<p>youre absolutely right, it’s a vital selling point, but it’s still horsepoop.</p>
<p>Can you tell us why you think that?</p>
<p>Speedo, all of these schools are need aware. Colgate and some others are just very up front about it. No one has a blank checkbook and can afford to have a large percentage of their students with high need…or they would not stay open for long! I do know kids that have gone to Colgate with little income, so it doesn’t mean they won’t accept lower income students. They just need to manage how many kids they’re distributing a fixed pool of money to.</p>
<p>check out Colgate’s finaid stats and compare them to say - Wesleyan or
Oberlin - closely ranked peer institutions with similar size endowments.
Colgate’s management makes its choices - D1 sports for one - “so that they
can continue to maintain providing 100% need” is not on the top of their list,
but as someone said - it’s a selling point. That said, it might be a fine choice
for the op if they have super stats or don’t need a ton of aid.</p>
<p>I can see how it looks that way from the outside but there are many components that make a college what it is and athletics is one of them. Athletics are a big part of Colgate, as are academics and Greek life, and I must say they do have one of the fittest student bodies I have seen! Of course, there’s not a whole lot to do in Hamilton otherwise! My family uses some of Colgate’s facilities and they are nice, but not “over the top”. Their athletes also seem to perform very well academically, so they definitely are not slackers being picked up on scholarship solely for their athletic prowess. Colgate has only offered athletic scholarships for five years or so. It’s my understanding from a few coaches that these scholarships were reallocated from the athletic budget and donations to the athletic programs, not from other endowments, and they are limited in number. I don’t believe football players get anything other than need based aid.</p>
<p>My impression of Colgate is that they are unlikely to take any student unless they feel there is a decent fit, academically and otherwise. The fact that they guarantee to meet need is a bonus but it allows academically talented kids to go to a school they could not otherwise afford. As I said, I do know kids who have had a substantial amount of their education provided for by the school. I also know kids who would have been full payers but were not accepted. With roughly a third of their incoming class last year receiving substantial aid, I don’t really see this being relegated to “low priority” status:</p>
<p>Full-time freshman enrollment: 738
Number who applied for need-based aid: 289
Number who were judged to have need: 235
Number who were offered aid: 235
Number who had full need met: 235
Average percent of need met: 100%
Average financial aid package: $36,389
Average need-based loan: $1,769
Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $32,574
Average non-need based aid: Not reported
Average indebtedness at graduation: $20,164</p>
<p>It’s all in the numbers - percent aided around 30%. Percent Pell - 9% and dropping.
They have considerable commitment to meeting need, but not as strong as many
peer institutions. It is not, as you said, a “low priority” but it not their prime focus
and certainly not the reason, as post 38 claims, that they can continue to provide
100% need. Colgate could do much better if they chose to. We’re off topic here, but
if you want to start a Colgate finaid thread you may find others interested in discussing
that.</p>
<p>Post 38 is still correct as stated, given Colgate’s mission: “They only admit a small percentage of need students so that they can continue to maintain providing 100% of need.”</p>
<p>“Colgate could do much better if they chose to.” Better at what? They would have to sacrifice some other aspect of their educational environment in order to bolster aid. We should be glad that schools are not identical in their approaches; each has its own chosen mission, each appealing to different students. Needy (and well-to-do) students who like, e.g., athletics might choose Colgate; those for whom it’s not so important can choose another school. We don’t all have to like every school’s approach.</p>