Need-blind admission

Need-blind admission is a term used in the United States denoting a college admission policy in which the admitting institution does not consider an applicant's financial situation when deciding admission. Generally, an increase in students admitted under a need-blind policy and needing financial aid requires the institution to back the policy with an ample endowment or source of funding. Being need-blind is a statutory requirement for institutions to participate in an anti-trust exemption granted by Congress which remains in effect until September 30, 2022.^[1] An institution may be need-blind in any given year by policy (de jure) or by circumstances (de facto).

Most colleges and universities cannot afford to offer financial aid to all admitted students and many will admit all students on a need-blind basis but cannot offer them sufficient aid to meet need. Many schools who admit all U.S. citizens or resident aliens without regard to need do not extend this policy to international students or to transfer students. Therefore schools, especially private ones, which are need-blind and full-need for all applicants, including internationals, tend to be much more selective as they have relatively more applicants than other similar schools.

Need-blind admission does not necessarily mean a "full-need" financial aid policy—where the school agrees to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all its admitted students. Indeed, the two policies can be in tension because need-blind admissions and full-need financial aid together commit the school to spend an undetermined amount of money regardless of other budgetary constraints. Thus, some need-blind schools will admit students who will nonetheless not be able to attend because of deficient financial aid awards.

Institutions self-define their definition of meeting full demonstrated need. There is no U.S. standard that an institution must abide by to claim that they meet fully demonstrated need. Therefore, an applicant's financial aid package can vary significantly at various schools, even if all of these institutions claim to meet fully demonstrated need.

U.S. institutions that are need-blind and meet full demonstrated need for both U.S. and international students

There are currently only seven U.S. higher learning institutions that are need-blind and meet full demonstrated need for all applicants, including international students.^[2] These are:

• Amherst College^[3]
• Harvard University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Princeton University^[4]
• Yale University^[5]
• Soka University of America^[6]
• Minerva Schools at KGI^[7]

U.S. institutions that are need-blind for U.S. applicants and meet full demonstrated need

A number of U.S. institutions of higher learning offer both need-blind admissions and meet full demonstrated need for students. However, these institutions are need-aware when it comes to international student admissions. The following schools fall under this category:

• Barnard College (need-aware for transfer students)^[8]
• Boston College
• Bowdoin College (need-aware for transfer students)^[9]
• Brown University (need-aware for international and transfer students)
• California Institute of Technology
• Claremont McKenna College
• College of the Holy Cross
• Columbia College, Columbia University (also meets full need for "eligible noncitizens") ^[10]
• Cornell University^[11]
• Dartmouth College
• Davidson College
• Duke University^[12]
• Georgetown University (need-blind for all applicants)^[13]
• Grinnell College
• Hamilton College^[14]
• Haverford College
• Harvey Mudd College^[15]
• Johns Hopkins University^[16]
• Middlebury College
• Northwestern University
• Olin College^[17]
• Pomona College
• Rice University^[18]
• Soka University of America^[19]
• St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe)^[20]
• Stanford University
• Swarthmore College
• University of Chicago
• University of Michigan (in-state students only)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill^[21]
• University of Notre Dame
• University of Pennsylvania (also applies for Canadian and Mexican students)
• University of Richmond
• University of Rochester (also applies for Canadian and Mexican students)
• University of Southern California^[22]
• University of Virginia^[23]
• Vanderbilt University
• Vassar College^[24][25]
• Wellesley College
• Williams College

U.S. institutions that are not need-blind for U.S. applicants and meet full demonstrated need

Many reputable US institutions that once championed "need-blind" policies in the past have modified their policies due to rising tuition and financial aid costs, as well as less-than-ideal returns on endowments. This largely affects prestigious institutions with vulnerable resources that do not offer merit-based aid but base their financial aid entirely on need and promise to deliver 100% of financial need (composed mostly of grants). These stated institutions refer to themselves as "need-aware" or "need-sensitive," policies that somewhat contradict their call to admit and provide education for all qualified candidates regardless of economic status but allow them to fully fund the needs of all accepted students.^[26]

For instance, at Macalester College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College, at least 95% of students are admitted without their financial aid need being a factor (i.e., "need-blind"), but a slim percentage (1%–5%), generally students wait-listed or with borderline qualifications, are reviewed in modest consideration of the college's projected financial resources. All of these aforementioned colleges grant all acceptees full financial aid packages meeting 100% need.^[27] At Wesleyan University, attempted shifts to a "need-aware" admission policy have resulted in protests by the school's student body.^[28]

• Bates College
• Brandeis University
• Bryn Mawr College
• Carleton College
• Colby College
• Colgate University
• Colorado College
• Connecticut College^[29]
• Franklin and Marshall College
• Macalester College
• Mount Holyoke College
• Oberlin College
• Occidental College
• Reed College
• Scripps College
• Skidmore College^[30]
• Smith College
• Trinity College
• Tufts University (in 2009 claimed to have examined 95% of applicants need-blind)^[31]
• Union College (Schenectady, New York)
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Wesleyan University

U.S. institutions that are need-blind for U.S. applicants and do not meet full demonstrated need

Some schools have a need-blind admissions policy, but do not guarantee to meet the full demonstrated financial need of the students they admit. The following schools fall under this category:

• Babson College (meets 96% of need)^[32]
• Baylor University
• Boston University
• Bucknell University (meets 95% of need)^[33][34]
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Cornell University (need-blind for all applicants)^[35]
• Cooper Union
• Denison University
• Earlham College
• Fordham University
• Hampshire College
• Ithaca College
• New York University
• Saint Louis University
• Santa Clara University
• Southern Methodist University
• St. John's University
• St. Lawrence University
• Syracuse University
• Texas Christian University
• Tulane University
• University of Miami
• University of San Diego

U.S. institutions that are need-sensitive and do not meet full demonstrated need

Still more schools are actively pursuing a need-blind and / or full-need admissions policy but have not yet had the resources to fully implement it.

