This is really just out of curiosity about the admissions process and all it’s mysteries more than anything. I’ve been told that colleges look for a certain number of students who can pay full tuition and usually look to their ED candidates for it, but idk if that’s actually the case. A lot of what I’ve read/heard has come from sources who claim to be experts in the “the admissions process and all its corruptions” or whatever, but still I could see why it might be true.
I mean I figure it’s not enough to guarantee a spot to someone completely unqualified and that this wouldn’t really apply to need-blind schools (or maybe it does idk), but does it really give ED candidates a slight edge? Or alternatively, do schools really have a quota of sorts when it come’s to students’ ability to pay? I mean I’m sure at some schools with so many applicants that there are plenty of kids applying who plan on paying full tuition but aren’t in need of an edge anyways, but what about for schools with less of an endowment/limited financial aid opportunities?
On the other hand it’s more difficult for me to imagine admissions officers discussing something like this, but then again it’s difficult to imagine admissions officers discussing a student and their application (or really just me and my application) so idk
Very few schools have multi-billion dollar endowments to fund limitless FA for limitless number of needy students. Almost all schools have a finite FA budget every year. When that pot is exhausted, the balance of slots go to students who don’t need FA.
Without being explicitly need-aware, a college can tilt its admissions playing field to increase or decrease the SES level of its students by changing its admission criteria before doing the admissions readings. For example, all of the following can be used to tilt the admissions playing field:
- Require SAT subject tests (favors higher SES).
- Require recommendations (favors higher SES).
- Be impressed by extracurriculars that are associated with high or low SES.
- Emphasize SAT and ACT scores more (favors higher SES).
- Be impressed by overcoming adversity (favors lower SES).
- Have preference for legacies (favors higher SES).
- Require CSS Profile and non-custodial parent information (disqualifies more lower SES applicants from financial aid, so they cannot afford to attend).
- Not give good financial aid (lower SES applicants cannot afford to attend).
Someone has to pay the bills! It is usually international students and students from affluent families whose stats do not qualify them for merit aid.
When you go to the supermarket and have to pay the sticker price for groceries, do you also consider that a “corruption”?
lol no that’s why i put it in quotes. I meant that some of the places I found this information from where about “hacking the system” and were written like conspiracy theories or something, which is why I wasn’t sure if I could take what they were saying seriously
You should thank the people who pay full tuition, as well as legacy families who donate big bucks. I’m totally serious.