Many thanks to NYC Private Schools Blog for drawing our attention to a fascinating article in this week’s Economist about trends in private school admission in bad economic times.
The article’s author claims that demand so outstrips supply for top private schools that competition will continue unmitigated despite economic turmoil. My only concern is that the article uses Fieldston admissions data from last year (+14% applicants) which doesn’t convince me, given that the recession only hit in October, after many people had applied. I will be more interested in next year’s statistics.
The author’s discussion of schools’ reputation and the strong tie with longevity and Ivy admissions rates is right on the mark. I was very interested in the explanation of the barriers to entry for new private schools and the comparison between what’s happening in the US and the UK. I think you will be too.