Need-blind admission


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.
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.

Need-blind for both U.S. and international students

Ten U.S. higher education institutions are need-blind towards all applicants. These institutions meet full demonstrated need for all applicants, including international students. These are:
  • Amherst College
  • Bowdoin College
  • Brown University
  • Dartmouth College
  • Harvard University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Princeton University
  • University of Notre Dame
  • Washington and Lee University
  • Yale University

    Need-blind for resident applicants

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 but don't meet the full need of out-of-state or international students. The following schools fall into this category:
  • Antioch College
  • Babson College
  • Barnard College
  • Berea College
  • Boston College
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Claremont McKenna College
  • College of William & Mary
  • Columbia University
  • Cornell University
  • Davidson College
  • Denison University
  • Duke University
  • Elon University
  • Emory University
  • Georgetown University
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Grinnell College
  • Hamilton College
  • Harvey Mudd College
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Lehigh University
  • List College
  • Middlebury College
  • Northwestern University
  • New York University
  • Olin College
  • Pomona College
  • Purdue University
  • Rice University
  • Santa Clara University
  • Soka University of America
  • Stanford University
  • Swarthmore College
  • Tulane University
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Delaware
  • University of Florida
  • University of Georgia
  • University of Michigan
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Richmond
  • University of Southern California
  • University of Virginia
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Vassar College
  • Washington University in St. Louis
  • Wellesley College
  • Whitman College
  • Williams College

    Need-aware schools that meet needs of admitted students

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. 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.
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. At Wesleyan University, attempted shifts to a "need-aware" admission policy have resulted in protests by the school's student body.
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:
  • Alma College
  • American University
  • Augustana College
  • Bard College
  • Bates College
  • Boston University
  • Bryn Mawr College
  • California State University, Long Beach
  • Carleton College
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Centre College
  • Colby College
  • Colgate University
  • College of the Holy Cross
  • Colorado College
  • Connecticut College
  • DePauw University
  • Dickinson College
  • Franklin and Marshall College
  • George Washington University
  • Gettysburg College
  • Haverford College
  • Hendrix College
  • Hobart and William Smith Colleges
  • Kenyon College
  • Lafayette College
  • Lawrence University
  • Macalester College
  • Mount Holyoke College
  • National University of Natural Medicine
  • Northeastern University
  • Oberlin College
  • Occidental College
  • Ohio State University
  • Ohio Wesleyan University
  • Pitzer College
  • Reed College
  • Saint Joseph's University
  • Sewanee: The University of the South
  • Scripps College
  • Skidmore College
  • Smith College
  • St. Olaf College
  • Thomas Aquinas College
  • Stonehill College
  • Trinity College
  • Trinity University
  • Tufts University
  • Union College
  • University of Miami
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of Puget Sound
  • University of Rochester
  • Washington & Jefferson College
  • Wesleyan University
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute

    Need-blind for residents, but do not guarantee to meet needs of admitted students

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:
  • Baylor University
  • Bucknell University
  • Cooper Union
  • Fordham University
  • Hampshire College
  • Hillsdale College
  • Ithaca College
  • Providence College
  • Saint Louis University
  • Salem College
  • Southern Methodist University
  • St. John's College
  • St. John's University
  • St. Lawrence University
  • Syracuse University
  • Texas Christian University
  • Juilliard School
  • University of San Diego

    Need-aware and do not guarantee meeting needs

The following institutions are need-aware and aren't guaranteed to meet the full need of the students they admit in any capacity:
  • Abilene Christian University
  • Agnes Scott College
  • Allegheny College
  • Auburn University
  • Beloit College
  • Bennington College
  • Bentley University
  • Berklee College of Music
  • Berry College
  • Bradley University
  • The Catholic University of America
  • Clark University
  • Clemson University
  • College of Wooster
  • Creighton University
  • DePaul University
  • Drexel University
  • Earlham College
  • Emerson College
  • Fairfield University
  • Furman University
  • Hampton University
  • Hofstra University
  • Howard University
  • Johnson & Wales University
  • Knox College
  • Lewis & Clark College
  • Loma Linda University
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Loyola University New Orleans
  • Loyola University Chicago
  • Marquette University
  • The New School
  • Pepperdine University
  • Providence College
  • Quinnipiac University
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Rhode Island School of Design
  • Rhodes College
  • Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Rollins College
  • Sarah Lawrence College
  • Seton Hall University
  • Southwestern University
  • Spelman College
  • University of Dayton
  • University of Denver
  • University of San Francisco
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of St. Thomas
  • University of Tulsa
  • Villanova University
  • Wabash College
  • Wheaton College
  • Willamette University
  • Wofford College

    Non-U.S. institutions that are need-blind for some or all applicants

  • Georgetown University in Qatar
  • Yale-NUS College, Singapore
  • New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    High schools in the United States

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. Certain schools have also introduced income-based thresholds for free tuition.