Going through the admissions process, I was puzzled by the questions on the Common App that clearly identified an applicant’s NEED to colleges that claim to be “NEED-BLIND.”
There are 3 spots on the Common App where the applicant may have to reveal more than they want to:
in the PROFILE section under the citizenship question: “Social Security Number, required if applying for financial aid via FAFSA”
in the PROFILE section under the Common App Fee Waiver question: “Do you feel that your financial circumstances might qualify you for an application fee waiver?” (if answer is YES, then applicant has to reveal if they are eligible for federal, state or local aid for low-income families)
in the MY COLLEGES section under school-specific questions: “Do you intend to pursue need-based financial aid” (YES/NO answer mandatory!!)
If a college is truly “need-blind” why do they get to see these answers before rendering an admissions decision?
Need blind schools say they don’t consider ability to pay in their admissions decisions, not that they don’t know if you are applying for aid.
The reality is that there are plenty of clues in the application and in some cases, being low SES may be a positive for schools trying to increase diversity.
Trinity College, though no longer need-blind, is “is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need of any admitted student.” However, finances sometimes outweigh merit in admissions decisions at Trinity when the school is trying to meet tuition targets. Not directly relevant to the “need-blind” discussion above, but I think interesting nonetheless.
At one need-blind school’s info session, the AO said that the admissions committee knew whether you had need or not, “we just don’t have to take it into account.” So they’d never have the situation where they wanted to admit a candidate, but couldn’t afford to.
This same person made a point of telling the applicants that diversity meant admitted students might find themselves in class with a poor person, or a conservative person. My kid, who has many friends who fall into one or both of those categories, was not impressed.
IMHO for domestic (non-international) applicants, “meets full need” and an understanding of what constitutes “need” in a particular college’s eyes are more important that being need-blind.
@allyphoe That’s an interesting insight about the need-blind policy. “We know your need, but we don’t consider it.” It makes need-blind seem like more of a marketing term than anything else. Kind of like “all-natural” or “healthy” in food advertising. A product can make a claim without any oversight or proof.
Perhaps this is a case of “let the buyer beware?!?”
Also, I like what you had to add about domestic applicants’ preference for “meets full need” over “need-blind.”
A school can, and I know that some need-blind schools do, only present to the readers in the admissions office that Common App data which is necessary to evaluate an applicant, without disclosing the three pieces of information you list in your first post. Why would an admissions officer at a need-blind school need to know if an applicant provided a SSN?
This discussion happens just about annually on this forum. Some people believe some schools are need blond and others don’t.
So what.
If you need Financial aid to attend a college, apply for it. And hope you get enough to attend. Otherwise, your acceptance will be like a rejection because you won’t be able to attend…at all…if you can’t pay the bills.
If your family can pay the full cost of attendance, than don’t bother providing any information about financial need to the college. Don’t do a FAFSA or Profile, and check the NO box on the common AP where it asks if you are applying for aid.
It is what it is at each college. Take it or leave it.
This discussion comes up very often. But fact is…if you need aid, you need to apply for it. And it doesn’t matter if the school is need aware or need Blind. If you need the aid, you need the aid and you have to hope you get it.
Surely you understand that an admission without sufficient aid to attend is worthless.