The future of independent schools page 3 Spring Conference pre-cons page 5 Facing Deferment page 9 INSIGHTS THE NEWSLETTER OF THE INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION February/March 2018 Calendar Welcome to Austin! Can You Hear the Music? March 13 Webinar: Taking the Stress Out Are you excited about Austin, often described Four pre-con sessions will take place on of Test Taking as everyone’s favorite city in Texas? You should Wednesday morning as well, offering something March 21 be! It’s not only warm and sunny—boasting for everyone before the opening keynote by Small Boarding School 300 days of sunshine a year, which most of us Angela Maiers, author, visionary, and disrupter. Conference desperately need—it’s also a fun town. With an Maiers will challenge participants to make April 4–6 alt-Texas vibe—blending business ingenuity, “mattering” a way of life as she shares her LD College Tour, MN artistic inspiration, and musical culture—it lives Choose2Matter movement and philosophy. April 9–14 up to its ‘Keep Austin Upstate New York Tour Weird’ tagline. Celebrated as the April 10 Webinar “live music capital of The Art & Science of Curating the world,” Austin’s Social Media for College Sixth Street boasts Admissions nearly 200 musical April 15–17 acts every night of SACAC Annual Conference the week. A perfect April 22–23 way to relax after a TACAC Annual Conference full day of learning and networking. Add April 22–25 IECA Pre-Conference Tours, TX that to IECA’s line- up of campus tours, April 25–27 IECA Spring Conference, educational sessions, Austin, TX and speakers and it’s just about perfect. April 27–28 IECA Board Meeting In keeping with Because they were a hit in Washington, DC, the Austin’s creative energy, IECA is once again May 8 ACE talks are back. All conference participants Webinar: Marketing and offering a blend of tradition and innovation. will be able to hear three new speakers in Branding for the New(er) IEC Member-only tours are taking place on Monday, brief TedTalk-like remarks, among them Dave Tuesday, and Wednesday morning: two-day Crenshaw, who has appeared in Time magazine, Inside Insights college tours start in both Dallas or Houston USA Today, and FastCompany. His book The President’s Letter 2 and follow the trail through San Antonio right to Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Regional Group News 23 the conference in Austin. That’s lots of time to Nothing Done is a best-selling time management Why I Belong 24 In the News 25 explore and network. book. In addition, ACE speaker David Holmes On the Road 26 continued on page 4 Campus Visits 27 Introductions 28 Advertiser Index 29 President’s Letter Paddling Like Crazy There is nothing permanent except change. teens and young adults, and changes in 529 —Heraclitus plans that will now allow funds to be used for religious schools and homeschooling. Hardly a day goes by without a headline Ann Rossbach announcing changes or challenges IEC practices are faced with more and new But although all these tasks can seem to our profession. In just the last few types of competition. A more-corporate overwhelming, as IECA members we have weeks, articles have featured stories model is being adopted by groups of IECs. access to information and knowledge as about a dramatic drop in foreign student In my area, several unaffiliated IECs have well as a network of professionals that can applications, shifting tax laws that threaten opened practices, and anecdotally, I hear the help us meet those challenges. Some of the the eligibility to deduct home equity loans, same is happening elsewhere. best ways to access this knowledge is to and a $33 million offer from a private donor All this change provides both challenges attend our regional events and conferences to fund scholarships for DACA students. and opportunities. Keeping up is a huge (Austin should be great!) and build a cohort College IECs are also witnessing a dramatic responsibility and lots of work. Our families of colleagues. Together we can face the shift in admissions decisions this year, with expect us to stay abreast of changes and challenges of change. what feels like more deferrals. And we are not provide counseling support amid the isolated from the volatile political and social emotional rollercoaster of admissions environment that affects everything: a rise in decisions. Sometimes it reminds me of that sexual assaults on campuses, an increase in image of a swan, calm and serene on top anxiety and anxiety-related disorders among while paddling like hell below the surface. Ann Rossbach, MAT, IECA President Insights In Focus Published by: International and Domestic Graduate Students in STEM Fields Independent Educational Consultants Association Number of Full- Number of 3251 Old Lee Highway, Suite 510 Field of Study Percent Time International Full-Time Domestic Fairfax, Virginia 22030 International Graduate Students Graduate Students in 2015 in 2015 