How much does being able to pay for college help you get in?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey I was just wondering how much being able to fully pay for college will help me get into schools. If my GPA/SAT are much lower than the school I would be applying to, would being able to fully pay give me a legit shot of getting admitted?</p>

2

<p>no, not if you’re scores are much lower. schools feel an obligation not to take your money if they don’t think you will survive the life.</p>

3

<p>No</p>

4

<p>It can help a little bit at schools that are not need-blind. A need-blind school does not consider the need for financial aid in making admission decisions. Many top schools are need blind, so it would not help you at those. It can be a small help if you are a borderline admission at a non-need blind school. But it won’t help a lot. If a school is need blind, it will typically say on their admissions website or financial aid page. You can Google for a list of need-blind schools, there is a one on Wikipedia, but I am not sure it is accurate.</p>

5

<p>Not at need-blind schools (most top schools + some public universities - top schools meet need, some public schools don’t care if you can’t pay).
At universities and LACs ranked 60+, yes it will.</p>

6

<p>For schools that are need blind it won’t matter. For the rest, it would give you a slight edge especially if you are at the cutoff for admission. but it won’t get you into a school where your don’t meet the criteria for admission. If your GPA/SAT are much lower than the schools you are applying to (as you noted in your post) being full pay won’t get you in.</p>

7

<p>What’s your definition of “much lower”?</p>

8

<p>For almost all of the extremely competitive LACs and national universities – which are entirely “need blind” – it will not help a domestic applicant at all. </p>

9

<p>At a “need aware” school, being full pay will give you an advantage over an equally well-qualified needy candidate, more than the colleges want to admit. But I doubt it would catapult you over much better prepared but poorer candidates. I can’t believe life is that unfair. And let’s face it, there will be many well-qualified candidates who are also full pay who will be seeking admission.</p>

<p>This is an opportunity to examine your character and what you want from life and make choices accordingly.</p>