29. Make admissions decisions need-preferring.
Here’s what the federal government can do:
- Congress should pass legislation that would award grants to higher education institutions that make admissions decisions need-preferring.
Here’s what state government can do:
- State legislatures should provide funding to higher education institutions that make admissions decisions need-preferring.
Here’s what institutional leaders can do:
- Higher education institutions should make admissions decisions need-preferring.
- Higher education institutions should ask students for information about their household income, making clear that financial need is considered a “plus-factor” in admissions.
- Higher education institutions should ensure that information about need-preferring admissions is shared in recruitment materials, catalogs, student handbooks, and on publicly available websites.
Instead of “need-blind,” [i] where admissions decisions are made without considering a student’s likelihood of relying on financial aid, or “need-aware,” where a student’s ability to pay tuition without financial aid is considered a “plus factor,” “need-preferring” admissions recognizes the benefits of a socioeconomically diverse campus and considers financial need to be a “plus factor.” In addition to preferring applicants with financial need, institutions should also structure financial aid processes to meet the full need of all admitted students. In order to engage in “need-preferring” admissions, institutions should ask for household financial information from applicants.
[i] The use of “blind” to mean “ignorant” or “unaware” is ableist. We have included the original language to make reference to a commonly used term. For more information about avoiding ableist language, see for example, Ping, Jessica. “Ableist Language To Avoid And Acceptable Alternatives,” https://therollingexplorer.com/ableist-language-to-avoid-and-acceptable-alternatives-blind-edition/.