<p>I am looking for information about schools where financial need policies are unclear. I am very curious about need aware schools. In which schools is financial need a factor? A wikipedia article (Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) about need-blind admission lists schools where financial need is a factor. </p>
<p>Then, how reliable are policies that pledge need-blindness? For example, USC posted a pledge of a need-blind policy in 2009 (Applications</a> Strong for Fall '09 USC Freshman Class: News Release). Is this still the policy or was it more like a new year's resolution?</p>
<p>Thank you for reading this post! Does anyone have any experiences or insights to share regarding this topic?</p>
<p>Some schools modified their needs blind policies after the 2008 downturn. The only sure way to know is to read the admissions web pages.</p>
<p>Each university has a different policy in terms of awarding need-blind aids. Therefore, it’s important for parents and students to do their research carefully. It’s not a matter of whether a school can meet the student’s needs by aids such as need-blind merit-aid, but what percentage of the students who meet their criteria will receive it.</p>
<p>Take USC for example, if the students who are admitted with the same criteria, it’s not an automatic guaranteed to receive their merit scholarships. They have to be invited for the interview. Not everyone will get one.</p>
<p>Then, there are schools such as Chapman with very generous merit-aid programs. Their need-blind merit-aid is automatic for anyone who meets their criteria and be admitted to the school. No interview required. Therefore, more affordable to more students. It’s a no-brainer.</p>