to put off the inevitable for one more semester.

While the admissions team was courting freshmen with handwritten notes, the ledger behind the curtain was in a absolute train wreck. The school had missed its enrollment goals by nearly half. The campus café was quietly shut down. The debt was mounting.

And then, just as the finals season hit, the music stopped.

They were learning that the most important "stats" aren't the ones on the scoreboard... they are the ones engraved in stone -
at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Taps is played every home game at 7:00 p.m.  The game stops.  Players, coaches, umpires, and fans stop in absolute quiet as Taps is played at the adjacent cemetery.

This is college 'Beyond the College Brochure.

Here is the link to a video report on the event.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ6YYrmw-qA 

The house is perfect.  The location is fabulous.  The price is right.  You are ready to sign.
So, you hire someone to inspect your future home.

Why not do the same thing before you sign with a college?

Buy a House without an Inspection? 

If you’ve ever bought a house, you know the dance. You spend your weekends at open houses, walking across polished hardwood floors and admiring the quartz countertops. You check the "must-have" list—maybe for you, it’s a laundry room on the main level because you’re done hauling baskets up from the basement.

You compare the school districts. You look at the HOA fees. You imagine your life inside those walls. It’s a game of "Comparison." You’re looking for the best fit from a set of options.

But once you find "the one"—before you sign that thirty-year mortgage commitment—you do something very different. You don't call a decorator. You call an inspector. A housing inspector. 
But a college can "offer" a major the same way a house can "have" a roof. The real question— is whether that roof is going to be there, in good condition, when the storm hits in year three.

Families are committing four years of their children’s lives and six figures in college costs on the "curb appeal" of an admissions brochure. They are walking into that  hundred-thousand-dollar contract without ever looking behind the walls.