<p>"Colleges are using their so-called generous financial aid packages to sort out applicants. The colleges first showcase their eleemosynary aid packages to ward off the anxiety of the applicants who need them. When the deadline to admissions closes, the colleges seem to revert their philanthropic policies to 'filtering' policies. Some colleges such as Stanford, U Penn, Northwestern, et cetra send out an email to the applicants before the admission results phrasing 'many qualified applicants would not be provided admission to the college as due to our limited resources'. And every one knows what follows next: 'We are very sorry to state that we cannot provide you admission to the Class of ...................' Financial Aid matters. If you want to get enhance your chances of getting in, ask for no aid or if necessary ask for 20% or less of your actual need."</p>
<p>This is part of an email I got from one of my high school seniors cautioning me to think before I leap. What do colleges have to say about this, Northwestern in particular, since he mentioned Northwestern?</p>
<p>I applied for aid and I got in. 50% of the kids @ NU get aid. I’m pretty sure they are need blind for domestic students too.</p>
<p>I am assuming you are an international student as NU is 100% need blind for US applicants. If so, it’s no different than just about every school. There are only 5-6 schools in the country that are 100% need blind for internationals.</p>
<p>The ONLY colleges in the U.S. that are need-blind and full-need for internationals are: Amherst, Dartmouth, MIT, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. All other colleges (including, but not limited to: Northwestern, Stanford, and Penn) are need-aware regarding admission decisions for internationals. I’m not 100% sure what the aid application process is like for an international, so you may want to post in an international forum for information. I do know, however, that need-aware schools do admit internationals who require aid. I know someone who applied as an international and got a full ride.</p>
<p>@Kdog044:</p>
<p>Yes I am an international. Perhaps the rumor may be true for internationals.</p>
<p>@goldtortoise:</p>
<p>Isn’t Amherst a public university? It doesn’t provide aid to internationals does it?</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/admission/financial_aid[/url]”>Financial Aid & Costs | Admission & Financial Aid | Amherst College;
<p>Im pretty sure that Northwestern does give out financial aid for internationals assuming you got in but the school is not need-blind. However, you would also be competing in a pool of internationals who have high academic and extracurricular activities who also don’t need financial aid.</p>
<p>PS Amherst is not a public school.</p>
<p>Yes, it is true both that asking for financial aid as an applicant from another country will reduce the chances of you getting in and that asking for financial aid as a domestic applicant will not affect your chances of getting in.</p>