Will High Financial Need Hurt My Chances at Carleton?

[ctyankee]

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@1190

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<li>You’re right to be concerned. But the reality is that no college is truly need blind, especially in the midst of this recession. Much has been written about this. This is from TheIvyCoach.com April 2009 newsletter:</li>
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<p>“What need-blind admissions actually means is that a type of firewall exists between admissions and the financial aid office through which information does not flow. Yet, in the real world of college admissions, there are other ways that a need-blind college can figure out if the applicant will need aid. On every application there are questions that the student must answer that reveals the family’s economic circumstances. When both parents are ivy league graduates, and one is a partner in a white-shoe law firm, while the other is a partner in a top consulting firm, the sibling is currently attending a prestigious private university, and the high school is located in an affluent zip code, it is not difficult to conclude that if admitted, this applicant will be a “full-pay.” Add to this mix, a student who writes about his summer community service work in Guatemala that cost his family eight thousand dollars, it becomes even more obvious that the family can afford the tuition, room and board at the college to which he/she applied.”</p>

<p>I would also “add to the mix” that many colleges increased their wait lists last year. While there were many reasons for this, consider that the need blind policy only applies to first round acceptances for entering freshmen. Freshman admitted off the wait list along with all transfer students, are admitted NEED AWARE. Contrast this to Carleton, which accepted no one off last year’s wait list and only very small numbers of transfers.

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<p>Thanks for this as well as the other posts. </p>

<p>I called Carleton and spoke with a Financial Aid Director. He could not have been nicer or more candid. He didn’t mince around to the fact that full-pay can be an advantage. However, he noted that two years ago, virtually the entire early decision round of candidates were admitted without financial issues. Last year, he believed that approximately 7-9 percent of candidates were affected. Said another way, approximately 8 percent of the candidates they wanted to accept early decision, they ultimately could not due to financial aid issues. We decided to check the box and go through the financial process. Ultimately, it is about value and about what my son can and should afford. Not any easy call, but I think the right one for us. </p>

<p>The 2009-2010 data is a bit dated but the ratio of applicants to financial aid award by income bracket is interesting. Of note, those receiving aid was significantly lower, 243 (in 2012) versus 283 in 2010. If the same ratio of those applying to those receiving was maintained, that means that approximately 266 applied for aid in 2012 or slightly more than half the entering class. It also means that approximately 257 students (ballpark figures mind you based on a 500 student class size) ultimately were full-pay. So, any way you shake it slightly more than one half of Carleton’s entering students are full-pay.</p>