Here is a Wake Forest financial aid policy (information is cut and pasted directly from the Common App):
Please be aware that by selecting “No” to the question about need-based financial aid, you may be precluded from receiving need-based financial aid for the entirety of your undergraduate career at Wake Forest. Your response to this question does not, however, impact our consideration of you for merit-based scholarships.
The question being asked is (cut and paste)…
Do you intend to pursue need-based financial aid?*
Does anyone know of other universities that have this policy?
Note–I am not a fan of the policy, but I would prefer that we not debate the policy. I can already see that unproductive rabbit hole. As with many things on CC…our debate will change nothing.
This is not a new policy and is not unique to Wake Forest. My child applied to 16 schools two years ago and at least one other had a similar statement but I don’t remember which one. In any case, it can be an issue at schools that are need-aware for admissions. About half the schools my child applied to are need aware for admissions, including Wake. (though she ended up at a school that is need-blind for admissions).
Even at Wake or any need aware school you can still in subsequent years submit a FAFSA and could be eligible for Pell Grants, and Federally subsidized or Direct unsubsidized loans. I read this policy to mean you would be unlikely to receive need-based institutional grant aid…but note that they hedge and say “may” be precluded… I think the issue is really one at schools that are need aware for admissions.
Even when my D graduated HS in '18 the guidance counselor told us this was the case at many schools and to fill out FAFSA if we thought there was any chance our finances could change.
Need aware often means rich kids school. Wake is highly full pay. Last full class 269 of 1389 got any need. 37 merit. Not sure how athletes play in but it’s atrocious.
Poor and white - don’t know but guessing - apply elsewhere.
70% white last year. Rather homogenous -white and wealthy. That’s my hypothesis.
For a top school it’s sad but business is business.
If a school is overwhelmingly wealthy and overwhelmingly white, I would guess that more than just poor, white students might not put it on their lists. There’s a whole lot of socioeconomic and racial groups that aren’t wealthy or white.
You’re right that endowment is the biggest driver of whether private schools offer need blind admissions AND whether they meet full need of admitted students.
Wake is need aware in admissions but does meet full need of those admitted. The fact that the meet full need of admitted students is probably a driving factor behind the policy being discussed by OP.
By contrast, some private schools are need-blind in admissions but don’t meet full demonstrated need of admitted students (including my child’s college, Villanova).
If a school is need aware in admission or need blind but doesn’t meet full needs…it kind of de facto becomes a “rich kid” school.
The most elite private schools typically have a large enough endowment (and priorities) to be need blind in admissions AND meet full need.
The schools with the highest endowments, including several ivies, are need blind, define need generously, and meet full need…sometimes without loans.
I wish all schools could do that but it does take a LOT of money to do it.
@NemesisLead you might want to read through this thread. Some other colleges with this policy you quoted at Wake are mentioned in the thread…last 10 or so posts.