This website has mentioned in several prior articles how I was offered generous financial aid to attend college and graduate school. Indeed, I am kind of the “poster child” of college financial aid, since I received a ton of grants and other assistance that nearly covered the enitre cost of earning my college degree. When I attended my college, the school had a need-blind admission policy, meaning that a student’s ability to pay was not factored into whether that student was admitted to the college. However, my alma mater eventually switched to a need-aware system, and need-aware admission is unfair in a variety of circumstances.
In order to assess how need-aware admission is unfair, it is important to fully understand what this is. In need-blind admission, a student’s ability to pay for college is not factored into whether the student will be admitted into a school. A school with this system essentially believes that their own financial aid policy will ensure that all students regardless of need will be provided for so that they can attend the school. Or the college believes that students who cannot pay for the school will either make the decision to borrow student loans or attend a different school that will provide them with better financial aid.
Need-aware admission is unfair, since it can result in richer students being admitted over poorer students. In need-aware schools, the college tries to ensure that all of their students will have the financial resources to pay for school. They award financial aid to students with this understanding, and once all of the financial aid has been awarded, they may choose richer students over poorer students who might be on the cusp of gaining admission. Need-aware schools justify this decision by saying that students should not be admitted to the college and then shackled with debt if they do not receive sufficient financial aid to pay for college.
Need-aware admission is unfair since it shouldn’t be up to the schools to assume that students cannot find a way to pay for college. Students pay for college in all sorts of ways, and this may not seem evident on financial aid paperwork. For instance, many people join ROTC to pay for school, and students are eligible to begin this process even after they have matriculated in school. Moreover, students can be more eligible for targeted scholarships and grants once they are enrolled in a course of study at school. As a result, it is often unfair to decide at first blush that students will be unable to pay for college due to their financial background before matriculation.
In addition, there is often no shame to borrowing student loans to pay for college, even if you fully debt-finance your college degree. Indeed, I am sure that many of us students who paid for their dream college with student loans, and it is not right to pass judgment on such individuals. The choice should be with the student whether they will decide to attend one school with student loans or potentially attend another school with financial assistance, they should not be denied admission outright.
Furthermore, need-aware admission is unfair because it perpetuates a system of richer students being admitted to schools and closing opportunities for poorer students. Richer students do not need to worry about being denied admission because their families may not be able to pay for college. They get to decide where they want to attend school without being shut out of colleges because of their financial backgrounds, and this could mean that they have more opportunities because of this freedom. Universities fancy themselves as somewhat charitable organizations that promote public-interest ends. Nevertheless, need-aware admission is unfair and regressive because it can potentially close opportunities for less-advantaged students.
Moreover, need-aware admission is unfair and detrimental because it may affect the diversity of students on campus. One of the best parts about being a college student is interacting with other students of all different types of background. Long after students forget the exact information they learn in most classes, they will remember the strong bonds they forged with people on campus and the experiences they had with students from different walks of life.
However, need-aware admission can impact diversity on campus. People of limited financial means have an interesting perspective to share, and they often have unique experiences that could be beneficial in the campus dialogue. In addition, there has been some concern that need-aware admission can impact the representation of racial and ethnic minorities on campus, although affirmative action policies may be able to lessen this effect.
As I can attest to from personal experience, different financial backgrounds should be represented on campus to add perspectives to the melting pot of dialogue that occurs in college. If colleges shut their doors to students of limited financial means, they may admit wealthier students who may not get another chance in their lives to have meaningful connections with people who do not share the same economic class.
In the end, need-aware admission is unfair, and it prejudices students of limited financial means. While there may be economic reasons to institute such a policy at schools, many benefits can be realized by evaluating candidates for college admission without considering their financial background.