when did each of the 8 need-blind colleges become need-blind?

International Students
1

<p>I'm very interested to know, especially since some 1990s' graduates from these 8 international need-blind colleges - Harvard Yale Princeton MIT Amherst Middlebury Williams Dartmouth - from my country went there on government scholarships that require them to serve 6-year bonds working for the government upon graduation. I'd have thought that they wouldn't accept the government scholarships if they had FA. I suspect that these colleges weren't need-blind just a decade ago.</p>

<p>Could you guys provide the years during which these 8 need-blind colleges became need-blind to internationals? I know 2.</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
MIT
Dartmouth - 2008
Williams
Middlebury
Amherst - 2008</p>

2

<p>Good question…I don’t know the years for each but HYP must have been become need-bline after 1997. (That’s when ‘A is for Admission’ was published…in the book, the author wrote that applying for financial aid will hurt your chances at all ivy league schools)</p>

3

<p>EDIT: I thought Princeton was first, but it seems like Harvard was actually first?</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=News, Sep 17, 1999]
…Indeed, Harvard is the only top university that is need-blind towards internationals…</p>

<p>[Casting</a> a wide net into international waters | Sep 17, 1999](<a href=“http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxviii/1999.09.17/features/front.html]Casting”>http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxviii/1999.09.17/features/front.html)

[/quote]
Not exactly sure when it became need-blind but sometimes between 1997 and 1999</p>

<p>Not sure if Yale was before or after Princeton…</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=News, Jan 27, 2001]
…The University applied the “need-blind” policy to international freshmen in the Class of 2004 on a trial basis, and today’s approval by the trustees formalizes that practice…</p>

<p>[Princeton</a> - News - Grants to replace loans for all students on financial aid](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/01/q1/0127-aid.htm]Princeton”>Princeton - News - Grants to replace loans for all students on financial aid)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That would mean in 2000?</p>

4

<p>Harvard - between 1997 and 1999
Yale - 2001
Princeton - 2000
MIT
Dartmouth - 2008
Williams - 2002 (?)
Middlebury
Amherst - 2008</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=Yale finaid site]
…In 2001 [Yale] extended [need-blind admissions] policy to foreign students,… </p>

<p>[Yale</a> Cuts Costs for Families and Students | Financial Aid | Freshmen | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“Home | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Home | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=Williams site]
…Need-blind admission for international students was instituted beginning with the Class of 2006…</p>

<p>[Williams</a> College Diversity Initiatives](<a href=“http://www.williams.edu/home/diversity/admission.php]Williams”>http://www.williams.edu/home/diversity/admission.php)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>All I found about MIT was some stuff from 2005 that “MIT is need-blind to int’l students”. So it became need-blind sometime before 2005?</p>

<p>Same with Middlebury. I found a CC post from Dec 2004.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/middlebury-college/17646-middlebury-need-blind-international-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/middlebury-college/17646-middlebury-need-blind-international-students.html&lt;/a&gt;
So, Middlebury - sometime before Dec 2004?</p>

<p>And I found some rather confusing information

[QUOTE=Fulbright Romania in 2006]
…Under the aid plan, to be funded by President John Hennessy’s new “Stanford Challenge” - a $4.3 billion capital campaign - international students would be admitted on a “need-blind” basis, just as U.S. and Canadian students already are, meaning admission decisions will not take ability to pay into account…</p>

<p>[Fulbright</a> Romania](<a href=“http://fulbright.dev.k.ro/index.php?module=advising&page_id=51]Fulbright”>http://fulbright.dev.k.ro/index.php?module=advising&page_id=51)

[/quote]

:confused:
Sometimes, even Duke was mentioned as need-blind. Anyone knows why?</p>

<p>Yes, I had way too much free time…</p>

5

<p>As far as I know, MIT went need-blind for ALL of its student admissions in 1969, so its coming up on 50 years now. MIT admits all of its students need-blind and awards all of its financial aid merit-blind.</p>

6

<p>Mikalye, following up on what you said, I did a little googling and found this:</p>

<p>

[Diversity</a> At MIT: 1981 to present - The Tech](<a href=“http://www-tech.mit.edu/V123/N3/timeline.3f.html]Diversity”>http://www-tech.mit.edu/V123/N3/timeline.3f.html)</p>

