S2 Is your first choice an option anymore?

If you're a senior in high school, chances are you're not going to attend your first choice college. That's just the reality of it. That's quite shocking for those students that aren't in the top 10% of their class. The other 90% of the class gets the short end of the stick. The number of students that actually went to their first choice college has been the lowest in 4 decades. Why is this number suddenly dropping so much? The cost of tuition is rising considerably and the availability of financial aid is slimming down to barely anything. FOX News writes, "The annual survey released Wednesday, conducted by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute, found that while more than three-quarters of those who started college last fall were admitted to the school they most wanted to attend, only 57 percent ended up going to their top school. That was the lowest rate in the 39 years that the institute has asked first-time freshmen if they enrolled at their dream college...Although many colleges are turning to online courses as a way to reduce costs and the time it takes to earn a degree, the survey showed that the idea was not very popular with students. Fewer than 7 percent indicated there was a very good chance they would take an online course offered by their college. The percentage was twice as high, however, among students at historically black colleges and universities." In my opinion though, if I'm paying for an education, I want to get the whole experience. College teaches life lessons that can't be gained any other way.