<p>In this day and age of financially squeezed institutions and endowments, does a kid with great stats and a low EFC stand a realistic chance of being admitted to the likes of Georgetown or Northwestern or other similar (non-ivy) top tier schools while still receiving a good financial aid package? My instinct tells me most admissions people will shuffle these files aside. Is there a particular way of finding schools that are most likely to treat a student with low EFC and good stats well?</p>
<p>Aren’t both of those schools need blind (and many other similar schools)? Therefore, the admissions people theoretically should have no idea whether applicants are requesting financial aid or not. (If you are talking about that fact that certain factors such as parents education, jobs, etc. can indicate financial status, that’s a whole different issue…)</p>
<p>So where does one find a list of need-blind schools?</p>
<p>Though their endowments have taken a hit, many, and I might venture to say the majority, of top, Ivy-level schools have remained need-blind. </p>
<p>Here’s a list from US News: [Chart:</a> Generous Colleges That Claim to Admit Only on Merit - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/03/22/chart-generous-colleges-that-claim-to-admit-only-on-merit]Chart:”>http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/03/22/chart-generous-colleges-that-claim-to-admit-only-on-merit)</p>
<p>Simply searching “need blind admissions” on CC will also turn up a number of relevant threads. </p>
<p>Yes, need blind schools are harder to come by in this economy, but it is something to which many top colleges have remained committed. If a low-income student really has great stats (e.g. Ivy-level), there should be options. However, if you start dropping down just a little bit (getting below the level of Northwestern/Georgetown/etc.), need-blind can indeed be hard to come by.</p>
<p>Top universities in the country offer great financial aid packages to low income students that make attending their school even more affordable than the state public. A good idea would be to check the financial aid websites of each of the colleges the student’s interested in to look at the details of their FA policies.</p>
<p>Most schools are need blind for admissions. There are a small group of schools that are need aware. They tend to be the more selective schools that meet most or all financial need. In meeting need for most or all accepted students, they do not have the assets to accept all the students they want for a class. So for the last whatever % of kids, they do look at need and what monies they have left. Most schools that are need blind would simply gap many kids once they reach that point. </p>
<p>So when you get the list of such schools, make sure that all of your choices are not in this category. I would not avoid such schools, since they offer some of the best financial aid if you do get accepted as opposed to some schools that will not meet your need when they accept you.</p>
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<p>I think you switched the two categories 
? Did you mean to say that most schools are need aware for admissions with a small group of more selective schools being need blind? The majority of colleges certainly takes the ability of the student to pay into account during admissions.</p>
<p>Nope. Most every single school in this country is need blind. Doesn’t mean they’ll meet the need. But most schools are need blind for acceptance. The only schools that are need aware are those schools that try hard to meet the need of all they accept, but do not have the funds to do so with everyone. You then have those schools that are need blind and meet 100% of need which include the ivies and a few of the most selective schools. So the only schools where need is an issue in terms of being accepted are that small number of colleges. What colleges do you thin take the ability to pay into consideration? None of the ones in the NYC area that I can think of do.</p>
<p>Most schools are need-blind. Nearly all or all publics are need-blind. Many privates are need blind, too.</p>
<p>What you need to know is…which schools are need-blind AND meet need.</p>
<p>*The majority of colleges certainly takes the ability of the student to pay into account during admissions. *</p>
<p>absolutely not!! Can you imagine the outrage at publics if it came out that low-income kids had a harder time getting accepted when they had adequate stats? these schools may not be able to give enough aid, but they certainly do not reject based on need.</p>
<p>I see, sorry, confusion of the terms again. Ah, what’s the point of applying to need blind schools if it can’t meet full need? Thanks for the clarification.</p>
<p>There isn’t a need-blind school in the country. To suggest there is is an insult to every hardworking admissions officer who knows schools and zip codes like the back of her hand. The only question is the degree to which they use this information in making admissions decisions.</p>
<p>(oh, and by the way, they lie - though others might call it spin. When the Presidents of Amherst or Princeton decide they should have more low-income students admitted, the admissions office in their wonderful “need-blind” process magically makes them appear. And when there is a limit on how much in the way of funds a school wants to spend on financial aid in any particular year, the “need-blind” admissions office magically hits the target.)</p>
