“Need Aware” College Admissions Policies
With the college acceptance season in high gear, here is some food for thought. According to Measuring Up, a report card produced by The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, in 2006 every state had improved with regard to the percent of youth academically prepared for college. However there have not been equal gains in attendance at four-year colleges, and unfortunately, “Family income remains the best predictor of who will go to college and what college they will attend.” In 2006, 43 states “flunked” the college affordability, which measures access to college by family income and includes tuition costs minus grants (excluding athletic scholarships) for two and four year colleges as well as private institutions and professional schools. And unfortunately, college affordability rates will likely decline as more private colleges institute “need aware” policies. As a recent New York Times article, “Paying in Full as the Ticket Into Colleges” (March 31) indicated, many colleges are looking more favorably at students from families in higher income brackets. The methods that they are using to evaluate students for admission include not only whether they’re applying for financial aid, but income predictions based on zip codes and parents’ background. The dean of admissions and financial aid at Lawrence University in Wisconsin describes wealthier students in this way: “They shine a little brighter.” We only hope this won’t be the case for long.
Education | Nada Djordjevich | 
April 17, 2009 3:39 pm
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