If you're going to a big flagship school, you're gonna be just fine. Kids don't want to go to smaller schools anymore. And that's the projected demographic cliff. It's why NPC has implemented new total setting methods for schools with dropping open house pools. It's why schools are no longer waiting to expand - if the struggling chapter can't catch up, they're going to move ahead without them. Schools like Westminster (or in my neck of the woods, Albright) are offering students full rides just to get them to come there. Many students turn down full rides at those small schools for the big university experience.
As the PA state system, it's FUBAR at this point. PASSHE has lost all integrity because they admit anyone with a pulse, outside of West Chester. Most state schools have 90% acceptance rates. Guess what happens then? You lose any "prestige" you may have had 20 or 30 years ago. In 2010, there were over 84,000 applicants to PASSHE schools, and 61% were accepted. In 2022, there were 59,000 applicants to PASSHE schools and 90% were accepted.
The
Allegheny Institute has a great article about PASSHE and comparisons to other PA schools - it ain't pretty.
