Need-blind policy is expensive from universities’ perspective. If appears that fewer and fewer universities can afford it. Even among well-endowed Ivy League schools, the number of need-blind schools for international students went from 5 (HYP, Dartmouth, and Cornell) to 3 (HYP) in the past 2 years:
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/02/15/cornell-be-need-aware-international-students
There are also some discussions at Cornell about dropping need-blind for its domestic transfer students. Cornell takes in about 500 transfer students a year. Relative to its about 3500 yearly size, this segment accounts for about 15% of undergraduate population:
http://cornellsun.com/2017/02/26/cornell-considering-need-aware-admissions-for-transfers-additional-controversial-measures/
What is your thought?
Most schools are need-blind. Being need-blind doesn’t cost the school anything.
You must mean “need-blind AND meets full need.”
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the number of need-blind schools for international students went from 5 (HYP, Dartmouth, and Cornell) to 3 (HYP) in the past 2 years:
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I don’t blame univs for being need-aware for int’l students. It’s extremely hard for Univ to really get a true picture of the financial status of an int’l, particularly one claiming to be poor - but really has various int’l accounts, properties, etc, that the univ really can’t “see.”
@mom2collegekids You are correct: need-blind and meets full (or almost full) need.
Colleges can claim to “meet full need” and still cut financial aid costs by calculating “need” is a less favorable way for the student and expecting a larger student contribution.
Examples from an older thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1675058-meet-full-need-schools-can-vary-significantly-in-their-net-prices.html
Nothing wrong with not promising a college will be affordable. Today’s policies of not tying admissions to finances is so much better than in my day. However it creates its own problems as there are far more applications that complicate acceptances where the student can’t attend and leaves other acceptable students who would attend in limbo longer. Not a perfect world, never will be.
The other way that colleges can cut financial aid costs while still appearing generous is to alter admission criteria to favor things more likely to be found in higher income families. For example, weighing legacy more and first generation less, or weighing expensive extracurriculars more and work experience less.