Full pay vs. Financial Aid applications

[ChoatieMom]

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I guess that is mainly what I am wondering: do you have a better chance for acceptance IF you are “full pay”?

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<p>Full-pay applicants have one less hurdle to jump. They are only fighting for limited seats, whereas FA applicants are vying for an even smaller pool of seats AND limited funds.</p>

<p>Choate’s website, for instance, indicates that financial status applies at the end of the admission process and that the ability to pay could even make a difference to a wait-listed applicant:</p>

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Q: Is Choate a “need blind” institution?</p>

<p>A: A “need blind” school is a school which does not consider a family’s financial situation when making an admission decision. At Choate, our admission process is need blind until the very end of our admission cycle when we must work to meet a financial aid budget that is quite generous but not unlimited. Each year, there are a number of applicants for whom we are not able to offer admission because we are unable to meet their family’s demonstrated financial need. Our current admission policy is such that we will not offer admission to a student if we are not also able to meet their family’s demonstrated financial need. If our inability to offer financial aid funds proves a determining factor in not being able to offer admission, correspondence sent will reflect this difficult news.</p>

<p>Q: Are my chances of gaining a space off the Wait List increased if my family chooses to withdraw the application for financial aid?</p>

<p>**A: **Yes. Please contact the Financial Aid Office to propose to withdraw your financial aid application if your family is in a position to afford the total cost to attend Choate for your possible career at the school.

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<p>I’m not sure if this helps as the responses are going in several directions.</p>