need-based financial aid
Yale is among 28 leading private colleges and universities -- including Columbia, Cornell and Stanford -- that have agreed to use a common set of standards when determining students' financial aid needs.
The new guidelines will reduce the amount of parental contributions in most cases, and increase the amount of aid provided by the institutions. Yale, for example, will increase its aid to students by about $1 million annually, beginning with the Class of 2006, according to President Richard C. Levin.
In recent years, increased competition among colleges for outstanding students prompted some schools to
By signing this agreement, the participating institutions reaffirmed their commitment to admitting students regardless of their financial resources and to providing an aid package that permits them to attend the college of their choice.
"Yale has long recognized the importance of offering educational opportunities to outstanding students without regard for their ability to pay," said Levin, noting Yale extended its need-blind admissions policy to international students last year.
"Some schools, however, have increasingly moved toward merit-based scholarships, which take limited financial aid funds away from the students who need it most," Levin added. "By committing themselves to need-blind admissions and need-based aid through this agreement, Yale and the other participating institutions are ensuring that future generations of scholars will continue to have access to high-quality higher education regardless of their financial circumstances."
The new guidelines are also designed to bring greater clarity, simplicity and fairness to the financial aid process by eliminating the disparities in the formulas used to assess the educational expenses families are expected to pay.
One major change under the new agreement is that colleges will expect students to use only 5% of the money in their savings accounts each year -- instead of 25% to 35%, as required under most traditional formulas. The guidelines also standardize the criteria for assessing home equity, the contributions required from divorced parents and step-parents, and the higher cost of living in a major metropolis, among other factors.
Recognizing the value of need-based financial aid, Congress created an antitrust exemption in 1994 that sanctioned efforts by eligible institutions -- i.e., those practicing need-blind admissions -- to discuss and agree upon common principles of financial aid need-analysis. Two years ago, an ad hoc group of college and university presidents chaired by Cornell President Hunter Rawlings was formed under the umbrella of this federal legislation. The new guidelines are a result of this collaboration.
In addition to Yale, the participating institutions are: Amherst College, Boston College, Bowdoin College, Claremont McKenna College, Columbia University, Cornell University, Davidson College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Haverford College, Macalester College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, Northwestern University, Pomona College, Rice University, Stanford University, Swarthmore College, University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, Wellesley College, Wesleyan University and Williams College.
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move away from need-based aid in favor of merit-based scholarships -- sparking concern that this trend could threaten the financial ability of low- and middle-income students to attend the college of their choice.
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