<p>In this week's Exonian (the PEA newspaper) it was stated the school will be accepting fewer students who need FA and more students who are able to pay full tuition.</p>
<p>It also stated that because of this, Exeter will be turning away some "very talented students".</p>
<p>Timing is everything folks.</p>
<p>I'm sure this is true and difficult information to hear right now.</p>
<p>How do some schools say that admission decisions are made exclusive of finanaical aid needs?</p>
<p>Can you post the link?</p>
<p>Does this mean they are no longer "need blind" and no longer offering to those under the $75K income bracket?</p>
<p>The news itself is not surprising. It is surprising that they are turning away from need-blind admissions. Many schools that people think are need-blind really are not. Most schools throw in some kind of qualifier. Like, "It is the GOAL of the admissions....." or "Our OBJECTIVE is ......"</p>
<p>I assume this means that this means Exeter will have a FA to FP ratio that is closer to that of their peer schools. </p>
<p>They have to keep the doors open.</p>
<p>FA decisions made exclusively of admissions decisions simply means that the decision of whether or not to admit a student is made...THEN those admitted students who need fa are looked at again and a decision is made as to which ones will receive fa. Some are admitted without fa. I don't think they were ever truly completely need blind in the way everyone interprets it. Why would the fa percentage have stayed in the 40's? They met 100% of the need of the admitted students who were chosen to receive aid.</p>
<p>Is this including this year? Are financial aid applicants who are hoping to attend in September 2009 subject to this new need-sighted policy? Or will this be made effective for next year's applicants?</p>
<p>so this year's applicants (hopefully attending in Sept. 09) will not be facing need blind FA admission???
I thought Exeter put a LOT of emphasis upon its need blind FA!</p>
<p>I'm sure Exeter - and other well-endowed schools - continue to put a lot of emphasis on diversity in all forms, however, the financial markets have taken their toll and it wouldn't be prudent for schools like Exeter to not change their stance, at least temporarily. We know these schools' endowments were down about 25% last year, and market performance this year has caused additional hits to endowment fund values. </p>
<p>This will not be the best year to be applying for Financial Aid.</p>
<p>For those who haven't been reading this thread:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/573003-financial-market-impact-endowments-financial-aid-applications-etc-19.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/573003-financial-market-impact-endowments-financial-aid-applications-etc-19.html</a></p>
<p>I just wish the schools would tell applicants that they were waitlisted or denied because of FA (when that is the case). I'm sure there are many kids who would feel a lot better about themselves if they knew that their negative decisions were not based on their qualifications, but on something that they have no control over. I sometimes interpret waitlist decisions that way. It's a courtesy to the student to let them know that they really liked them and thought they would do well, but they aren't willing or able to pay for them.</p>
<p>VERY disappointed by this news.....
Of course Exeter is an independent school so it has all the rights to change its acceptance policies. But I felt like I am cheated. I am not from wealthy family. I need to rely on full FA. I study very hard to get good 99% score in SSAT. I lost sleep over writing good essays. I spend so much time and effort because I had hope that I can get in to great school. I worked very hard and delivered. but...
I wished Exeter does not make such announcement. Even Exeter DOES select by financial situation, I wanted them to hide it. If I am rejected, I wanted to believe I am not in because of the lack of my ability not because of their policy change. Today is my worst day....</p>
<p>All these schools will still be giving out millions of $ in FA so don't be overly pessimistic. Everyone put tons of work into applications whether FA or full pay. 5 more days for positive thinking.</p>
<p>Personally, I appreciate the fact that Exeter is being straightforward and "coming clean" on their change of status. I feel certain that most schools were inundated with FA requests from their current student that had to be addressed. The burdens on the schools in this crisis are immeasurable. At this point, I welcome transparency of all sorts and I applaud Exeter for their honesty.</p>
<p>And I agree with Neatoburrito--I would want to know if my son was denied admission based on FA requirements. It seems so much more palatable to me to know that he was denied admission because the school does not have the means to fund his education sufficiently. No private school "owes" my son an education, and we would consider ourselves beyond blessed were he allowed the opportunity to receive aid for school. However, if he is a qualified candidate who simply didn't make the FA cut this year, we would consider allowing him to apply again in a more FA-friendly year. However, if he just doesn't measure up to the school's standards, I wouldn't want him to go through the emotional roller-coaster again for naught.</p>
<p>Hastalavista... Could you please send us the link to the article?Did they mean for 2009 applicants or for 2010? Thanks.</p>
<p>If this is taking place at Exeter, it is a safe bet that it is occurring everywhere else. Currently enrolled students asked for more aid and they are ahead of new matriculants in the line. I wonder if the dollar-South Korea won exchange rate has any to do with this. I bet many schools will have rolling admissions open after March 10.</p>
<p>The Exonian is hardcopy only. I will try to locate a copy and will post more excerpts from the article.</p>
<p>But to answer your question, I believe the article was addressing the situation with Fall 2009 applicants (unfortunately).</p>
<p>pan1956 - I'm sure you are correct about other schools. </p>
<p>SPS, which had previously indicated it was need blind, did change the wording on their website regarding FA over the past year. SPS did increase its FA budget by around 7% this year but my guess is they will be spending more on currently enrolled students. </p>
<p>From the SPS website:
Q. Will applying for financial aid affect my child's chances for admission?<br>
A. St. Paul’s provides need-based financial aid to most admitted students who demonstrate need, but the admission process is not 100 percent need-blind. In limited cases a family’s need for financial aid may influence an admission decision. </p>
<p>It will be an interesting year to watch over the next days, weeks and months as past admissions history and patterns will be out the window.
Also, a reputable school will only offer FA to students if they are willing to commit for the multiple years the child will be at that school. It is prudent for them to be cautious in the event economic conditions continue to worsen.</p>
<p>Spot on creative1!
A full pay for four years represents 4 x $40,000 or $160,000 in the bank. A partial pay or no pay represents a liability of unknown extent. Need changes year to year and is likely to rise in this environment. Do you think that many full pays will be waitlisted just in case accepted full pays get cold feet about the $40,000?</p>
<p>it is what it is at this point & I understand the schools must look at their bottom line --</p>
<p>Just kinda sucks to be this far into it and now let thoughts creep in that FA will have a bigger impact than we anticipated.</p>
<p>For my family personally, we would probably have applied to less schools & saved the admin fee since some from our list will not be able to offer us enough $</p>
<p>I think it is much WORSE for those who were boarderline to apply for aid -- Some families may want to retract the FA if it means not being admitted & at this point in the game it seems too late for that.</p>
<p>Why would anyone who does not need FA apply for it? How could anyone possibly ever believe that asking for aid does not confer a disadvantage with respect to admissions? Further, once you apply for aid withdrawing the request looks awfully suspicious. If you do not need aid, just do not apply for it. Common sense.</p>
<p>I think there are plenty of middle income families that apply for FA who could afford BS without the aid, but would wind up depleting all savings and needing to make large life style changes. From some of talked to, this is espocially true of multi child familes -- you may be able to stretch for child 1 w/out aid, but you would give up any hope of having savings for the younger ones</p>