<p>My school is pretty backwards and most people really don't understand the way financial aid works at the top schools. Almost nobody applies to top schools because "they can't afford it" (which is sometimes true, but not always).</p>
<p>So what I'm trying to do is get a comprehensive list of colleges that are need blind and meet all need to give to some of the freshmen teachers so they can pinpoint students who have the possibility of going far.</p>
<p>Off the top of my head, these are the schools I can come up with:</p>
<p>Brown
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Princeton
University of Pennsylvania
Yale
MIT
Caltech
Stanford
Duke</p>
<p>AWS and some of the other top LACs do as well.</p>
<p>Distinguishing between need-based and merit-based aid, knowing which your family should aim toward and strategies for pursuing merit aid are all other topics the top students at your school should be learning about as well.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, this very topic came up at a recent speech I attended, and just to clarify the point I emailed the University and received this reply which I will cut and paste for you. (The speech was given by the president of Penn, and the email is from someone at Penn)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Hi,</p>
<p>I believe the response to your questions is that the 10 highly selective
private /universities/ that practice need-blind admissions and provide
ONLY need-based financial aid (no merit scholarships, no athletic
scholarships) are the eight Ivy League universities, plus MIT and
Wesleyan University. (There may be colleges that have a similar
financial aid system, but in this speech Dr. Gutmann was only
referencing universities.</p>
<p>I hope this information is helpful.</p>
<p>Best regards,
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And to the OP, I think your educational effort is worthwhile. The message that Penn (and most likely the other Ivies as well) is trying to get out is that if you can get accepted to Penn, you will be able to attend because they will meet 100% of demonstrated need. Now we can quibble about reality and the schools' calculation of need vs the family, but that is their philosophy.</p>
<p>Good of you to make a list. Some highly selective colleges can be less expensive to attend than public universities if applicants are awarded substantial financial aid or merit aid. Since you hope to educate others in your school, families should learn to distinguish between need-blind, need-based, meeting all need, and merit-based.</p>
<p>Need blind refers to the decision process. A student's application is considered without reference to financial considerations. If the student is admitted, aid will be provided on the basis of demonstrated need, as defined by the college, not the family. So meeting all need may be subject to different interpretations. Schools calculate need differently. Some include homes as assets, others do not. In several cases I know of, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, all came up with different packages for the same student.</p>
<p>Merit-based: Awards are made on the basis of merit and are used to attract high achieving students. The scholarships can be provided by the college or can come from outside. Some of these awards are made regardless of financial need. In the cases where the recipient has been awarded financial aid by the college, the college may decided to reduce the finaid package by the amount of outside scholarships.</p>
<p>Wellesley is need-blind and guarantees to fill 100% of need
Totally agree and this is a topic I am going to review with our GC. Guidance is very good at S's PHS, but we missed, or they have a gap in educating families about, a good understanding of merit aid possibilities. S lucked into it and we are v happy, but I want other families in our community to know going in what the possibilities are.</p>
<p>Cangel and Marite, that's exactly what I was planning on doing -- typing up that sort of information and giving it to her. She's the type of teacher that even though she didn't really know about this stuff before would be more than willing to help get it out there.</p>
<p>I read on a Claremont-McKenna site that there are 35 colleges and universities that are need-blind and meet all need but I'm not sure what the remaining colleges are.</p>
<p>Do keep in mind that these are not necessarily the best bets. How need is defined is a big caveat, preferential packaging is another issue and for many schools that are need aware and who do not guarantee meeting 100% of need, you can get an even better package if you are one of the kids they feel they really want.</p>
<p>The University of VA travels to regional meetings with Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth, and I recall from the meeting I attended that one commonality among the four schools is that all have a need-blind admissions, meet 100 percent of need policy. So that would add U. VA to the list you have kindly compiled, if other readers of this thread can verify that.</p>
<p>UVA does not meet 100% of need. Only about half on average according to 2003 figures. It is need blind. It will gap. If your are out of state and not one of the merit or athletic award recipients, your prospects are dim for financial aid. These are usually legacy admits as out of state UVA are either top academic candidates, athletes or legacies.</p>
<p>Only half the kids get full need met. I have the info straight from UVA's financial aid dept for 2003. I doubt a big change is made. Perhaps those who get their need met, do get 94%, but I have actual number on how many applied for aid, how many were deemed eligble for aid, how many got aid, and the breakdown between grants and self help.</p>
<p>Rice is need-blind and meets 100% of financial need, plus they give merit aid, and cap student loans at a 4-year total of $14000. (that's for this year's incoming freshman; last years total cap was less). Re: need-blind and meeting 100% of financial need - yes, that's great, but how is that FA packaged??? DD looked at Wesleyan for about 10 minutes - until she realized that they expected all students getting FA to graduate with $20,000.+ dollars in student loans. She immediately crossed it off her list!</p>
<p>Mount Holyoke does meet 100% of need but is not need-blind. </p>
<p>From the Mt. Holyoke website: </p>
<p>"Why isn't Mount Holyoke need-blind any longer?
Many highly selective colleges such as Mount Holyoke, while supporting the philosophy of offering access to students without regard to their financial need, have come to a point where their financial aid budgets have grown disproportionately in relation to college resources. Mount Holyoke does not intend to reduce its historic commitment to assisting students who require financial assistance. Becoming need-aware for those students at the margin of the applicant pool allows Mount Holyoke to control its financial aid budget and ensure the long-term fiscal stability of the College."</p>
<p>There are no schools that are need blind and meet all need unless the need you are talking about is their need. </p>
<p>I'll meet alll of your life's financial needs as long as I get to define what those needs are birdofprey. Put another way I will pay you whatever you want for your house as long as I can set the payment schedule.</p>
<p>College presidents don't get those palatial houses for squandering the schools endowment on poor but honest kids. They get them for squeezing blood out of a stone.</p>