Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

Not a done deal but looks pretty closes.... Apparently, Carleton already made this move a few years back.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 02:06 pm: Edit

What's your information source on this? By the way, I noticed that St. Olaf is also considering ending need-blind admissions but it's just in the discussion phase at this point.

By Coureur (Coureur) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 03:38 pm: Edit

So why is Minnesota the hotbed of this trend?

By Boxmaker1917 (Boxmaker1917) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 04:55 pm: Edit

Add'l discussion to be found at:

http://ilovemacalester.blogs.com/i_love_macalester/

From article in Oct 8 St. Paul newspaper:

Macalester cites cost in studying change to aid

BY KERMIT PATTISON

Pioneer Press

Macalester College is considering abolishing its "need-blind" admissions policy to control the escalating costs of financial aid, sparking an emotional debate touching the core values of the St. Paul liberal arts campus.

"We're not talking about turning it into a college for the very wealthy," said Macalester President Brian Rosenberg. "Before or after these changes, we will be one of the most accessible colleges in the country, including schools that are need-blind."

Macalester has practiced need-blind admissions — or offering admission without regard to the applicant's ability to pay — for at least 30 years for freshman applicants from the United States. It does not practice need-blind admissions for international and transfer students, who now compose about 20 percent of the applicant pool.

Rosenberg said the college must control the growing costs of financial aid, which now takes up roughly 24 percent of its budget. He said financial aid spending equals 80 percent of the college endowment distribution and will reach nearly 100 percent by next year, leaving less money for other fundamental areas that determine the quality of education: academics, faculty, facilities, sports and study abroad.

"Over the last five years, the amount of money we've been able to devote to our academics program has gone steadily down and the amount of money we've devoted to financial aid has gone steadily up," said Rosenberg. "We're putting fewer and fewer resources into the quality of education we provide to students. Sooner rather than later, that's going to erode the quality of what we provide for everybody."

The proposed change has aroused passionate debate on the campus that has long prided itself on its accessibility, civic engagement and diverse student body. Last week, 402 people signed a petition against the proposed "need-aware" admissions policy, said Natalia Espejo, a sophomore who organized the effort.

"For me, it's disturbing that they're making the arguments that it won't make a big change in the Macalester student body," said Espejo. "But it's a huge ethical statement to make. It sends the signal that using wealth as a determinant of an applicant's desirability is acceptable."

William Sentell, who runs a Web site for Macalester students and alums at www.needblind.com, feared "a radical departure from Macalester's bedrock values."

"My biggest concern is this proposal, if enacted, would exclude poor students from the college," said Sentell, a 2002 graduate. "It would formalize an admissions process where students were vetted based on financial circumstances. That's a bad direction for the college to go in right now." More than 70 percent of Macalester students receive financial aid, with an average discount rate of 45 percent of the annual $34,000 tuition, board and fees.

Last spring, a planning committee of faculty, students and staff recommended that the college end need-blind admissions because Macalester's educational and social goals had outgrown its financial base.

The committee concluded that changing to a "need-aware" policy for a portion of the incoming class would save $1.3 million to $2.3 million per year and affect 30 to 50 students with no discernible drop in academic quality, economic diversity or the college's competitive standing.

In practice, Rosenberg said, admissions officers would consider finances only when selecting only about the last 10 percent of the freshman class. He emphasized that the college would continue to meet the full financial needs of all current students and those offered admission.

The Macalester board of trustees is considering the issue and will make a decision in January or March, he said.

According to a study of 40 colleges in Macalester's peer group, 15 practice need-blind admissions including Grinnell, Amherst, Williams, Wesleyan, Haverford and Swarthmore.

Other colleges have found need-blind admissions too expensive and consider finances for at least a portion of applicants. In recent years, both Carleton and St. Olaf colleges have ended need-blind admissions.

Macalester remains the only private college in the state that still engages in the practice, said David Laird Jr., president of the Minnesota Private College Council.

"There are only a select few institutions in the country that were ever able to pull that off with any integrity," Laird said, "and those were institutions that that had sufficient discretionary resources to handle the variables of each ensuing year."

By Reidmc (Reidmc) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 06:47 pm: Edit

It does appear that Macalester will be adjusting it's need-blind policy, though nothing will be firm until spring.

Here is a letter from the Macalester president on the subject: http://www.macalester.edu/qualityaccess/letter.html

I will be attending an alumni discussion of the subject next week and if there is interest, will add a report to this thread.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Friday, October 08, 2004 - 07:21 pm: Edit

The positive is they are still going to be promising to meet 100% of the need of accepted students. Not many schools do that these days.

By Boxmaker1917 (Boxmaker1917) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 11:35 pm: Edit

"The positive is they are still going to be promising to meet 100% of the need of accepted students. Not many schools do that these days."

Carolyn, I thought MOST schools met 100% of an accepted student's need (although a lot of it could be loans rather than grants). My understanding is that students who require financial aid are at a disadvantage compared to those who can pay the full cost of a Macalester education. This would make Macalester more of an elitist school than the Ivies or LACs such as Amherst, Williams, etc. Although not stated, I also would assume that students who receive aid will see more of it in loans than in outright grants.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 12:22 am: Edit

No, most schools do not meet 100% of accepted students' need. I think that there are only about 50 schools in the country that do that. Many state universities don't even do that.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 12:46 am: Edit

Northstarmom is 100% right. Most schools do not guarantee to meet 100% of accepted students' need. If financial aid is important, it's always wise to ask admissions "what percentage of admitted students have 100% of financial need met." The number vary considerably.

And, there's a HUGE difference in HOW schools meet financial need --- some rely more on loans than on grants. So, even if a school specifically guarantees to meet 100% of admitted student need, it's always smart to ask "what is the average debt upon graduation" in order to get an idea of loan amounts.

By Reidmc (Reidmc) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 01:26 am: Edit

"My understanding is that students who require financial aid are at a disadvantage compared to those who can pay the full cost of a Macalester education."

Nope. . not currently or historically. . .this is the whole point of the discussion at Macalester. The combination of need-blind admission plus the guarantee to meet the full need of admitted students without using a high percentage of loans is very tough on their budget.

Note that the percentage of students at Macalester that receive need-based aid is around 70%. Corresponding numbers at peer institutions. . .Williams (30%), Colby (32%), Kenyon (42%), Wesleyan (42%). Only Mount Holyoke comes close, at just under 70%, though Grinnell, Occidental and Smith are close to 60%. Macalester stays in the game financially thanks to a healthy endowment and a very tight overall budget, but many peer schools, like Williams, Amherst, Grinnell and others have even larger endowments and more financial flexibility. Grinnell, Williams, Wellesley and Pomona have endowments around $1 billion. Macalester is around $500 million.

Even after two years of study, it will take another six months for any change to be approved. There is a community consensus that even with changes the school will still maintain its heritage of attracting and supporting a student population more diverse in economic background than almost all of its peer institutions, but exactly how that will work, along with related financial issues, remains unclear at this time.

By Neobez (Neobez) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 12:30 pm: Edit

I actually talked to the student president (a grad from my high school a few years back) and he said himself Mac was having alot of trouble with finances because they were giving so much to admitted students.