Need-blind admission in the United States refers to a college admission policy that does not take into account an applicant's financial status when deciding whether to accept them. This approach typically results in a higher percentage of accepted students who require financial assistance and requires the institution to have a substantial endowment or other funding sources to support the policy. Institutions that participated in an antitrust exemption granted by Congress were required by law to be need-blind until September 30, 2022.[1]
Many colleges and universities cannot provide enough financial aid to cover all admitted students. Some institutions are not need-blind, while others may practice need-blind admissions, but cannot provide sufficient aid. Additionally, some schools that use need-blind admissions for domestic first-year students may not extend that policy to international or transfer students. Need-blind schools tend to be selective, due to the large number of applications they receive.
Each institution has its own definition of meeting the full demonstrated need. Some schools meet this need through grants and/or merit or talent scholarships alone, while others may include loans and work-study programs. As a result, a student's financial aid package can differ greatly between schools that claim to meet full demonstrated need.[citation needed]
Seven U.S. higher education institutions are need-blind towards all applicants. These institutions meet full demonstrated need for all applicants, including international students.[2] These are:
A number of U.S. institutions of higher learning both offer need-blind admissions, and meet the full demonstrated need for all students, but are need-aware when it comes to international student admissions. However, all admitted students will have their demonstrated need met, although in some colleges, primarily public colleges, such aid may only be offered for students who either require financial aid or are under specific geographical demographics. For instance, College of William & Mary and University of Michigan are public research universities that meet the full need of qualifying in-state students (residents of Virginia and Michigan, respectively) but don't meet the full need of out-of-state or international students. The following schools fall into this category:
Many reputable institutions that once championed need-blind policies have modified their policies due to rising costs as well as subpar endowment returns. Such institutions include prestigious colleges that do not offer merit-based aid but promise to meet 100% of financial need (mostly through grants). These stated institutions refer to themselves as "need-aware" or "need-sensitive," with policies that detract from their ability to admit and educate all qualified candidates but allow them to meet the full need of all admitted students who qualify for financial aid (many institutions extend this policy to all students).[69]
For instance, at Macalester College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College, at least 95% of students are admitted without financial need being a factor, but a slim percentage, generally students who are waitlisted or who have borderline qualifications, are reviewed in consideration of the college's projected financial resources. All three colleges grant all admitted students financial aid packages meeting 100% of need.[70] At Wesleyan University, attempted shifts to a "need-aware" admission policy have resulted in protests by the school's student body.[71]
Some institutions only meet the full need for students who are domestic US residents and/or are eligible for US federal financial aid, as proven by the applicant's FAFSA and CSS profile. A few only meet the full need of students under specific demographics who are considered "economically disadvantaged" and may not be guaranteed to meet the full need of other students. Do note that some colleges don't state their financial aid admissions policy, so they're sorted into the need-aware category. The following schools fall into this category:
Some schools have a need-blind admissions policy but do not guarantee to meet the full demonstrated financial need of the students they admit. The following schools fall under this category:
The following institutions are need-aware and aren't guaranteed to meet the full need of the students they admit in any capacity:
In the United States, schools with large financial aid budgets—typically private, college-preparatory boarding schools—tend to offer either need-blind admission or a commitment to meet the full demonstrated need of the U.S. citizen students that they admit (as determined by the schools' respective financial aid departments).