[Vineyard]

But think about this .... what if the typical "legacy student" was someone who paid full tuition - and the school had no worries about coming up with financial aid, grants, work-study jobs, etc. And compare that student with someone who needs grants, waiver of part of the tuition, etc. Which one do you think the school should select?

IMHO ... schools should be allowed to add to the "scoring" whether or not the student will need financial aid, or pays full freight.

I am all in favor of giving the student with high SAT scores, excellent record, etc. the aid, assistance, etc. ... but if we have two nearly identical students applying for a college, why would it not be in the best interest to accept the student that can afford to pay?

Mike

[CatoRenasci]

Most of the top 100 or so schools claim admission is 'need-blind'. That may be generally true, but at most of those places, close questioning of the admissions staff will reveal that isn't completely true. At the margins, where they're filling the last 10-20% of the class and have already made their financial aid offers to the most desireable students, many of the top liberal arts colleges and some of the ivies and ivy-wannabees will look at the financial picture and are more likely to accept a student who will pay full freight than one who needs a full ride. This is even more strongly the case with respect to waiting lists.

This does not trouble me.

[Catspaw]

At Ivy League schools, there's generally enough private money from donations to pay the full ride for a student who qualifies academically, but cannot afford to pay for books, tuition and other expenses.

[SJackson]

I am all in favor of giving the student with high SAT scores, excellent record, etc. the aid, assistance, etc. ... but if we have two nearly identical students applying for a college, why would it not be in the best interest to accept the student that can afford to pay?

As a pratical matters, as most schools that's what happens, as aid availability isn't unlimited. There's no need to rate applicants up or down based on financial need.