<p>Xiggi:</p>
<p>The main reason to advertise a need-blind, 100% need package for internationals is to bump the number of applications and increase the prestige of the college by publishing a lower acceptance rate.</p>
<p>The number of international applicants (with little or no chance of acceptance) is a key reason for what is perceived as increasingly difficult admissions at elite colleges. International applications are highly elastic, driven by many superficial factors such as guide-book ratings and claims of being "need-blind". Notice that the percentage of internationals actually enrolled doesn't usually accompany changes in advertised policy or increased applications.</p>
<p>It is much more difficult to signficantly change the number of applications from the US, where reputations and perceptions of colleges is much more firmly entrenched.</p>