Can we have a little discussion on the term “need blind”? I saw it mentioned in the “takeaway from this year’s admissions” thread and was wondering what, exactly, it means.
It sounds like it might be a determining factor in some admissions - ie, if it comes down to the kid who needs FA and one who doesn’t, the one who doesn’t need help gets in.
How do the colleges even know? I understand there is a box to check on some apps (maybe the Common App?) but is that a real determining factor? Do the colleges see the FAFSA information at the time of admissions? Is there any going back from saying you don’t need aid and then saying you do? (obviously application deadlines come into play here a bit)
My daughter will apply to a mix of publics and privates, some are more than others. We are comfortable with the cost, but I suspect we will be offered some financial aid based on our income and we would welcome it for sure. Do state schools and non-Ivy-like schools even care?
Need-blind simply means that an applicant’s potential need for financial aid is not a consideration in the admissions decision. Many, many colleges are in fact need-blind, but being need-blind does not mean that the applicant will necessarily receive adequate financial aid to be able to attend.
There are a limited number colleges that “guarantee” to meet the full demonstrated financial need (but according to the college’s own formula) of all admitted students. Some of these colleges are also need-blind with seemingly “unlimited” financial aid budgets, while others are “need-aware,” the latter implying they stop offering admission to financially needy students once they have used up their financial aid budget.
The “need-blind but meet full need” colleges are competing for the best and brightest students regardless of their family’s financial situation. The “meet full need but need-aware” colleges are competing for those students, too, but in a more limited way.
There are other colleges that compete for the best and brightest students by offering “merit” scholarships, given based on the student’s academic, athletic, or other achievements, regardless of their level of financial need. (OK, so most people put athletic scholarships in their own category, limiting the term “merit scholarship” to academic merit…)
“Need blind” means that in theory the admissions committee doesn’t know whether or not an applicant needs financial aid, and doesn’t take possible financial need into consideration. I say “in theory” because if an applicant turns in an essay like one of these – https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/your-money/standout-college-application-essays.html - the colleges definitely know about financial status.
“Need aware” means that need may be a factor in admissions. In practice,it generally only is a problem for students who are borderline for admission. If the school is both “need aware” and also promises to “meet full need” of all admitted students, it is probably a greater factor. If the school is “need aware” it is probably safe to assume that they will have or be able to get information from the financial aid office about level of need. So if level of need is minimal – for example, if EFC indicated that the student’s level of need can be entirely met by federal loans and work study – the college would probably view that student as being the equivalent of full pay.
If the school is “need aware” but does not promise to meet full need, then it may be less of an issue because the same students who might be borderline for admission are also likely to be given weaker financial aid packages if admitted.
A need blind school, does know if you are applying for aid, but that does not factor into the admissions decision. If you don’t apply for aid at the time you submit your application, but then request it later, you run the risk of missing the financial aid deadlines and then not getting any aid.
The information will be on the colleges’ websites under the financial aid section… and probably in their promotional materials they send you if they are need blind or meet full demonstrated need, because colleges are proud when they can do this and want to attract students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
“Need blind” means they don’t look at whether you need financial aid when admitting you. You get in purely on your talent.
“Need aware” means that the college has limited resources for financial aid so needs to admit at least some students who can pay their way. They may still let in many poor students and give them aid, but they know they do not have enough money to do this for all kids. So, if you have checked that you need financial aid, it may affect your admissions chances. They may still admit top students with need and give them aid, but typical or borderline applicants may not be admitted if they need financial aid.
Some schools-- like Wesleyan-- are need blind for most applicants but then need aware for the last 10% or so of students they accept. Note: Wesleyan meets full demonstrated need for anyone who is actually admitted. They just stop admitting kids who need money when they near the limit of their annual financial aid budget.
“Meets full demonstrated need” means that, if you are admitted and have financial need according to their formula, they will give you enough financial aid, in a combo of grants, job and loans (and some of the wealthiest colleges even promise no loans for some financial need levels) to cover the full portion of the expense that you cannot meet. Many colleges have an estimated cost calculator on their website into which you can plug your family’s financial information and they will estimate how much they think you will need to pay out of pocket annually vs. what they will cover for you. Financial aid offers will assume you can pay what this calculator says you can. Sometimes actual amounts may vary somewhat from what the calculator said, based on the actual documents you send in that show your finances.
The colleges with the richest endowments-- Ivy League colleges and some other top colleges-- are both need blind and meet full demonstrated need-- the most generous combo for a student.
Some colleges are need blind but do not promise to meet full need. So you could get in but then discover you can’t afford to go because their aid package is not large enough.
If in doubt of a school’s policy after studying the website, call their financial aid office and ask questions.
Need blind- this means admissions does NOT consider financial need when they consider your application for admission.
Need aware- this means your financial need IS considered when your application for,admission is considered.
At need aware schools…financial aid will inform admissions about your financial need. The admissions office doesn’t see your FAFSA…but they DO see your level of need.
Need aware and need blind are ADMISSIONS terms. They don’t have anything to do,with financial aid awards.
All students should look directly at the college websites…or contact the colleges directly. This Wikipedia list is not particularly up to date…and policies DO change from year to year…and Wikipedia doesn’t update.
If a school is need blind but does not guarantee to meet full aid it can result in what are called “admit-deny” results. This means that a student may be admitted but receive little or no financial aid so the school is unaffordable.
One simple way to determine if a specific college is need blind or need aware is to check their school profile. I can’t say all of them report the information, but if you look under the admissions section you can find if financial need is a consideration for admission.
For example, using the collegedata site and looking at Beloit (just a random school that came to mind) under the “other application requirements” in the admissions tab it says “Financial need is a consideration in the admissions process”
Remember that being “need blind” means in reference to evaluating an individual application.
Colleges with “need blind” admissions can adjust their criteria to give an overall admissions class with a target amount of financial aid need that fits within their financial aid budgets, or a target SES distribution. For example, increasing or decreasing the weighting of such applicant characteristics like legacy and first-generation-to-college will affect the financial aid need of the admissions class. Even the relative weighting of high school record versus standardized test scores can have an effect here.
The college financial aid office will see the FAFSA information whenever the student submits the FAFSA… which is hopefully no later than whatever deadline the college has established. The deadline timing depends on what the school wants to do. Some colleges will require that financial aid documents be submitted when the application for admission is due. At other schools the deadlines for the application for admission and financial aid review will be different.
It all depends on what the school is willing to do. There is no one answer that covers every school. Application deadlines may come into play for some schools.