Fall Enrollment Defies Economy

Despite the recession, colleges aren't seeing the dip in freshman commitments they anticipated, reports the New York Times. The percentage of accepted students who have confirmed their enrollment at places like Yale, Harvard, and the University of Virginia and Wisconsin is about the same as last year. But it hasn't been a free ride for colleges. Many institutions have significantly increased their financial aid offerings, say administrators.

The schools represent a sliver of the nation's 2000 four-year universities, and it will be months before the economy's full toll can be gauged. But the statistics so far have eased worries.  “For all the Chicken Little and dire predictions, it seems to have worked out just fine here,” said a dean at California's Pomona College, which has nearly filled its freshman class.
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