Ceasing need-blind admissions is a politically tenuous move for colleges and universities -- need-blind policies, associated with meritocracy and equal opportunity, cut to the heart of institutional values that many students, staff and faculty hold dear. But sometimes those values have run up against cold, hard finances. Admitting students without considering their need for financial aid can make it difficult to control budgets from year to year. That’s particularly true when the policy is paired with promises to meet the full demonstrated financial need of applicants. And it is that combination of policies that truly makes it possible to tell a student without money that he or she is on equal footing with a trust-fund teen during admissions decisions.

July 21, 2016 ・ From Inside Higher Ed