My friend Sarah Schupp, publisher of University Parent, alerted me to a Chicago Sun-Times piece about a recent survey of college students at 40 U.S. colleges.  The findings of the survey included:

• Nearly 20 percent of student respondents at 40 U.S. colleges said at least one parent lost a job in the last year.
• 22 percent of students said they worry a lot about having enough money to get through a typical week at school, and one-third said they worry a lot about the finances of their parents.
• Nearly one in five changed plans this year and decided to attend graduate school after college because an undergraduate degree might not be enough to get a job.
• Job loss in the family made 27 percent of students consider dropping out.
• 32 percent said financial worries have a lot of impact on the stress they're under.

Sobering thoughts as we work to finalize our freshman class and plan for retention of current students...

-Teresa Valerio Parrot