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Friday, January 2, 2009
Inside Education & Training
Grad school applicants are cautious in light of recession
By Dann Anthony Maurno, Special to Mass High Tech
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A man in his early 40s stands outside The Career Place in Woburn, which is busy these days, glumly awaiting an intake interview. He asked that we not use his last name or name of the company that laid him off (“Only my wife knows I’m out of work”). With a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, he is considering an MBA, or at least, coursework. “I kept meaning to do (it)while I was, you know, ‘gainfully employed.’ Hard to afford now.”
Downturns in the economy and job market usually bring spikes in graduate school applications, but this time is different, according to the early indicators from New England colleges. Numbers are up, but only slightly.
There is every reason to return. According to Bureau of Labor and Statistics data, unemployment stats shrink drastically with educational qualifications: In September, unemployment was 3.1 percent among people with a bachelor’s degree in science or arts; and 2 percent for those with master’s degrees or higher.
Yet the number of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test takers declined in 2008 for the first time since 2004. GRE statistics are considered a good indicator of future enrollments. The Educational Testing Service (which administers the exams) blames the credit crunch for discouraging applicants.
“The money is harder to come by,” says John Mullin, graduate dean at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Mullin has observed only a small uptick of perhaps 5 percent in 2008 graduate school applications. “In times past, even in a downturn, there was loan money available and plenty of assistantships. We’re level (over 2007) on resident and teaching assistantships, and now I think bank loans are tougher to find.”
Perhaps the wave is still building. Kaplan Inc. prepares grad school applicants worldwide for exams like the GRE. Director of graduate programs Priya Dasgupta says “There has been livened interest in all degree programs. We’re seeing about a 45 percent growth (since September) in interest in preparing for admissions,” and heightened attendance at free events, practice test events, and admission seminars.
The 2007 GRE had record numbers of takers, says Dasgupta. The ETS in early 2007 announced plans to make the GRE more stringent, which Dasgupta believes caused a rush. Results are valid for five years, thus a test taken in 2007 is as valid as one taken in 2008. ETS expects the 2008 number to be 621,000, down from 2007 at 633,000 — still significantly higher than 577,000 in 2006.
At MIT, officials don’t expect final counts of applications until February “We had about 17,000 last year, which was up from 15,000 the year before, and it seems now we’ll do at least what we did last year,” says Erin Yunes, a senior assistant in graduate admissions, on the beachhead of the wave of applications.
Colleges like MIT have a built-in immunity from economic downturns. “The students who apply have made it their goal to be at MIT and have been working at getting in for several years,” says Yunes, “so tuition isn’t the issue. They make it happen.” Those who apply for assistantships, waivers and financial aid from the college find out their status only after acceptance. One loses nothing but a $75 admission fee by applying.
Harvard University saw moderate increases in applications to all degree programs in 2008 — so says Linda Cross, director of media relations for Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education. But the numbers are up even more at its extension school. The extension school allows students to take three courses that count toward a degree before applying for admission to the degree program. “We are seeing an increase in course enrollments in information technology, and as a result, expect to see a moderate increase in applications to our degree programs,” says associate dean Henry Leitner, the program’s director of graduate programs in information technology. Course enrollments in management, environmental management, and biotechnology have also seen increases which says Cross, may translate into a rise in applications to these degree programs in 2009 and beyond.
Still, the majority of extension school students are not pursuing a degree, but greater knowledge and credentials. These are called “certificate programs” at other colleges and, are a fast track to knowledge and credentials. As Mullin at UMass Amherst describes, “There’s immense interest in certificate programs (nationwide), and we’re on our way to adding 10 this year.” In the spring, UMass Amherst will offer a certificate in LEED certification, the rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council: LEED certification auditors are in high demand.
None of those interviewed had any indicator yet on the number of undergrad-to-graduate school applicants. Likely, those numbers will rise as students ride out the downturn in the job market. The man awaiting his intake appointment at The Career Place says “If I was starting over, I’d have gone right on to get a master’s. Or stayed in the Navy. Wasn’t the easiest job, but I’d be working today.”
Dann Anthony Maurno is a freelance writer in Salem.
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