Peter Van Buskirk at U.S. News & World Report recently published an excellent article on need-blind admissions. Buskirk shows the difficulty colleges have in achieving a truly need-blind approach to admissions.
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I imagine most of us would argue that a student's ability to pay should not be a factor in college admissions. After all, should a student's financial situation prevent him or her from attending a good college? And doesn't the privileging of wealth go against the educational ideals of most colleges?
"Need-aware" admissions, however, can sometimes be more humane than "need-blind." All colleges have finite financial aid resources. If a college with "need-blind" admissions runs out of financial aid dollars before meeting students' financial needs, the results can be ugly. Students and their families may find themselves in a position where they have to take on an unreasonable and unwise amount of debt to pay for college. Many "need-aware" schools will argue that it is a better policy to meet the financial needs of all incoming students than to provide financial aid packages that fall far short of what students can realistically pay.
Use the comment link below to share your thoughts on this controversial issue below. Should all colleges have "need-blind" admissions, or only those few schools that can afford to meet the financial needs of all accepted students?
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