I’m applying to Middlesex, Nobles, Concord Academy, Belmont Hill, and Groton.
Is there a big difference for my admission in applying for financial aid or not applying?
What I see on a lot of threads is that you have a better chance if you don’t apply for financial aid, but I think the rest of your application matters a lot too. ?
There are probably people on this site more qualified to answer this question for me, but I’ll just give you my observations.
One of the only “need-blind” (Financial status not taken into consideration) boarding schools in Phillips Academy Andover. They advertise that 48% of their students are on FA.
Phillips Exeter, a school around the same size and prestige is not need blind but advertises that 47.3% of their students are on FA.
Therefore, I think these numbers show that though Phillips Exeter is not technically need blind, applying for financial aid vs. being full pay does not matter much from an admissions standpoint. The acceptance rate for full pay students may be 1-2% higher than those applying for aid, but this is not much.
However, Phillips Exeter and Andover are (arguably) the most famous boarding schools and advertise themselves as open to youth from every quarter. This may draw more applicants from families that cannot pay the full tuition to apply.
Schools such as Groton and Middlesex are not as “famous” and may seem more exclusive, causing less applicants from lower income families to apply. However, they would not accept applicants of a lesser quality simply because they are low income. But these schools also have smaller endowments, and cannot afford to give as much financial aid. Because they don’t get as many lower income applicants, but also have smaller endowments, I would estimate the acceptance rate for FA applicants to the schools the OP is applying to would be around 5% lower than those applying for full pay.
Again, I could be completely wrong, so other peoples input would be appreciated. Also, to the mod, I think this thread should be in Prep School Admissions, not Prep School Chances.
The director of admissions at an “acronym” school (but not Exeter or Andover) told me that while their overall acceptance rate was ~18%, the acceptance rate for FA applicants was below 10% while the full pay acceptance rate was over 25%. Friends were told they were “financial aid” waitlisted, and if they could swing the tuition, there was a full pay spot open for them. I get the feeling that it’s a lot more common than people realize, so yes, FP vs FA makes a difference.
@momof3nyc What is the socioeconomic makeup of the school?
@YoungThriver Approx 30% of students at that school receive some amount of financial aid. We definitely felt a difference between schools with higher percentages of students receiving financial aid versus lower percentages. It’s something to think about if stufents know they will need substantial assistance - I don’t think there’s necessarily stigma to needing financial aid, but a student may not feel comfortable when most of the people around them are significantly wealthier.
@momof3nyc Thank you and I agree.
@momof3nyc I agree completely!
@momof3nyc Since i am not applying for aid would it benefit my chances?
Yes. Your chances of being admitted are higher if you don’t need financial aid
It’s also important for applicants to recognize that they’re competing against their specific group. A female applicant for 9th grade needing financial aid is competing against the other female applicants for 9th grade who need financial aid, not against all 9th grade applicants or all applicants in general. The relative chances for being admitted depend on who else is applying in your group.