The following schools fall under this category:

• Abilene Christian University
• Agnes Scott College
• American University
• Auburn University
• Bard College
• Beloit College
• Bennington College
• Berklee College of Music
• Berry College
• Bradley University
• Case Western Reserve University
• The Catholic University of America
• Centre College
• Clark University
• Clemson University
• College of the Ozarks
• College of Wooster
• Creighton University
• DePaul University
• DePauw University
• Dickinson College (meets 96% of need)^[36]
• Drexel University
• Fairfield University
• Furman University
• George Washington University
• Gettysburg College
• Hampton University
• Hofstra University
• Howard University
• Johnson & Wales University
• Lafayette College (meets 98% of need)^[37]
• Loma Linda University
• Loyola Marymount University
• Loyola University New Orleans
• Loyola University Chicago
• Marquette University
• National University
• The New School
• Pepperdine University
• Quinnipiac University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rhode Island School of Design
• Rhodes College
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Rollins College
• Sarah Lawrence College
• Seton Hall University
• Southwestern University
• Spelman College
• St. Olaf College (meets 96% of need)^[38]
• Trinity University
• University of Dayton
• University of Denver
• University of Puget Sound
• University of San Francisco
• University of California, San Diego
• University of St. Thomas
• Sewanee: The University of the South
• University of Tulsa
• Villanova University
• Wabash College
• Wheaton College
• Whitman College
• Willamette University
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Non-U.S. institutions that are need-blind and full-need for all applicants

• National University of Singapore, Singapore
• New York University Abu Dhabi,^[39] Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Yale-NUS College, Singapore

Boarding schools

As of 2014, Phillips Academy is the only boarding high school that has a clearly stated need-blind admission policy and is committed to meeting the full demonstrated need of its admitted students. St. Andrew's School ended its policy in 2013. Phillips Exeter Academy was "effectively need-blind" prior to the 2009 admission season but stopped the practice because of the economic pressures. Roxbury Latin School, a day school outside of Boston, is also need-blind.

See also

• College admissions in the United States
• Transfer admissions in the United States

References

1. "Summary of S. 1482: Need-Based Educational Aid Act of 2015 - GovTrack.us".
2. "Schools Awarding International Financial Aid".
3. "International Applicants - Amherst College". Amherst College.
4. "Financial Aid FAQ - Undergraduate Admission". Princeton University.
5. "Are international students eligible for financial aid? If so, how do I apply?". Yale University. 2010-08-10. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010.
6. "FINANCIAL AID FAQS". Soka University of America. "SUA admits students without regard to their ability to pay. SUA's need-blind admission policy means that a student's financial need will not affect his or her possible admission to the university". This includes international students.
7. "FAQ - Minerva Schools at KGI".
8. "Barnard Fin Aid".
9. "Bowdoin Financial Aid".
10. "How Aid Works - Columbia Financial Aid and Educational Financing".
11. JON VICTOR (February 24, 2016). "Cornell changes to need-aware policy". Yale Daily News.
12. "$300-million Financial Aid Initiative Launched". Duke Magazine. Archived from the original on April 17, 2006.
13. FINANCIAL AID Archived August 31, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
14. "Need Blind - Home - Hamilton College". Hamilton College.
15. "Colleges That Claim To Meet Full Financial Need".
16. News-Letter, The (30 March 2013). "Class of 2017 admission hits new University record".
17. "Admission - Olin College".
18. http://stage.futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/Money_Matters.asp?SnID=2
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21. "The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
22. USC.edu
23. "University of Virginia News Story". University of Virginia.
24. "Vassar College returns to "need blind" admissions policy - Communications - Vassar College".
25. "FAQs - Admissions - Vassar College". Vassar College.
26. Seline, Anita M. (1996). "The shift away from need-blind: colleges have started their version of "wallet biopsies." - higher education institutions admit students on economic status criteria". Black Issues in Higher Education.
27. The Miscellany News | Since 1866: Financial Aid at Vassar | Crunching the numbers
28. "The 1992 Need-Blind Occupation: A Look Back with Ben Foss '95". Wesleying. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
29. "Connecticut College Tuition, Costs and Financial Aid". CollegeData College Profile.
30. "Skidmore College Tuition, Costs and Financial Aid". CollegeData College Profile.
31. Javetski, Gillian (2009-04-02). "Tufts accepts 26 percent of pool, suspends need-blind admissions". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
32. "Babson Undergraduate Financial Aid - Babson College". Babson College.
33. "Admission Procedures, Application Dates, Deposits, Other Application Information, Early Decision and Acceptance Programs". Apply4Admissions.com.
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35. "What Cornell Looks For - Undergraduate Admissions". Cornell University.
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37. "Lafayette College". CollegeData College Profile.
38. "St. Olaf College Tuition, Costs and Financial Aid". CollegeData College Profile.
39. "Financial Support". New York University Abu Dhabi.