@midwestatheart Wash univ doesn’t admit kids or reject kids based on ability to afford the school. There is no evidence to support this statement. They are needs aware and are very upfront about the ability to pay only coming into play when cherry picking kids off the wt. list. In the ED and RD cycle, they are needs blind and dont make decisions based on ability to afford the school. applying for scholarships does help in showing demonstrated interest though. If you are on the wt. list than probably difficult to get in/off wt list if you are applying for FA. but in the RD/ED round FA doesnt come into play. We were directly told this by admissions office. The thread seems to support this with many getting in with full rides.
An admission rep can say whatever they want–but the only references in print that I can find to their needs aware policy is “a prospective student’s ability to pay for Wash. U. is only taken into account when admissions officers are trying to reach the budget line for the incoming class”. Lots of gray area here–nothing about just using it for the waitlist.
Frankly, I don’t buy for one minute that they are “only need aware when picking kids off the waitlist”. Why? Because the amount of kids that are admitted from the waitlist can be very small. The impact to their bottom line would not be significant enough to bother with being “needs aware”. Plus, if this is the case, why not make it an official position?
This isn’t a slam against Wash U as I do feel it is good they are upfront about being “need aware”, and I do feel like they are trying to improve in this area–especially with students who qualify for Pell grants. They probably try their best not to let the financial situation get in the way, but by being classified as “need aware” at some point they do look at it.
@bjdkin I think Wash Univ is being more honest than MOST schools in saying they are “needs aware” and not “needs blind”. For those reading the thread in the future, I do believe what we were told by both the financial aid office and the admissions office that FA only comes into place when cherry picking kids off the wt. list and that FA does not come into play in the RD/ED admission pool. many many kids get full rides from Wash univ. or comp FA packages in the ED/RD pool.
Remember, the amounts can add up.
Let’s say a school (not just Wash U) gives $50k in FA to an applicant. The school will probably need to set aside $50k for 4 years for that applicant as a safe assumption. No school obviously wants to pull a large amount of FA from a student after the first year- unless the family wins the lotto. So you have 4 years x 50k = $200k. All you need now is 5 students in the same boat to hit a cool $1 million. You have 10 kids, it’s $2 million. A school like Wash U with an endowment of just under $7 billion may see it as chump change - or maybe not. Bottom line is this stuff isn’t budget dust.
We went to a UChicago info session and the presenter said the same thing. They become need aware when getting close to the cut-off line or wait list.
@momof2eagles hmmm, I could’ve sworn I read somewhere that WashU takes ability to pay into account when making decisions for RD/ED. My mistake.
Well, here what they said in their own words in 2013 . This was largely in response to the NY Times article that indicated that they were under-represented with regards to low income students in comparison with other peer schools.
There is no reference to them being needs aware for the waitlist only.
I have the link listed below, but pulled a few quotes.
**Berg said that the first reading of every applicant’s dossier is need-blind. Admission recommendations go to the financial aid people, who compare the cost of the proposed class to the financial aid budget. Since aid costs for the proposed class exceed the budget, the University must then make some decisions that are “need-aware.”
**A faculty member asked how many students initially recommended for admission get removed from the pool once financial aid becomes a consideration. Berg responded that every year is different. In its worst year, the University has had to remove 100 students from the proposed pool; more often, the number varies between 5 and 15.
Here is the link to the document, it is from the minutes of a faculty meeting: http://facultyminutes.artsci.wustl.edu/files/facultyminutes/2013-11-22_minutes.pdf
Now, they are really trying to make strides on this, and have, in fact, started an initiative to get more low-income Pell Grant eligible students–which is really good. That is probably why you see so many full-ride scholarships on the recent admit thread.
*edited to add, not to go off track, but I am surprised @ChicagoSportsFn that UChicago admin rep sait that --as they are need blind.
Thanks, @bjdkin, for posting a primary source. Very helpful.
have a question regarding financial aid.
So my parents were really behind the ball and for whatever reason decided to apply for aid, but we missed all of the deadlines except for the FAFSA meaning we only qualified for non-institutional aid. however, we do not know where to find this package even though i have been admitted. does anyone know where i can find it?
Go to website: https://sfs.wustl.edu/Pages/default.aspx
Do you know if you are allowed to appeal an admissions decision? I was rejected but had an on campus interview, did a summer program at WUSTL for a full month last summer (lived on campus) and had a scholarship for it, and I have a 4.0 and 33 act score with many extracurricular activities/volunteer service/work. Would it be worth trying?
Probably not. However, you can reach out to them if you’d like. Did you turn in all your documents on time?
@college1324 I guess you could email your regional rep and ask that question but unfortunately college admission process doesn’t always seem fair. I doubt given the thousands that got wt list that they would change an admission decision from rejection to wt list or admission. Summer programs dont always guarantee admissions. Many of the summer programs are money makers including the ivies and give students the false impression if they get into these summer programs they will def. get into the colleges/universities . Many students that go to summer programs at highly selective colleges/universities dont get admitted to those schools . LOVE THE SCHOOL THAT LOVES YOU BACK!. I know its hard to do this but you need to psychologically move on and start loving other schools that admitted you. I am sure you have so much to offer and you can thrive and contribute at another school.
For those posting about FA, I do believe that Wash Univ is just more upfront about being “needs aware” than other schools that claim to be “needs blind”. I truly think no school can be completely “needs blind” . We were told directly by the FA office as well as admissions that “needs aware” applied to taking students off their wt list. This was recently in march 2015, so more updated info than the 2013 link. Again I think no school can be completely “needs blind” even if they say they are.
My son now accepted to 5 schools and waiting on others. Wash Univ. FA package which includes grants you dont have to pay back is in line with/similar to the so called “needs blind” schools and in some cases better.
Anyone else receive a really nicely written card from their WashU admissions counselor today?
@frenchtoastlover Yes. It was really nice.
@frenchtoastlover Yes, it was cool.
I want a card from my admissions counselor 
^Im sure your card is coming soon! My D received one too.
I hope so!! @goingnutsmom
It is nice to feel wanted 
Did anyone who checked UPS and not see a package end up getting accepted anyway