Phone: 703-591-4850 Fax: 703-591-4860 Electrical Engineering 81% 32,736 7,783 www.IECAonline.com Petroleum Engineering 81% 1,258 302 e-mail: [email protected] Computer Science 79% 45,790 12,539 President: Ann Rossbach, MAT Industrial Engineering 75% 7,676 2,539 Chief Executive Officer: Statistics 69% 4,321 1,966 Mark H. Sklarow Economics 63% 7,770 4,492 Deputy Executive Director: Mechanical Engineering 62% 12,676 7,644 Sue S. DePra Civil Engineering 59% 9,159 6,284 Manager of Communications: Sarah S. Brachman Chemical Engineering 57% 5,001 3,834 Editor: Jan Umphrey Pharmaceutical Sciences 56% 1,931 1,502 Metallurgical/Materials 55% 3,723 3,103 Design and Layout: Sarah S. Cox Engineering Connect with us on Facebook, Agricultural Engineering 53% 726 654 IECA’s blog, LinkedIn (for IECA members Agricultural Economics 53% 881 796 only), and Twitter (@IECA). Source: National Science Foundation, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, NFAP calculations. U.S. students include lawful permanent residents. http://nfap.com/wp-content/ uploads/2017/10/The-Importance-of-International-Students.NFAP-Policy-Brief.October-20171.pdf 2 IECA INSIGHTS February/March 2018 Trends in Independent Schools: Here Come the Centennials By Victoria Conway Newman, IECA (CT)) At IECA’s fall conference in Washington, DC, schools with lower schools: they must work harder at attracting I was the coleader of a roundtable discussion and retaining students. Simultaneously, the demand for high- that focused on honest conversations about quality upper schools increases yearly with more and more current trends in independent schools. We interested applicants not securing a spot at their top-choice day or reviewed numerous national studies and polls boarding schools. It should come as no surprise that many of the that provided a great deal of insight into the independent upper schools in Fairfield and Westchester counties future of independent schools, particularly in have acceptance rates that rival those of top-tier colleges. communities like Greenwich, CT. The recent So the millennial/centennial families have struck a deal. They acquisition of Stanwich School by Greenwich choose the best public elementary and middle schools in their Country Day School is an example of one such national trend. communities, spend their income on great vacations and life Being a data-driven person at heart, guided by psychometrics and experiences, and then use any remaining income to keep their child research, I thought it would be interesting to share how we got here at the head of the pack with tutors and specialized extracurriculars. and what we should expect moving forward. This is a particularly When the time comes, the student has a compelling application important issue at this time because, as independent educational for a top day or boarding school. Is this trend sustainable for consultants (IECs), we can only assist families with choosing the independent schools? Probably not. best fit school for their The families seem to have child if we all know how to found their footing in this new individualize this increasingly economy. Now it is up to the data-driven process for independent schools to focus students and families. their efforts on developing At the nexus of the communities, curriculums, and conversation are the cost structures that attract and millennials (those born retain not just upper school between 1977–95) and their students but also middle children, the centennials (born and lower school students to 1996 or later). The millennials ensure the financial health of were famously referred to the school over the long term. by Time as the “me, me, me It is interesting to note that generation.” Centennials only 30% percent of member share that focus on “me,” schools in the Enrollment but with the added twist Management Association now of believing that it is up to have retention committees them to educate themselves, to see how they can keep earn their own money, and save for their future. So where does the students and families that have become a vital part of their an independent school education fit into a family made up of both communities. millennials and centennials? What are they missing in the public Retention and Differentiators school environment? What are they prepared to pay to make up for those perceived deficits? Parents are looking closely at a school’s There are many other important trends at independent schools value proposition and differentiators. across the United States that are affecting private schools. As IECs we need to share these exciting programs with prospective Enrollment Shifts families. There are key signature programs that act as differentiators Statistics tell us that the high school age group will remain flat (service learning, global studies, makerspaces), and some schools until the end of the decade when it will begin to rise modestly with are moving away from Advanced Placement courses.