<p>OK...I know most colleges say that your ability to pay does not enter into their acceptance decision, but does anyone here really believe that to be the case? </p>
<p>If you can pay full price, don't you think that counts for something? I read once that it's like 100 points on you SAT. Does that seem right? </p>
<p>Any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>Does paying full tuition mean not applying for financial aid? I thought that the admissions committee and the fin aid office functioned separately.</p>
<p>if they say they’re need blind, i sure hope they mean it</p>
<p>OP, are you a prospective full pay student? are you trying to find the answer to this question in an attempt to find a possible leg up in the admissions process?</p>
<p>besides 100 points on the SAT doesn’t really help much…</p>
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<p>As they say, need blind means blind to your need ;)</p>
<p>My tutor (with a major in economics from MIT) thinks that in this difficult economic time, that it is very beneficial to be a student who does not require financial aid. If an applicant is fully qualified, don’t you think that one who will pay full tuition must have the advantage over similar students who needs aid? Colleges must look at these numbers when making a decision, otherwise they may end up with too more students needing aid then they can accomodate. Don’t you think? </p>
<p>It is a business after all.</p>
<p>At most colleges being full pay is a big plus.</p>
<p>2College2College… I would agree, but it is never discussed anywhere, why is that? Do colleges feel that it is wrong to appear like they are looking for people who can pay?</p>
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<p>It’s not so much that they would feel bad about looking for people who can pay, but more that it would be socially frowned upon if they seem like they are discriminating against people who are economically disadvantaged</p>
<p>^^ I disagree w/jgraider.</p>
<p>There’s nothing immoral about needing to run the business of educating students. You can’t give away everything. Few colleges have that kind of endowment. There’s nothing to defend.</p>
<p>So you are saying that you believe need blind colleges will know who is full pay and who requested aid</p>
<p>No, I believe need blind colleges actually practice that (hooray for them) – however, not many colleges can financially practice admissions in a need blind environment.</p>
<p>The few that say they are need blind: I don’t think they falsely try to weed out needy applicants.</p>
<p>Need blind means that the college don’t factor in the applicant’s ability to pay into the admission decision. It doesn’t mean that the college doesn’t know if an applicant has applied for financial aid or not, it just means that they don’t use that as a criteria in evaluating the prospective student’s application.</p>
<p>I don’t agree when the OP says that “most colleges say that your ability to pay does not enter into their acceptance decision”, I think most colleges say they are need aware. It is just the tippy-top colleges that say they are need-blind. If a college says that it is need blind then in my opinion it probably is.</p>
<p>Let’s put it this way: It can’t hurt. Will it get you into a school that you wouldn’t otherwise get into? Probably not.</p>
<p>Unless they’re looking for more URM, in which case being well a financially well of whitey could potentially hurt your chances</p>