Staff Editorial | Return to need-blind rightly prioritizes accessibility

Vassar students fund their college educations in various ways: some are supported by their parents, some receive financial aid scholarships, and others are work-study students. If all students were expected to pay full tuition, the student body would be vastly different, namely because higher education at Vassar would only be accessible to the economically elite. Under the College’s previous “need-sensitive” policy, it was possible that students would be rejected from the College based on their ability to pay.

But after months of discussion and advocacy (including on the part of the Vassar Student Association Council for 2006-2007), College President Catharine Bond Hill announced at the 2007 commencement that Vassar will return to a need-blind admissions policy. The Miscellany News applauds this decision, particularly because a need-blind policy reflects one way (of many) in which the College is putting words about committment to all types of diversity into action.

During the past ten years, applicants’ ability to pay has played a limited, but still present, role in the admissions process, which has been described as a “need-sensitive” policy. Cost spikes in the mid-1990s caused the College to take finances into account for about 2 percent of admissions decisions. Beginning with the Class of 2012, however, financial feasibility will no longer be a consideration in admission. Vassar’s policy now matches those of peer institutions such as Amherst College, Swarthmore College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid David Borus is optimistic about the potential results of the new policy. “I do indeed believe that over the coming years, being need-blind in admissions will enable Vassar to be seen as a viable college option for greater numbers of talented low-income students,” said Borus in an e-mailed statement. “Being need-blind makes the Vassar ‘message’ clearer and less ambiguous and will hopefully encourage additional students for whom aid is a primary concern to consider Vassar among their college options.”
As we look forward to see how the Class of 2012 will be comprised, the increased ethnic, racial and geographic diversity of the Class of 2011 is also encouraging. Students of color comprise 29 percent of the Class of 2011, compared with 24 percent of the Class of 2010. This is the largest percentage in Vassar’s history. This year’s freshmen count among their ranks 12 more students of Asian descent, eight more African-American students, and 13 more Latino/a students than the comparably sized sophomore class.
At the same time, incoming Vassar students’ academic qualifications have increased across the board, with higher SAT scores on all three major sections, as well as a growing percentage of students in the top five percent of their high school class.

Diversity of a class cannot be solely assessed based on ethnicity or hometown, and returning to a need-blind policy indicates that the socioeconomic diversity of incoming classes is another primary priority for the College.

By no means, however, is Vassar’s work in the area of diversity complete. Increasing the sheer number of students from diverse backgrounds is not a stopping point. The experiences that these students have during and matriculation will determine the success of Vassar’s commitment to diversity. Still, the first step, as always, is to have a diverse new class join the Vassar community. The return to a need-blind policy abets further movement towards diversity, because students who require financial aid will be encouraged to keep Vassar on their lists as they submit college applications. The next step is for the College to examine and improve the ways that its atmosphere is amenable to people of disparate socioeconomic backgrounds—which will undoubtedly be an important undertaking for years to come.

We at The Miscellany News are encouraged by the return to a need-blind admissions policy, which has taken effect barely a year since President Hill took office. Hill, whose academic research focuses on the economics of higher education, has clearly put accessibility at the top of her agenda. The return to a need-blind admissions policy is also one of many examples of the influence that student voice can have at the College. The VSA Council’s efforts in making need-blind admissions a top issue (as early as in their campaign speeches at the end of 2005-2006 and continuing throughout the 2006-2007 academic year) indicates the potential for student contribution to change at the College.

The Staff Editorial represents at least two-thirds of the 12-member Editorial Board.