Washington and Lee University to Adopt Need-Blind Admissions

Colleges & Universities Washington & Lee University
1

Historic Gift Allows Washington and Lee University to Adopt Need-Blind Admissions Policy

9 Likes
2

Very impressive. This plus the Johnson Scholarships makes the college very affordable.

2 Likes
3

Need blind means that financial need will not be considered when the admissions application is read. It really doesn’t affect their financial aid awarding policies.

@DramaMama2021

5 Likes
4

The school meets all students’ need with zero loans.

Also, the school clarified that it is now need blind for international students as well.

3 Likes
5

That story is making the rounds on campus, every time I go onto Instagram its one of my classmates reposting that onto their story (I do not deny that I was doing it as well).

It’ll be interesting to see what impact it’ll have on application numbers or any admission statistics for that matter. To be frank, when I applied to W&L I hadn’t even considered that W&L was need aware - the concept of them being need-aware was rarely mentioned (if at all) throughout my interactions with them. Im unaware if that was deliberate or not, but its something interesting to note.

1 Like
6

Yes.

This has been a stated goal for years. It is my understanding that in recent years financial need was only considered for a small number at the end of the application cycle. Now need will not be considered at all in admissions for domestic and international students.

As far as I know, the financial aid policies remain unchanged. They were already meet-need with no loans and have the W&L Promise for families under certain income levels.

2 Likes
7

As an FYI… I just happened upon this communication from 2022 where the President discussed the goal of need-blind admissions. :smiley: It’s a fantastic achievement to now have accomplished that thanks to Mr Miller’s generosity. I read an article where he discussed his motivation for the gift; he and his family spent years paying off his college loans and he wanted to take that burden away from future students. :heart:

(Other institutional goals are mentioned in the letter from the president linked below, and to my knowledge are consistent with the admissions goals remaining today.)

1 Like
8

This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.