<p>I am an international applying to JHU. I know that they are not need blind for Internationals... i am also applying to Penn, Cornell, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia SEAS - majoring in either engineering or sciences.</p>
<p>would you say that if i were to apply to JHU, my chances for JHU with Aid is less than that for cornell and penn, since cornell and penn are need blind? </p>
<p>I am trying to decide if i want to apply to JHU or not. I really like it's Bio engineering program, but i would go to Penn or Cornell if i get into any one of them.</p>
<p>JHU is not needblind. It is not needblind to US students as well as internationals. So it is possible for borderline applicants to be rejected because of their need. The other schools are all needblind for US applicants, and I believe MIT, P and Y are needblind to internationals. But it is not as simple as you put it. It depends on the applicant pools of the various schools. You may not get accepted at some of those needblind schools depending on who else is applying whereas you might get into Hopkins despite your need. You are in the same boat as US applicants who have need in this issue and there is no clear answer. Students in your situation have gotten into Hopkins with generous aid, and not gotten into those other schools. It all depends.</p>
<p>Don't make the mistake of confusing "need blind" with your chances. A school that is NOT need blind will admit many students who need financial aid -- the consideration of financial need just means that they are less likely to admit a weaker student in their applicant pool. If you are a strong student, there is still a good likelihood if admittance -- and it is possible that you will get BETTER financial aid. </p>
<p>What happens with the need blind schools is that the aid gets distributed among all eligible applicants, so depending on the school's finances, that can lead to stretched resources, and in turn to aid packages that rely more on self-help aid (loans and work study) than on outright grants. </p>
<p>Schools that are NOT need blind often engage in a practice called leveraging ... they use their aid dollars to attract students they want, by putting together aid packages that are often extremely generous. </p>
<p>So basically - your chances of getting admitted to JHU are probably better than the Ivies you listed -- NOT because of the aid issue, but simply because JHU is a little easier to get into. If you are a borderline candidate, then your need may be the reason a school will reject you -- I would say that if you are in the bottom half or third of the applicant pool, your need could be a significant factor -- but if you are borderline for JHU, then you probably have little chance at colleges that are more selective in admissions.</p>
<p>If you are a strong candidate for JHU, then your need would not count against you, and you may qualify for additional funds, such as merit awards, from JHU that would not be available at the Ivies. Again -- schools like JHU use their aid dollars as a tool to attract the strongest candidates to their school, basically trying to outbid the Ivies.</p>