I am from a very large, low-income family. I will require significant financial aid wherever I end up going to college.
My current #1 school is Carleton. Carleton meets all need, but is need-aware in their admissions process. How much will this effect my admission chances to Carleton and schools with similar policies? Do I need to be significantly “better” than the average Carleton admitted student because I have a lot of financial need?
Thank you so much!
Also, does anyone know of schools that are similar to Carleton but are need-blind and meet 100% of need without loans? I know a lot of Ivies are like this, but are there any smaller LACs with this financial aid policy?
It all depends on how competitive an applicant you are and how much aid you need. And yes there are quite a number of small LACs that are need blind and meet 100% of demonstrated need, but a relatively small number that will do it without loans.
@ucbalumnus I know that, if admitted, I will definitely receive enough financial aid. I am just worried about whether my financial need will significantly lower my admissions chances.
It sounds like you are a HS junior. I would urge you to apply on the early side to Carleton. Not early decision…regular decision…but get your application done on the earlier side.
It depends on how each school processes. I think Carleton still has a maximum of 15 percent of applicants to have financial need considered as a factor in admission.
@lookingforward So are you saying that need is only a factor in the admission of 15% of applicants, and Carleton is need blind for the rest of the applicant pool?
Don’t worry about this. There is nothing you can do to magically eliminate the possibility that finances are going to affect your college options. If you like Carleton, apply there. If they like you enough to admit you, they will give you the aid that they believe you need.
@happymomof1 haha I guess you’re right… It’s just hard not to stress! It’s disappointing that because of my financial situation I may not have the same opportunities as similarly qualified but wealthier students.
I know that Haverford College is need blind. I also believe that many other great LACs are also need-blind. Hopefully applying for FA won’t make a difference with your ability to get into Carleton, but yes, there are other wonderful small LACs out there that are need blind.
ETA: By doing a bit of searching online, it looks like many highly ranked LACs are need blind (as long as you aren’t international). Amherst, Middlebury, and Grinnell are just a few others that I found just now). If Carleton is your favorite, then by all means apply there, but perhaps adding in some need-blind LACs would be a wise move.
And if you scroll down this page, you find lists of schools that either don’t include loans in their financial aid packages, or cap the loan amounts below the federal limit (for lower income students). For each of these, though, you need to check the school’s website to confirm their current policy - the lists are not entirely up-to-date:
If you like Carleton, I’d suggest looking at Grinnell and Davidson. Both are need-blind and meet full need. Grinnell has traditionally capped its loans below the federal limits, and Davidson doesn’t include loans (or at least it didn’t the last time I looked). Depending on your gender, Wellesley College may be another possibility.
Tufts is larger than what you’re looking for, but it is need blind for most of the students it admits (until it runs out of money), and it meets full need (with no loans for lower income students). And Tufts is one school where applying early decision (either ED I or ED II) will increase your chances of being admitted.
Need-aware schools that meet full need are said to be need blind (for domestic students) until the financial aid budget is depleted. Because GPA/test scores/rank combined can mean little (as low as 20% of admission criteria), it becomes hard to estimate how need affects a given student’s chance of admission. It’s also irrelevant to the application process; it doesn’t affect how much you like a school.
OP, you mentioned that you were above the 50% mark for test scores. I’d suggest the 75th percentile as the score to use to see if you’re in the ballpark. If you mean ‘above the middle-50’ then you are on the right track. For an easy to use listing in order of 75% mark, see http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/act_75pctl_rank.html
it’s my opinion that the “need-aware”-ness will matter quite a bit depending on the school. you can look at the stats of the schools you are considering to see what percentage of their students receive FA and what percentage receive pell grants. i think it’s quite telling of who the school admits or is even seeking in the admissions process.
also, i may be a cynic, but it’s my opinion that schools less interested in socioeconomic diversity have ways of drilling down to determine that even if they’re need blind.
All of that being said, Carleton actually has a respectable 56% of its undergrads receiving FA. So I don’t think Carleton can be accused of targeting higher income students as much as some schools (though its % with Pell is pretty low). As an example, Colorado College only gives aid to 36% of UGs).
For a few data points, here are % of UGs on aid and with Pell for some of the schools mentioned above.
Carleton: 56% on FA, 13% with Pell
Amherst: 62% on FA, 24% with Pell
Davidson: 48% on FA, 13% with Pell
Haverford: 50% on FA, 16% with Pell
Wellesley: 56% on FA, 18% with Pell
Colorado Coll: 36% on FA, 10% with Pell
^^^ and remember that this doesn’t make it a ‘target’ at the elite schools. just that you’re in the ballpark. These schools are reaches for everyone, no matter how high your scores are.
