Monday, April 16, 2007

But sadly, the winnowing process sometimes begins long before acceptances go out. It begins before students even apply to college. "I could never afford to attend," they say.

In Maine, where many families make less annually than the cost of a year's tuition, room, and board at Colby, this reaction is common.

But those who think that the price of attending Colby means they can't afford it are wrong.

The reason for this is simple. Colby has millions of dollars in endowment money for financial aid. We assess each admitted student's need, and we meet that need. We even have more than 125 scholarships and funds that designate $1.4 million a year specifically for Mainers.

I wish I could say that those funds are a result of my 21 years of work at Colby. After all, I am a Maine kid -- graduated from Cony High -- and I am deeply committed to students from this great state. And as I read applications every year, I am consistently impressed by the quality of students who apply from Maine high schools.

My commitment to my home state isn't why Colby gives millions of dollars in grants to Maine students (in 2006-07 that amount was $3,456,950). Colby has always made Maine students a priority.

Why? There are a couple of reasons, and the first seems obvious. Colby's roots are in Maine. Just as I am committed to the state because of all that it gave me, Colby is grateful for all that Maine has done to help make the college what it is.

Less obvious, perhaps -- although I wish it weren't -- is that Maine students excel here. In the past 23 years, 12 Colby valedictorians have been from Maine. That's right. More than half. This is at a college where talented and high-achieving students come from 44 different states and 66 different countries.

When Chairman of the Colby Board of Trustees Joe Boulos '68 shared this information with the admitted students who attended Maine Day at Colby a week ago, eyebrows went up around the room. I like to think that is a reflection of the humility you find in Maine people.

Boulos came to campus to speak with these students because, as a native of South Portland, he too is committed to Maine students. Beyond that, he was addressing a situation that concerns us at Colby. Last year, though we admitted roughly the same number of Maine students, fewer enrolled. Colby's percentage of Maine students dropped to a level that made him -- and many of us -- uncomfortable.

Colby aims for Mainers to make up 10 to 12 percent of each entering class. Last year the percentage dropped to just below double digits. While we're not sure exactly why the drop occurred, it was cause for concern.

If Maine students are leaving the state because they want to experience life outside Maine, fine. If it's because they got into their first-choice school, and it wasn't Colby, I can live with that. But if they are not applying to Colby because they think they can't afford it, that's not okay -- and it's not true.

Two years ago when Colby waived the application fee for Maine students, our message was clear: Just apply. It can't hurt. Give us a chance and see what your financial aid package looks like. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Parents might be pleasantly surprised to learn that in 2006-07, Colby's average grant award to Maine students was $25,800. That's money that doesn't have to be paid back.

As I write this, students admitted to Colby's Class of 2011 are considering those long-awaited financial aid packages. For many, this is another time to celebrate, because they are finding out for themselves that indeed they can afford a Colby education.

Parker J. Beverage is Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Colby College.