THROWBACK: NEED BLIND AND NEED AWARE ADMISSIONS

aware?Yes, so, um, need-blind means that a college doesn't worry about whether or not a student is gonna need financial aid in order to attend, um, and in order to pay for a school.

They just look to see whether they think the student would qualify to go there, and whether they think the student would fit in well, and whether that student would contribute to their class.

Does that mean they completely ignore the FAFSA?

At first, yeah, when they're need-blind-

Yeah

... yes, they look at the FAFSA...

Um, they don't look at the FAFSA, excuse me.

Right.

Um, and in fact, the...

It's not entirely clear whenever- whether the admissions people ever really see the FAFSA.

Uh, there's how much they communicate with fi- financial aid offices.

But even they're not supposed to consider whether the student checked the box, say, on the common application, "Will be filing for financial aid."

Okay.

Um, but they just don't look at that.

All right? So then need-aware is a newer term where, for the most part, the school...

When I say for the most part, for the majority of the students that are admitted that year, the s- the admissions office doesn't look at need and whether a student is gonna need any financial aid.

That's just an, a topic they don't worry about.

But then for some percentage of the students as they start to fill the class, um, they then check.

So let's say, let's say a school admits, um, you know, 90% of the people that they're gonna admit without looking at need, and then the last 10%, they consider it.

And when they consider it, is it favorable for a student to not have need, to say they will not-

No

... be filing financial aid forms?

Sadly, yes.

[laughs]

Yeah, right.