Competition for Admission to College Will Get Tougher

Today's high school students will need to work hard to get into college as spots at most schools will only get tighter due to several factors.  The economy is forcing Kentucky and other states to cut funding to post-secondary schools (state universities and community/technical colleges) which means they will most likely be limited in the number of students they can admit to their schools.  Add to this mix the high number of workers that are looking to improve their job skills in order to get a better job or have been layed off and the competition to get into colleges will most likely get stiffer.

 According to Jobless seek skills in vain at colleges from The Washington Post:

"All over the United States, community college enrollments have surged with unemployed and underemployed people seeking new skills.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System saw the sharpest growth among the state's public institutions during the 2009-10 school year and the past decade. Enrollment at KCTCS increased 6.1 percent during the past year, to 106,500. Its enrollment jumped 79.2 percent during the past decade.

But just as workers have turned to community colleges, states have cut their budgets, forcing the institutions to turn away legions of students and stymieing the efforts to retrain the work force."

The Lexington Herald-Leader's Kentucky college enrollment hits all-time high article describes the growth seen at Kentucky's public and private schools.

"Enrollment in Kentucky's public and independent colleges and universities hit an all-time high this fall with 271,352 enrolled students, according to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education."

In these times, it will be critically important for the Ryle community to work together to prepare our students for admission to and success in college.