The Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid will soon consider a proposal to eliminate need-blind admissions for international student applicants, and switch to the need-sensitive approach found at most selective liberal arts schools.
Currently, the admissions committee considers international applicants the same way it considers domestic applicants—that is, without regard to the applicant’s ability to pay tuition. When financial aid is concerned, however, “international students are not handled the same way,” according to Eric Staab, Associate Dean of Admission and Coordinator of International Admission. While for domestic applicants the college does guarantee to meet 100 percent of the demonstrated need of each admitted student, it can make no such promise to applicants abroad. The proposal at hand, Staab explained, “would enable us to meet the need of all students who are admitted.”
When asked about the possible effects of such a proposal, Staab expressed hope that there would be “little to no difference in terms of the number or origins of international students enrolled.” In fact, he said that the new policy may even enable the college to do a better job of enrolling international students from a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
Due to the number of people involved in the decision-making process, Staab said, he was unable to comment on the likelihood that the new policy would be adopted.
The Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid, made up of students, faculty and administrators, is set to discuss the proposal in more depth at its meeting a week from Monday.
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