This is the question for parents and those who have applied to “need aware” colleges. How significant is this a factor? I ask because I only have experience of need blind colleges.
By way of background, I’ve worked with some young women with significant financial need. They were excellent but not spectacular students. They applied to “need aware” colleges including Smith, Mount Holyoke and Wesleyan. All were admitted and had their entire need met. This frankly surprised me because I thought they would be, as Smith puts it, “at the margin” and thus precisely those who might not get in.
So, is “need aware” that significant a consideration?
You can think this through and probably come up with the right answers just by common sense and deduction.
If you have a college that admits needy students at a discount from their “sticker price”, one of several possibilities is operating. The student may be much better (either academically, or on some other dimension) than their normal candidate, or their ability to attract full-pay students might be much less than you think.
I think we fall into this category. My D will be a freshman in the fall. She attends a BS on the East Coast on a scholarship and has the equivalent of a 3.7 UW GPA (they use an 11 point scale, so I’m guessing at her GPA). She applied to several “need aware” colleges and we were stunned that she got into them. Smith, Wellesley and Williams all gave her almost full rides. She was rejected by USC, and American University gapped her by almost $25k.
Being “need aware” didn’t appear to make any difference in our case.
@ucbalumnus I understand that, but in our case my D was accepted and got outstanding FA offers from “need aware” colleges as well. As she does not have the incredible stats people state here, I’m just surprised she was admitted and got full aid. Hence my questioning how much FA really does influence admission at “need aware” colleges.
At Carleton, they say that need awareness affects less than 5% of applicants. My impression is that they would be students on the cusp of admission in other ways, and also with high need. In those on that edge in other areas, less need will get the nod.
Need aware doesn’t automatically mean that the needier kid will get rejected in favor of a less needy kid. It just means that need is part of the overall consideration process.
At least for Wesleyan, they are need-blind until FA budget runs out now, but those they take, they still meet full need for. Like Carleton, the need-awareness kicks in for the last few percentage points of applicants. They don’t want to admit students they can’t support financially to the necessary level.
It should be irrelevant to applicants if a school is need aware or need blind. It doesn’t affect how much you like a school, it affects only the chances of admission, and then only for a few applicants on the cusp. What is crucial for some is that a school meets full need, but check the net price calculator (different colleges defined “need” differently, and may also have different expected student contributions). E.g., most schools are need blind but don’t meet full need (can be a bitter disappointment for those accepted but can’t afford it) and schools that are need aware (can benefit a few who don’t need aid) but meet full need (imagine being needy and being accepted). There are a handful that are need blind and meet full need. Note that the story is different for internationals.