international kid with low SATs and high SAT2s

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
21

<p>You need to learn what 'need-blind' is. Screenshot clearly states that 'Admission decisions are NEED-BLIND. We do not DENY students based on their FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES'. Definition of need-blind is not covering 100% of fees. It is not rejecting based on FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES, which Cornell does not do for internationals. So YES, they are NEED-BLIND for internationals, and NO, this does not mean that you get 100% of need covered, but YES, this does mean that you won't be rejected if you are QUALIFIED otherwise. </p>

<p>Limited funding means that you can get in, they will offer you like 0-10% covered, but WILL NOT REJECT YOU, because they are NEED-BLIND. And this will give you a chance to actually search for some outside scholarships etc., holding an admission letter in your hands.</p>

<p>In contrast, for example, Rice University IS NOT NEED-BLIND towards internationals. Once they see you cannot pay, they reject you BECAUSE they DO care about your financial status. They will not admit you if they can see that AT THE MOMENT of applying you cannot fund your education. Cornell WILL admit you, if you are qualified, and WILL give you time to look for external funding. Cornell has a process of NEED-BLIND admissions.</p>

<p>Have a nice day.</p>

22

<p>"Admission decisions are need-blind" is addressed to American citizens, permanent residents, as well as Canadians and Mexicans. People without these qualifications are considered "internationals" in terms of financial aid. I bet Ms. Sharp did not pay attention to your question because she clearly just copied and pasted to form the answer.</p>

<p>I must repeat, that most colleges in the United States, that include Cornell, Duke, Brown, Penn, Columbia, Stanford and the vast majority of other colleges, are not need-blind for internationals. If you are an international, you must understand that if you are to apply for financial aid, you're chance will ultimately be reduced.</p>

<p>The colleges I know that offer need-blind admission to students regardless of citizenship are HYP, and some liberal art colleges such as Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, etc.</p>

<p>If you refuse to accept the truth, you may apply for financial aid (doesn't make sense not to if you are unable to afford $50,000 a year) with the illusion that somehow, your financial need has no bearing on your chance for admission.</p>

<p>EDIT: There are only eight colleges in the United States that are need-blind for international students. They are HYP, Dartmouth, Middlebury, MIT, Williams, Amherst.</p>

<p>Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>

<p>To be honest... I think this conversation is pretty much over... And to the above poster, I don't really know what you're getting at. Your sentence structure is jammed together and I have trouble understanding it.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
There are only eight colleges that are need-blind and full-need for all applicants, including international students.[1] These are Dartmouth College, [2] Harvard University, Middlebury College, MIT, Princeton University, Williams College, Yale University, and Amherst College

[/quote]
</p>

<p>its from your link</p>

<p>this is what the wikisentence read when I went on wikipedia. Those eight colleges are need blind and will meed full need for all intl students. Cornell is need blind for intl students. You are confusing need blind admissions with actually meeting their need. Need blind admissions has NOTHING to do with meeting financial need. Being need blind means that cornell will not look at financial need during the process of admissions. They do only give 15-20 scholarships to intl students and it is merit based though, so they will not meet the need of intl students.</p>

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<p>My email to Cornell said about 5 times that I am an international, an my specific question was -- will it hurt my chances to apply via fin. aid as an international? And later I elaborated, that my family cannot pay the full cost, but there are scholarships available in my country that will help me pay. Unfortunately, they are available to apply for AFTER the admission is provided. And in reply I got what you see on the screen - Cornell does not care about financial circumstances, when considering the admission. And here is the definition from the wikipedia link you provided: "institution claims not to consider an applicant's financial situation when deciding admission". So yes, according to the email I got from Cornell, it fits the description. Need-blind does not mean meeting 100% of the need.</p>

<p>EDIT: Tboonepickens got it right.</p>

25

<p>I have already made it fairly clear that you need to be careful about the exact definition of "need-blind" when considering Cornell's application process. During the application process, I agree, that Cornell ignores your financial need. Nonetheless, and this is key, that your chance will still be affected after the evaluation process is over. </p>

