Can someone help me determine if the following schools are need blind or need aware? I can’t find a comprehensive list anywhere.
Cornell University
Johns Hopkins University
SUNY Binghamton University
SUNY Stony Brook University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania
Vanderbilt University
thank you!
check each ones website.
Need blind means that you will be admitted without consideration of your financial need. It does not mean that you will get any aid other than any federal aid you are guaranteed after filing the FAFSA. Most colleges and universities in the country fall in to that category, because most places don’t have much money to give out and they certainly don’t promise to try to meet need.
Need aware means that the college or university will consider how much aid you need when deciding whether or not to admit you, because they generally try to meet need.
If your question is whether or not the places on your list are likely to be able to offer you the kind of financial aid package you would need in order to attend, it really, truly, is OK for you to contact the financial aid office and ask.
The college’s entry at http://www.collegedata.com should indicate whether a college is need-blind.
Of course, need-blind versus need-aware in admissions does not necessarily say anything about whether it gives good financial aid.
Also, need-blind schools may consider other factors which correlate to financial need, even if they explicitly do not consider financial need. Some of the more obvious ones include legacy status and extracurriculars associated with high SES families. In the other direction are things like first generation status or overcoming adversity. Actually, almost everything can have some correlation to financial need, since applicants from high SES families have many advantages that help them in their quest for better credentials in most areas (including higher grades and test scores).