As the fall semester winds down and spring registration starting, students and parents are expressing their top concerns regarding higher education. The 2021 College Hopes & Worries Survey Report from The Princeton Review gathered insights into the perspectives of college applicants and their parents along the college application journey, asking participants about their dream college, the most challenging part of the application process, financial aid and the factors that affect their decisions to apply to colleges and accept offers.
The report, now in its 18th year, also asked about COVID-19’s affect on college admission and applications, and any concerns or challenges with respect to the application process due to the pandemic. About 79 percent of the approximately 14,000 respondents were students, while 21 percent were parents of college applicants.
The survey shows that students (and their parents) have plenty of concerns with the entire college selection and admission process. Higher education institutions can keep these in mind as they develop and shape their admissions policy and process.
Among the major concerns of incoming college students and their parents:
- The toughest part of the college admission process is taking entrance exams. More than a third (38%) of students indicated that taking the SAT®, ACT® or AP® exams was the most challenging hurdle in the application process. Another 31 percent found completing admission and financial applications to be the most daunting, 20 percent thought that waiting for the decision letters and choosing a school was toughest, and 11 percent believed that deciding which schools to apply to was the toughest part of the entire admission process.
- Students are stressed out by the college application process. Nearly three-fourths (74%) of both participating parents and students said their stress levels were “very high” or “high”.
- College costs are top of mind for incoming students – and their parents. A full 63 percent of students and parents estimated that their college education would cost more than $75,000 – and more than a third of respondents (37%) believed the four-year degree would total more than $100,000. More than 80 percent said that financial aid in the form of education loans, scholarships or grants would be “extremely” or “very” necessary to fund the student’s financial education.
- Students and their parents are worried about debt. About 40 percent identified their biggest concern about the student’s college applications was the level of debt to pay for the degree. This has been the answer most frequently chosen by respondents for the past nine years.
The report also reveals general preferences with college selection, which schools may keep in mind in their marketing efforts.
When it comes to choosing which college to attend, the survey results pointed to financial, reputational and program considerations. These factors were most important in determining the final selection:
- 41 percent said they’d select the college that’s the best overall fit for the student.
- 39 percent responded that they would choose a college based on the student’s career interests.
- 11 percent would choose a college based on the school’s academic reputation.
- 9 percent of parents and children would choose “the most affordable” college.
A school’s environmental responsibility is an important consideration, with 75 percent of parents and students saying the college’s environmental commitment would affect their decision. About 25 percent said it would either not much or not at all affect their decision.
Not surprisingly, the top 10 dream schools for both students and parents include Ivy League and other top schools. Both students and parents identified Harvard College and Stanford University as their top two picks. Also, not surprisingly, parents and students differed in their choice of school proximity to home, with students wanting a school further from home. About three-fourths (68%) of student respondents said they’d like the school to be more than 250 miles from home, and nearly half of parents (49%) wanted their child’s college to be closer than 250 miles away. The findings that indicate that students want to be further from home while parents want children closer have been constant since this question was asked for the first time in the 2006 survey.