<p>BUT, as stated in one of the articles quoted by boho_girl (great job!) in post #3, as of 1999,</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Surely MIT is a “top university”! </p>

<p>Anyway, I think many sources tend to neglect international students when talking about a school’s need-blind admissions policy. Maybe in 1957, MIT went need-blind just for domestic applicants, and international students were much later? That practice of excluding international applicants for convenience’s sake may also be the reason why, as boho_girl asked, Duke is sometimes mentioned as “need-blind” when it’s actually so for domestic applicants only.</p>

7

<p>Yes, I am not sure, but as I recall reading it, it was need-blind for domestic students in 1957 and need-blind for all students as of 1969.</p>

<p>At any event some 40-50 years before the other “top universities”. Boho girl quotes that well-known source The Yale Herald, which is simply and totally wrong on this, which simply reinforces my prejudices about Yale.</p>

8

<p>^^ I think you’re right. Yale Herald could have mistakenly written “top uni” instead of “ivy-league uni” (as Rister said, “A for Admissions” said none of the Ivies are need-blind to internationals)</p>

<p>Many sources just have conflicting information, and I can not find anywhere that it explicitly states when MIT or Harvard have gone need-blind to foreign citizens.</p>

<p>Another source by (infamous) Yale says this:</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=Yale Daily News, April 25, 2003]
…international student aid did not become need-blind until 2000, when Yale joined institutions including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that had already implemented such policies…</p>

<p>[Yale</a> Daily News - Talent abroad is a challenge for Yale](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/7886]Yale”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/7886)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>And if you wish, another source by Harvard

[QUOTE=Harvard Crimson, November 16, 2000]
…MIT has a similar need-blind program for international students…</p>

<p>[The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: Yale Institutes Need-Blind Admissions for International Students](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=102357]The”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=102357)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>And finally, in MIT’s words

[QUOTE=MIT Spectrum, Winter 2008]
…MIT’s commitment to a need-blind admissions policy began in 1969, which includes a commitment that all students admitted to MIT will have the financial support they need…</p>

<p>[MIT</a> Spectrum Winter 2008 A Letter from the President](<a href=“MIT Spectrum - Spectrum | MIT for a Better World”>MIT Spectrum - Spectrum | MIT for a Better World)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I’m just confused as to why all the other schools highlight “the FIRST to [for eg. exclude loans from finaid package]” or explicitly state “need-blind to FOREIGN CITIZENS”, but not MIT.
These information would make it look like MIT was indeed the first to admit foreign students regardless of their need. </p>

<p>Or are those “first…” articles simply not available online, or was there another school in the game back then?</p>

9

<p>boho girl you’re really dedicated! or you have too much free time as you said? heheh but its amazing how you could dig out all the relevant articles.</p>

<p>I personally would look for an unequivocal statement by MIT. the part that bothers me is this:</p>

<p>MIT’s commitment to a need-blind admissions policy began in 1969, **which includes a commitment that all students admitted to MIT will have the financial support they need. **</p>

<p>the bolded portion still does not mean a need-blind policy for all applicants, just that all admitted students will have guaranteed financial support.</p>

<p>the sentence that follows is more encouraging though:</p>

<p>This makes it possible for the Institute to admit students based completely on merit without consideration of their ability to afford an MIT education.</p>

<p>I just wish they’d say “all students”. :P</p>

10

<p>Well, I’m on my summer breaks for 2 weeks already, so yeah… I’ve got plenty of time. I used this as a procrastination tool from cleaning my closet, though. :stuck_out_tongue:
Sometimes little useless facts can really intrigue me, so I decided to socialize with Google for a while. </p>

<p>But unfortunately, I didn’t have luck with finding a source which explicitly states when MIT went need-blind to internationals. If you really want to know, you might want to go straight to the source, and just ask one of MIT admissions officers, or make a thread in MIT subforum. </p>

<p>(Yet, Middlebury’s year does not seem to intrigue people as much)</p>

11

<p>Someone said that Stanford is need-blind to Canadians(but tries to hide it). Is that true??</p>

12

<p>If Stanford is need-blind for Canadians, why would they hide it? And if they did hide it, how would anyone here know?</p>

13

<p>Haha ever the skeptic, huh, Barium? :p</p>