Reed Puts Priority on Need-Based Financial Aid
Reed College has decided to continue its policy of offering financial aid exclusively on the basis of need rather than of merit, Dean of Admission Paul Marthers told Oregon Public Radio.
"Reed has decided that its limited financial aid funds will go to students based on their needing financial aid," Marthers said. "So Reed is a need-based only college -- there's no merit-based financial aid."
Reed's decision runs counter to a growing trend by colleges and universities to use merit-based aid offers to attract talented middle class students. Admissions directors say that the growing cost of college tuition makes merit-based aid an increasingly important element in middle class applicants' school choices.
Marthers noted that Reed's prestige and selectivity give it more leeway than other schools have in deciding whether to move to merit-based aid. Reed, which accepted fewer than 40% of applicants this year, is such an appealling college that many of the students it accepts are willing to pay its $34,000 annual tuition. This frees Reed to focus its financial aid resources on grants for lower-income students. By contrast, less competitive schools need to make an effort to attract a talented and well-rounded student body, and merit-based aid offers are an effective way of increasing enrollment.
Marthers suspects that, over time, these financial aid dynamics may lead to marked differences in the student bodies at different schools. "The outgrowth may be that Reed will have a lot of high-income students and a lot of low-income students, and maybe fewer students in the middle," he said. "But what's happening at these schools offering these merit scholarships is they're not appealing enough to these high income students... and they can't afford enough aid to bring in the really low-income students, so they're attracting a lot of students in the middle."
Source: "Colleges Offering More 'Merit-Based' Financial Aid," by Rob Manning - Oregon Public Broadcasting (Portland, OR), May 22, 2006
Technorati tags: Reed College, financial aid
"Reed has decided that its limited financial aid funds will go to students based on their needing financial aid," Marthers said. "So Reed is a need-based only college -- there's no merit-based financial aid."
Reed's decision runs counter to a growing trend by colleges and universities to use merit-based aid offers to attract talented middle class students. Admissions directors say that the growing cost of college tuition makes merit-based aid an increasingly important element in middle class applicants' school choices.
Marthers noted that Reed's prestige and selectivity give it more leeway than other schools have in deciding whether to move to merit-based aid. Reed, which accepted fewer than 40% of applicants this year, is such an appealling college that many of the students it accepts are willing to pay its $34,000 annual tuition. This frees Reed to focus its financial aid resources on grants for lower-income students. By contrast, less competitive schools need to make an effort to attract a talented and well-rounded student body, and merit-based aid offers are an effective way of increasing enrollment.
Marthers suspects that, over time, these financial aid dynamics may lead to marked differences in the student bodies at different schools. "The outgrowth may be that Reed will have a lot of high-income students and a lot of low-income students, and maybe fewer students in the middle," he said. "But what's happening at these schools offering these merit scholarships is they're not appealing enough to these high income students... and they can't afford enough aid to bring in the really low-income students, so they're attracting a lot of students in the middle."
Source: "Colleges Offering More 'Merit-Based' Financial Aid," by Rob Manning - Oregon Public Broadcasting (Portland, OR), May 22, 2006
Technorati tags: Reed College, financial aid
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