Budget stalemate erodes interest in some Illinois colleges

(AP) — High school seniors' unease over the lack of state funding for Illinois universities is contributing to a drop in applications at a number of campuses, and the problem appears to primarily affect schools facing some of the toughest financial struggles.

A review of admissions data by The Associated Press found that applications for the 2016-2017 fall semester are down for at least four of the state's 12 public university campuses — all of them smaller schools that don't have as much money coming in from things like research grants and tuition and have smaller endowments .

Belleville resident Bryce Evans considered Eastern Illinois University, among other schools, but the Althoff Catholic High School senior is instead opting for Butler University, a private school in Indianapolis.

Northeastern Illinois University Provost Richard Helldobler and administrators at other schools said high school guidance counselors are advising students to think about bypassing state schools.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in Monetary Award Program grants, typically available for low-income students, also weren't funded for months before Rauner and lawmakers agreed in April to provide part of the money.

A record 38,075 students applied to the school, which also lost state funding but has a global reputation in engineering and other fields, a large endowment and additional funding sources.