NEED AWARE ADMISSIONS POLICIES
WHAT IS A NEED AWARE ADMISSIONS POLICY?
A need aware, or need sensitive, admissions policy means that that university may make the admissions decision depending on the student’s need for money to cover tuition for admissions. This means there may be an admissions advantage if the student can meet the program’s full COA without needing loans, grants or scholarships. On the other hand, this policy will be an admissions disadvantage if the student cannot meet the COA without aid. If a school requires financial information to be submitted before the admission application information is considered complete, the school likely has a “need aware” policy.
NEED BLIND ADMISSIONS POLICIES
WHAT IS A NEED BLIND ADMISSIONS POLICY?
A need blind admissions policy means that colleges do not consider the financial situation when making admissions decisions In most cases, the majority of college aid will go to students who prove that they have financial need, a need blind school may not give out much in the way of merit-based scholarships.
NEED AWARE VS. NEED BLIND
Figuring Out Need For International Students
Institutions figure out how much financial aid a student needs based on the
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Each institution decides how much it believes you can afford to pay each year towards the COA. For the EFC, institutions consider Family Income vs. Assets.
A family’s financial information comes from the forms that international students need to fill out like the ISFAA (see pg. 22) or the CSS profile (see pg. 23) For US citizens and residents, the EFC is determined through the FAFSA application.
If an institution does not consider need-based aid for international students, it may not ask for this information.
Financial Aid Awards For International students
A financial aid award or package may be put together from
