We don’t know if this student applied for financial aid…
Full pay kids have an ENORMOUS advantage…and although OOS kids bring in more revenue, top universities know they are expecting FA and often reject them because it hurts their yield if they are accepted and don’t enroll…which they likely won’t if they are looking for their best offer…
Need Aware, Need Blind, etc. are becoming marketing gimmicks to generate applications --schools can see parent occupations, home values, address/town, number of siblings, sports (golf, skiing vs. basketball) …especially when you see the very same schools reporting year after year, after year, that less than 50% of their student body is receiving aid…and aid often includes just loans. Amazing how consistent they are when choosing students…
I know many families that are writing full checks for $72,000 + to attend “prestigious schools” because they are focused on “the network” but nothing can convince them it’s a mirage and because of this tuition will keeps rising …med, law, dental or business schools offer far better returns on investment.
I sincerely hope it all works out for this student, but he needs to understand his scores and GPA are not that special in the upper altitudes of college admissions.