College to consider need-blind admissions policy

Brian Farkas News Editor

The Board of Trustees will likely consider a move to a need-blind admissions policy at its next meeting, scheduled for May 10–12. Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid David Borus said that he is confident “that this is one of the many issues that they will be considering.”

Likewise, President Catharine Bond Hill indicated that it will be discussed. “I have certainly been talking with the Board about the importance of accessibility, and we will continue to talk about these issues,” she said. “Returning to need-blind admissions would be great. But I also know we need to be financially responsible, as well as idealistic.”

Currently, the College has a “need-sensitive” policy, which means that approximately 95 percent of students are admitted without consideration of their ability to pay. Many of Vassar’s peer institutions, however, such as Amherst College, Williams College, and Wellesley College, are entirely need-blind, and therefore never turn away students for financial reasons.

Schools that are “need-sensitive” or “need-aware” such as Vassar, on the other hand, rarely turn away qualified students for financial reasons. Other examples include Hamilton College, Smith College, and Bryn Mawr College.

In 1996, the Board of Trustees voted to adopt a “need-sensitive” policy, which stated that the College might have to consider financial need by the end of the admissions process, once the financial aid budget has been exhausted. Admissions officers keep careful track of how much aid they provide throughout the year, although this data becomes significant only by the end of the process.

Hill and Vassar Student Association (VSA) President Abel McDonnell ’07 have both been vocal about their concern for the socioeconomic diversity of the College, and have encouraged conversations on the College’s financial aid policies over the course of the year.

Hill, an economist, has spent much of her career studying the accessibility of higher education for low-income, high-achieving students. During her tenure at Williams College, she was a lead researcher for the Williams Project on Higher Education, founded in 1989. The Project examines issues of socioeconomic diversity among the student bodies at a variety of selective colleges.

She has pushed several groups to consider Vassar’s accessibility. “I’ve asked various committees on campus to think about whether our financial aid policies are adequate, both for now and for the future,” she said.

Borus believes that the effect of such a policy would be advantageous to the recruitment of students from wider socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Certainly, moving to a need-blind admission posture would send a positive message about Vassar’s institutional values to students and parents considering college options, and could have a positive impact on the College’s recruitment potential in the coming years,” said Borus.

While Borus believes that predicting the exact effect of such a policy change on the applicant pool is not possible, “being need-blind would undoubtedly be helpful as the College continues its attempts to attract a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse student body.”

VSA Council has also played an active role in the conversation. In December, Council passed a resolution endorsing a shift to need-blind admissions.
“[Council] strongly believes that an applicant’s family income should have no bearing on whether or not they are able to attend Vassar,” said McDonnell. “If the College is truly committed to fairness and equal opportunity, we have no choice but to eventually return to need-blind. We have an excellent history of commitment to financial aid. By committing to need-blind admissions, Vassar would be reaffirming that proud tradition.”

Vassar’s Joint Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid (JCAFA) recommended a switch to a need-blind policy to Hill on March 8. According to JCAFA Chair Morgan Warners ’08, “The students on the Committee emphasized the need for need-blind to be seen just as a first step to achieving this pluralism—that going need-blind shouldn’t absolve us of any further responsibility to be very active in diversifying the student body.”

Warners emphasized that Hill was extremely receptive to student input. “There’s a new culture coming in with Cappy in which it’s okay and even encouraged for students to insist that their voices be heard—the work of VSA Council in passing the need-blind resolution and the subsequent work of the student delegation are examples of this new openness.”

According to McDonnell, a need-blind policy has been vigorously debated and discussed in a variety of forums, including the Committee on Priorities and Planning, the Priorities and Planning Advisory Committee, as well as among the six Senior Officers of the College and the President.

McDonnell voiced his concern over Vassar’s financial aid policies as early as Fall Convocation. “As in all things, though, there’s room for improvement. We do more than many of our peers, but less than others,” he said. “It’s a commitment to fairness; a commitment to judging applicants on their own merits, not on who their parents are or how much money they have.”

Despite these discussions, any formal decision on moving to a need-blind policy must be made by the Board of Trustees because of the enormous financial implications.

Nonetheless, Warners was hopeful. “I do think this is just a matter of time—but there are a lot of logistics involved in a policy change like this. We should be cautiously optimistic.”