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<p>Because WUSTL’s “need awareness” weeds out a bunch of qualified, low income applicants, very few students can actually take advantage of this policy.</p>
<p>ahahah i know right…horrible</p>
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<p>Interestingguy- seriously, enough is enough.</p>
<p>If you’re going to make a claim, back it up with facts. Unless you can tell me what % of the current students qualify for this vs. at other schools, stop making up claims when you know absolutely nothing about the admissions office.</p>
<p>Only 7% of WUSTL undergraduates receive Pell Grants. This is the lowest percentage among the US News top 25 national universities. (top link) </p>
<p>According to the US News & World Report: “A school that has fewer than 10 percent of its students receiving Pell grants signifies that only a small percentage of its students come from low-income backgrounds. That school might not have the best support services in place for such students.” (bottom link)</p>
<p>[Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools)</p>
<p>[New</a> Rankings: College Economic Diversity - Morse Code: Inside the College Rankings (usnews.com)](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2009/09/10/new-rankings-college-economic-diversity.html]New”>http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2009/09/10/new-rankings-college-economic-diversity.html)</p>
<p>However good an indicator Pell Grants may be, those statistics didn’t stop US News & World Report from putting Washington University into the top 50 “Best Value National Universities” ranking for 2010. They base the ranking on percentage of students receiving aid, average percentage of total costs covered by that aid, and the quality of the education offered. WashU ranked in at #19, with 39% of the student body receiving need-based grants, and the average discount from total cost being 51%. </p>
<p>I mean yeah, they’re not #1, but good grief that’s nothing to criticize. For being “need aware” they are certainly doing their best to make things affordable for as many people as possible. Just talking to the people in the Financial Aid office makes that pretty obvious. Oh, and the link to that ranking was here, btw:</p>
<p>[url="<a href="http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-best-values"]Ranking[/url">http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-best-values"]Ranking[/url</a>]
and [url=<a href="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2009/09/24/the-best-value-colleges-rankings.html"]Criteria[/url">http://www.usnews.com/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2009/09/24/the-best-value-colleges-rankings.html"]Criteria[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Also, having just read through some of interestingguy’s posts on other schools’ boards, I think I’m done with this little thread derailing.
Best of luck to him with whatever he’s doing on CC.</p>
<p>Did you have any other issues about the original topic, OP?</p>
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<p>False. If WUSTL were doing its “best to make things affordable for as many people as possible,” it would not prioritize merit scholarships over need-blindness. Being need-aware is a choice WUSTL made, one that is clearly not in the interest of its (low-income) applicants. The lack of socioeconomic diversity at WUSTL relative to other US News top 25 schools proves that.</p>
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<p>It’s easy to offer generous financial aid when you reject those (qualified) who need it the most.</p>