College admissions is serious business out here in the upper-middle-class suburbs. Parents hire college advisors and tutors to increase the odds that their child will get into a school with the “right fit.” Thousands are spent guiding their children through the admission process, even before the first tuition bill. 

Yet, these decisions are being made without considering massive changes in the higher education landscape. Ongoing economic shifts are making it more difficult for graduates to find work. With a decrease in international students (they pay full freight for tuition) and a decrease in federal grants, universities will have to make major shifts in operations in the next year. Systems are rapidly changing, but parents haven’t noticed yet.

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