<p>[Colleges</a> Face a Financial-Aid Crunch - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1887867,00.html]Colleges”>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1887867,00.html)</p>
<p>Time Magazine article, Colleges Face a Financial Aid Crunch hits the nail on the head. </p>
<p>"In the final, “need sensitive” stage of Skidmore’s admissions process, Shorb reports how much aid the school can offer and still get the class in under budget. Starting about March 1, the admissions committee does “triage,” Bates says, scrapping some applications stamped FA-Y for “financial aid–yes,” which are occasionally scrawled with a dollar amount. (Students who apply but don’t qualify for aid are not penalized for trying; they get lumped in with the rest of the “full pays.”) Needy applicants with weaker academic records, spotty senior-year grades or little apparent interest in Skidmore are booted to the waitlist. "</p>