Need-Based vs. Need-Blind

How Need Can Play a Role

Today, a growing number of colleges make admissions decisions based on who can pay and the amount of your need-based package may depend less on your financial situation than how badly the college wants you to enroll.

Many colleges assert that financial need has no impact on admission. This is what we call ‘need-blind’ policy. The richest two or three dozen institutions do faithfully make admissions decision without considering need. But many others choose to leave the impression that need never plays a role in their decisions, although sometime it does.

Think about it. There are always incentives that work against admitting high-need students; students who request for a lot of aid. If you are a borderline student, no colleges will want to give you huge amount of money. Yet if they choose to accept you without adequate aid, you might not enroll (subsequently hurting their yield and selectivity rankings).

Unfair as it seems, being able to pay the freight often works in your favor at most schools (not including the top 50 or so). Some schools are open about the fact that asking for aid affects your chances at their college. This is the “need-based” policy. They might admit the first 90% of students without regard to need, and then weigh financial situation as a factor for the last 10%.

But if you do get in – although the standard for admission will be higher – you generally receive very generous aid.

An important thing to note; need-blind polices usually applies to only American applicants. International students always lose out in the financial aid game. Even schools that say “We are need-blind for everyone” will only admit internationals with SOME ability to pay. Exceptions include Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and Yale, among others.