Need Blind and Need Sensitive are admission policies that impact some students when applying to colleges around the country.

Need Blind admissions guarantee equal opportunities for admission into a college or university regardless of the student’s ability to pay for the costs at that college.  There are only a handful of colleges in the country that actually post need blind policies.  These include the likes of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford.  These schools have very substantial endowments and do not need to be concerned about revenue from needy students.

Need Sensitive admissions will sometimes take into consideration a student’s ability to pay for the college costs when deciding to admit the student.  In actuality, the vast majority of colleges and universities are need sensitive in one way or the other.

Need sensitivity may be offensive to you.  On the surface, it would make sense that all colleges should be need blind.  After all, we live in an egalitarian society and everyone should at least be given the chance accept or refuse an offer of admission if they have the qualifications to get into that school.  But consider the following example.

Two students are on the wait list at a college.  The admissions representatives are deciding who to give those last few offers of admission to.  Student “A” will require $30,000 in financial aid in order to afford the school.  Student “B” qualifies for only $5,000 in a federal loan.  The students are equally matched in all aspects, except financial need.

Remember, these two students are on the wait list.  That means these decisions are being made late in the admissions cycle and the vast majority of financial aid dollars have already been distributed to other students.  So would it make sense to offer one of the few last remaining spots to student “A”, knowing that the school does not have the money to help the student?  Or does it make more sense to make the offer to student “B” who is far more likely to be able to pay the bill?

Although Need Sensitive admission policies may seem unfair at first glance, they are the only logical and fair policy for  colleges that do not have unlimited resources.

These policies should in no way influence you not to apply for admission or file financial aid applications at any colleges or universities.  Always file the financial aid applications no matter what.  Not filing financial aid applications will not help you.  If you are a student who is on the bubble and gets refused because of financial need, then thank the school.  They just saved you from admission into a school that you could not afford anyway.

The solution to need sensitive admissions policies is not to try and pick and choose to which schools you will file financial aid applications.  The solution is always have a sound, well thought out application strategy.  Always apply to colleges with generous financial track records.  Always file to at least one safety school; 4-6 match schools; and 2-3 stretch schools.

If you follow a sound college application strategy, you will always have plenty of great options to choose from.

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