Need-Blind and Need-Aware: Admissions Policies that Guarantee Full Financial Aid and How Those Policies Can Hurt Your Chances for Admission

Justice, said to be blind as well, is sometimes able to smell money.

Adding yet another layer of complexity to the process of selecting colleges, U.S. colleges are now redefining their policies on need-blind and need-aware admissions.  Typically, certain schools maintain a policy where every student they admit will be able to attend the school without taking on too much debt (less than $5,000/4 years).  This policy requires to offer grants to admitted students who cannot pay for the cost of attendance on their own.

However, this policy can get expensive if the school admits too many financially “needy” students.  This is because the school is forced to pay for the students irrespective of whether the school can afford it that year.  To prevent budget deficits, some schools will refuse to admit too many financially “needy” students, even if those students are perfectly qualified applicants.  These schools are considered “need-aware” in admissions because financial need plays a factor in their admissions decision.

Conversely, schools that are “need-blind” do not factor financial need into the admissions decision.  “Need-blind” schools will admit students based solely on merit and only later figure out the financial aid package for each admitted student.  Sometimes, these “need-blind” schools will not be able to ensure that every admitted student can attend without taking on student debt.  Even worse, some students who claim to be “need-blind” actually end up admitting much less financial “needy” students than “need-aware” schools.

Top U.S. Universities Given Permission to "Fish" in Global Markets

U.S. Studies Center Chief Geoff Garrett has confirmed that top U.S. universities are looking to increase enrollment of international undergraduate students.

“In the wake of the global financial crisis, US state universities were turning to foreign undergraduates for the first time to compensate for funding cuts, Professor Garrett told the HES.  The obvious implication is the market for foreign students will become more competitive because you will have a lot of large and high-prestige universities competing for the students,” he said.  “University of California, Berkeley, is an extremely powerful global brand and Berkeley now wants to attract a lot of foreign undergraduates.”

As well, the cheaper US dollar, plenty of student accommodation and faster visa approval times should give the US an edge. Professor Garrett said American state universities had been told “they can fish in the global market and charge the global price. That’s a very important revenue stream for cash-strapped universities.”  “That’s a big change,” Professor Garrett said. “The University of California has 10 campuses, including Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego; top-ranked universities. Until the financial crisis, they weren’t in the market.  After the crisis they will be.”

Dorm rooms like these are a major advantage to American Universities looking to attract foreign students.

US universities – unlike their commuter-based Australian counterparts – also could offer foreign undergraduates established residential infrastructure, he said.  “If you combine their brand power plus their big residential services, that’ll make them very competitive very quickly in the foreign undergraduate student market.””

Residential infrastructure?  He probably means dormitories.  American students deride dormitories and take for them for granted.  However, unlike the housing arrangements in most other countries, dormitories in the U.S. provide a safe and enriching college experience as students are required to live, learn, and inevitably grow around the student’s peers.   Though some dormitories are slightly dilapidated, all are quite habitable and better maintained than the typical housing that surround a University.  Some dormitories are quite nice and are looking to get significantly nicer.

The full article is available here.

Top U.S. Universities Given Permission to “Fish” in Global Markets

U.S. Studies Center Chief Geoff Garrett has confirmed that top U.S. universities are looking to increase enrollment of international undergraduate students.

“In the wake of the global financial crisis, US state universities were turning to foreign undergraduates for the first time to compensate for funding cuts, Professor Garrett told the HES.  The obvious implication is the market for foreign students will become more competitive because you will have a lot of large and high-prestige universities competing for the students,” he said.  “University of California, Berkeley, is an extremely powerful global brand and Berkeley now wants to attract a lot of foreign undergraduates.”

As well, the cheaper US dollar, plenty of student accommodation and faster visa approval times should give the US an edge. Professor Garrett said American state universities had been told “they can fish in the global market and charge the global price. That’s a very important revenue stream for cash-strapped universities.”  “That’s a big change,” Professor Garrett said. “The University of California has 10 campuses, including Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego; top-ranked universities. Until the financial crisis, they weren’t in the market.  After the crisis they will be.”

Dorm rooms like these are a major advantage to American Universities looking to attract foreign students.

US universities – unlike their commuter-based Australian counterparts – also could offer foreign undergraduates established residential infrastructure, he said.  “If you combine their brand power plus their big residential services, that’ll make them very competitive very quickly in the foreign undergraduate student market.””

Residential infrastructure?  He probably means dormitories.  American students deride dormitories and take for them for granted.  However, unlike the housing arrangements in most other countries, dormitories in the U.S. provide a safe and enriching college experience as students are required to live, learn, and inevitably grow around the student’s peers.   Though some dormitories are slightly dilapidated, all are quite habitable and better maintained than the typical housing that surround a University.  Some dormitories are quite nice and are looking to get significantly nicer.

The full article is available here.