<p>Every school does its admission process differently. Duke for example, sorts through the international applicant pool before the admission process begins. Cornell does it the other way around. In both cases, your chance for admission will be reduced.</p>

<p>Tboonepickens, normally, if a university can afford to offer need-blind admission and meeting 100% demonstrated need, there is not reason not to offer need-blind admission to and meeting 100% demonstrated need of internationals, considering that they are extremely wealthy.</p>

<p>They only give out 15-20 scholarships (merit-based) to internationals, and that's it. There is no need-based financial aid for internationals.</p>

<p>As I have said repetitively, by your definition, Cornell is indeed "need-blind" for internationals, but what I am saying is, Cornell does things differently, not just by the fact that its financial aid office and admission office are separate, but also by the nuances in its admission process.</p>

<p>It doesn't really matter what the actual definition of "need-blind" admission policy is, but as long as your financial aid causes reduction in your admission chance, it is not need-blind. That's why when an international post a chance thread on this forum, a common question is, "are you applying for aid."</p>

<p>And it's funny that I never mentioned anything about meeting 100% need. :P</p>

26

<p>Yah... back to the topic. I think you really need to raise your SAT scores up, and I mean that. If you really cannot. Try TOEFL.</p>

<p>If you need advice about taking the TOEFL exam, I am more than happy to help out!</p>

<p>I hope you can become part of the Cornell Community!</p>

27

<p>
[quote]
as long as your financial aid causes reduction in your admission chance, it is not need-blind.

[/quote]

I think you got explained about 5 times that Cornell does not deduct your admission chance based on your financial status, because it is NEED-BLIND. Definition of NEED-BLIND from the link you provided: </p>

<p>
[quote]
institution claims not to consider an applicant's financial situation when deciding admission

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Your inability to pay affects your chances to enrol, as if you are not able to find outside funding AFTER admission, you can't get in. And this has nothing to do with ADMISSION that is NEED-BLIND (emphasized emphasized emphasized)</p>

28

<p>No need to use capitalized words Alone. It is just plain rude and containing astronomical amount of hubris. Just stop misleading people. The whole board understands that Cornell is not need-blind toward internationals.</p>

<p>To the OP: You may ignore both of us, and just simply send private msgs to senior members on this forum. They know the best. My recommendation is that do not apply for financial aid, and definitely increase your SAT Reasoning scores.</p>

29

<p>
[quote]
Just stop misleading people. The whole board understands that Cornell is not need-blind toward internationals.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Excuse me, but what else do you need to actually be proven that it IS need-blind towards internationals? I have an email from financial aid office (which obviously is a place to ask). Do you have any proof? Any evidence? Or it is just 'the whole board', that understands?</p>

30

<p>FB: I think you should just stop arguing with this kind of people. I think most intls know that Cornell is not need-blind for them. If they want to live in their own bubbles, they can. I mean after all, you've tried to be informative about the process at Cornell.</p>

31

<p>
[quote]
FB: I think you should just stop arguing with this kind of people. I think most intls know that Cornell is not need-blind for them. If they want to live in their own bubbles, they can. I mean after all, you've tried to be informative about the process at Cornell.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Can you show me any source that will support your claim? I have an email from financial aid office, that clearly states that Cornell is need-blind. Or is it some kind of CC stereotype, a la you need a 2400 and 4.0 to get into Harvard? I am not being sarcastic, if you have any source for proof or evidence, just show it.</p>

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<p>Please re-read all of my posts. Thanks.</p>

33

<p>
[quote]
Please re-read all of my posts. Thanks.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I did. You simply call Cornell not need-blind towards internationals, failing to present ANY evidence to support your point. You make assumptions about college budget etc., and again fail to present any proof to your claims. You say 'They would gather all of the admitted internationals together and determine who will receive financial aid and deny/waitlist the rest.' and provide a link to wikipedia. Your claim (about gathering the applications) is irrelevant to the topic of discussion; we are not discussing distribution of financial aid, we are discussing the need-blind admission. The link to wikipedia you provided gives a definition of need-blind process (when the financial status is not considered), and states 8 colleges that offer need-blind admission AND cover 100% need. </p>