<p>So a question in the opposite direction might be, which selective schools might a kid have a greater chance of getting into because they are going to pay full freight?</p>
<p>Well, you can’t tell what the chances are of admissions in every income category. The best you can do for low-income students is to see what percentage of the student body is on Pell Grants, which is a pretty good proxy measure for ‘full-need met’. For ‘full-freighters’, it is heavily dependent upon which schools attract the rich (though not necessarily famous).</p>
<p>cbug, private schools are businesses and are run like businesses. They have budgets that allow for a certain amount of paid out aid (need and/or merit) and that require a certain amount of income in the form of tuition. </p>
<p>As mini says, the admissions office can get a pretty good from reading the application of who is going to need aid and who is going to be able to pay. I’m sure it’s not infallible, but it’s close enough to stay within their in/out budget.</p>
<p>Does this mean that schools favor students who can pay over those who can’t? Not exactly. They just need a certain number of the former to balance the latter. </p>
<p>“Guaranteed to meet full need” is a moving target. Remember it’s what the school thinks you need, not what you think you need. Formulas change as the school’s financial situation changes. </p>
<p>Having a low EFC will not keep you out of a school, just as being able to pay will not get you in. However, since your mileage may vary, if you know you need a fair amount of need based aid, then apply to schools in a range of selectivity. You may be able to negotiate based on how much the school wants you.</p>
<p>Also, be aware that merit aid is on a different plane from need aid. Most of the big name selectives will not offer merit aid, but many fine schools do. If money is worrisome to you (as it is to most of us) consider the merit aid schools too.</p>
<p>Our D is attending a school that meets full need. It does; due to our EFC it costs less for her to attend a top LAC than the public university where I work and receive 1/2 tuition for dependents.</p>
<p>There’s a catch to “meets full need” at all but a handful of schools.</p>
<p>It has to do with HOW they meet that need. </p>
<p>One school may “meet” your need with 75% loans, 25% scholarship and another with 75% scholarship, 25% loans. (I’m leaving out work-study here for simplicity, but it, too, can vary.)</p>
<p>Both schools may say that they’ve met the student’s full need, but upon graduation, the student who attends the first school owes a lot more money than the one who attends the second school.</p>
<p>You can usually find information about whether a school is need-blind somewhere in the Undergraduate Admissions or Financial Aid sections of their Web site.</p>
<p>^ Very important point. I have no idea why loans are considered as meeting need but they are.</p>
<p>Schools that are need blind for admissions simply state that they do NOT consider your financial situation when they are reviewing your application for admission. To be honest, most schools are like this…simply put…they don’t have TIME to look at the financial aid situations for ALL applicants and do so only for admitted students.</p>
<p>However, as pointed out above, not every school meets full need. If you are looking for both…need blind AND meets full need…you have a short list of very competitive schools from which to pick.</p>
<p>Free advice…if you are REALLY a competitive admit for those highly competitive schools, you might want to shop around for schools where you would receive SUBSTANTIAL merit aid.</p>
<p>The following page clarifies the meaning of some of the terms used above (“need blind” etc.)</p>
<p>[Need-blind</a> admission](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission]Need-blind”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Among selective private schools, many (dozens) are need-blind as a matter of stated policy. The number of need-blind, full need, no loan schools is tiny. However, even the need-sensitive private schools, or need-blind schools that cannot meet full need, often do meet 90% or more of demonstrated need for the students they accept. You can examine the percentage in the Common Data Set file of many colleges (Google the college name + “Common Data Set”; download; see section H).</p>
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<p>Yes. However, you do need to apply to a range of reach, match, and safety schools. These should include financial as well as admission match/safety schools.</p>
<p>As for merit aid, the most selective schools generally do not offer it. Of those that do, they appear to be using it mostly as a discounting strategy to woo full-pay students. Ordinarily, a high-need applicant interested in highly selective schools should focus on need-based aid.</p>
<p>“Our D is attending a school that meets full need. It does; due to our EFC it costs less for her to attend a top LAC than the public university where I work and receive 1/2 tuition for dependents.”</p>
<p>Same here. Our S attends a top-10 LAC, one that meets full need “without loans,” for less than if he went to our state university. This is not merit aid - we pay essentially all we can out of current earnings (no parent loans) and he takes Stafford loans to fill the gap. He was offered similarly priced options at several highly ranked schools. Not URM or any other “hooks,” by the way, just solid stats and a well-rounded application.</p>