24. High school seniors report increases in their use of a variety of sources of information about college. *
25. Sources of Info… Looked at college web site 74% Visited the college 46% Talked to parents 37% Talked to reps at high school visit 27% Talked with guidance counselor 26% Attended college fair/college night 20% Requested information online 11% Talked with friends 11% Looked at brochures 11% Talked with teachers 9%
27. Q:How worried are you about being able to pay for college expenses? Very worried 23% Somewhat worried 46% Not too worried 24% Not at all worried 7%
28. Q:Considering the current state of the nation’s economy, would you say you are more worried, less worried, or just as worried about paying for college as you were a year ago? More worried 54% Less worried 4% Just as worried 38% Was never worried 4%
29. Q:Given your concerns about paying for college, which of the following steps are you planning or considering to ease the financial burden? Applying for a scholarship/grant 93% Working part-time 82% Choose a major that leads to high-paying jobs 69% Taking out loans/bigger loans 66% Attend a less expensive college 56% Living at home 31% Working full-time while taking classes 26% Going to college part-time/taking fewer classes 17% Joining ROTC 15% *Base: Worried about paying for college
30. Focus Group Testing Objective: To test technical and conceptual elements of campaign materials Audience: College-bound PA high school juniors
34. Focus Group Testing Objective: To explore the effects of the current economic climate on college decision-making Ten 30-40 minute in-depth interviews conducted with parents of high school students who had been accepted
35.
36. Students feel it’s the parent’s job to pay for their education
37. Parents fear the financial burden of college tuition might be too large because of a decrease in their college savings as a result of the economy
Question: What issues concern you the most? (Top 5 Answers for Teens: Economy 59%, Finding Cures for Diseases 49%, Child Abuse 47%, War 46%, Education 44%)
“Trying to find a school that is right for you, but also, a price that is within your means to pay back.”
“The medical field is one place that there will always be jobs, I feel like. With the economy going down, there are a lot of other jobs that have closed down, but the medical field is the one field where jobs remained open.”
“I think people want to be assured that after they graduate, and what they went through and the money they spent, they want to be assured that it was worth it.”
“[The materials say] that [Penn State is] different and give us a reason to choose you over everyone else. That you are on a different level.”“[The photos] show the teachers with the students, one-on-one, which is really appealing. When you think of college, you think of a big, giant room and your professor and you learn and go on your own. When it shows the professor working with you, it shows they’ll help you.”“What I like about them is you can see where they are now. You can tell that he works in intelligence and she works in that lab … because the main goal is to get a good job, so it’s really important for people to see, “OK, if I get a degree at Penn State, I’ll be able to get this job.”“I feel like for general postcards – “hired” is a big thing because everybody wants to get a job after college.”
On color: “It’s more noticeable. It’s the first thing I noticed when you pulled them out.”On meaning: “It’s your turn to choose what you want to do … you’re finally independent and your transition[ing] to adulthood.”
![Key Concepts ,[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)