<p>I, on the other hand, hold an email that was a reply to my question about international financial aid. The email states that Cornell is need-blind to applicants, as you can see on the screen. It says nothing about the money awarded. Nothing about waitlisting/rejecting based on financial status. It puts it simple: Cornell is need-blind, financial status is not considered during the admission process.</p>

<p>So yes, until you present a proof that Cornell is not need-blind to internationals (no, I didn't say doesn't provide enough funds etc., I said need-blind), you are misinforming people.</p>

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<p>^yes</p>

<p>and FB, your link to wikipedia actually supports Alone's and my argument. </p>

<p>FB, what do you think the definition of need blind is?</p>

35

<p>I think this should be able to seal the conversation completely.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Cornell also has a "need-blind" admissions policy and tries to ensure that every student who wants to can attend the University.</p>

<p>"We're committed to need-blind admissions. We live by that and we will remain faithful," said University President Hunter R. Rawlings III.</p>

<p>Canadian and Mexican students are included in this policy and receive the same amount of aid as U.S. students.</p>

<p>Cornell's admission is not entirely "need blind" for most foreign students, however.</p>

<p>"We do have some aid conscious admissions [for international students]. We have to. We have lots of applicants. Almost every school is in this position," Keane said, explaining that Cornell does not possess the financial resources to support such an undertaking.</p>

<p>Only four universities in the country -- Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale and Princeton -- are known to currently offer complete "need blind" admissions for international students.</p>

<p>The idea is relatively new. Yale just made a standing policy last November, whereas Princeton formally approved its plan last month along with a new policy that will replace all student loans with grants from the endowment fund.</p>

<ul>
<li>Cornell Daily Sun

[/quote]
</li>
</ul>

<p>You may argue that this post was originally written in 2001, but Cornell's endowment has not changed dramatically.</p>

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<p>FB, it is dated 2001, as you said. My email is dated mid-December 2008. They were not COMPLETELY need-blind in 2001 (as stated in your quote), but they are need-blind now, and do not let financial statuses of students influence admission decisions, as stated in the email I have received. Which means not that they meet 100% of need, but merely do not deny you if you are not able to pay at the moment of applying.</p>

37

<p>You need to go to Cornell's website and conduct some research on the nuances of Cornell's financial aid policy toward Internationals for the past seven years. There isn't that much change.</p>

<p>Again, no need to use caps. You may choose to live in your own little world and harbour illusion, be realistic.</p>

<p>You need to ask yourself the following questions</p>

<p>1) Is it possible, under Cornell's current endowment and financial situation, to offer need-blind admission for international applicants?
2) What happens when you offer completely need-blind admission for international applicants? What will happen to the aids granted to domestic applicants and applicants from Mexico and Canada?</p>

<p>These are the questions to consider. Calm yourself down. Learn how not to be rude. And think about these issues.</p>

<p>It's not a simple issue that can be addressed within one email.</p>

38

<p>I use CAPS to emphasize points that you seem to miss, and eventually force me to re-introduce them several times. Not a way of being rude.</p>

<p>And yes, it is possible. Because as I said before (emphasized) need-blind does not mean providing financial assistance. It merely means admitting regardless of financial status. If the student can find scholarships after that, great, Cornell gets the qualified student and the money. If not - Cornell never said that it is going to meet 100% need, actually the website says that the scholarships are extremely competitive. So the student simply does not attend. It has no correlation with financial status of the university.</p>

39

<p>You have not read all of my posts completely. Please read all of them and come back. I feel that I have addressed this problem of need-blind/not need-blind issue sufficiently.</p>

40

<p>I did. Key point: Need-blind universities claim not to factor financial status into admission decisions. Cornell claims not to. One can guess what the reality is a lot, not only for Cornell, but for other schools, too. We don't know. Based on the claim, Cornell is considered need-blind.</p>