Top 50 schools where full pay makes a difference

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the other thread:


For T50, its best to omit SSN and not complete FAFASA for these schools if you are full pay - it doesn't matter anywhere else in the T50:

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
ND
Georgetown
Emory
WashU

USC
NYU
BC
Tufts
BU
Lehigh
Wake

Yowsa.
Listening to Mark on todays college bound kid podcast:
Georgetown and NYU are really need-aware…as we said all along!!

“And I said, well, because they're really need aware, like Georgetown is a prestigious school, but they're not a wealthy school compared to, like look at endowment per students numbers, they're not on the top of 100.

Wow. That's surprising to me. Wow.

Georgetown, NYU, those are a couple of the schools that are not really wealthy and money has played a bigger role at those schools traditionally because they need to find full pay families, and it's been prioritized in their process.”

From Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews: What is a “Do No Harm” SAT/ACT Testing Policy, Jan 22, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-college-bound-kid-admission-tips-admission-trends/id1349060136?i=1000685112541&r=574
This material may be protected by copyright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From the other thread:


For T50, its best to omit SSN and not complete FAFASA for these schools if you are full pay - it doesn't matter anywhere else in the T50:

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
ND
Georgetown
Emory
WashU

USC
NYU
BC
Tufts
BU
Lehigh
Wake

Yowsa.
Listening to Mark on todays college bound kid podcast:
Georgetown and NYU are really need-aware…as we said all along!!

“And I said, well, because they're really need aware, like Georgetown is a prestigious school, but they're not a wealthy school compared to, like look at endowment per students numbers, they're not on the top of 100.

Wow. That's surprising to me. Wow.

Georgetown, NYU, those are a couple of the schools that are not really wealthy and money has played a bigger role at those schools traditionally because they need to find full pay families, and it's been prioritized in their process.”

From Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews: What is a “Do No Harm” SAT/ACT Testing Policy, Jan 22, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-college-bound-kid-admission-tips-admission-trends/id1349060136?i=1000685112541&r=574
This material may be protected by copyright.

I haven't listened yet to the podcast, though I was looking for what I thought might be the second half of the last podcast involving the potential big donor applicants ,i.e., wealthy families who might be the target of future development efforts, not those who have already given to the university in question and not mere full-pay applicants.

Georgetown still rejects full pay applicants with sufficient stats, so it seems like "need-aware" doesn't exactly sum up their approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From the other thread:


For T50, its best to omit SSN and not complete FAFASA for these schools if you are full pay - it doesn't matter anywhere else in the T50:

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
ND
Georgetown
Emory
WashU

USC
NYU
BC
Tufts
BU
Lehigh
Wake

Yowsa.
Listening to Mark on todays college bound kid podcast:
Georgetown and NYU are really need-aware…as we said all along!!

“And I said, well, because they're really need aware, like Georgetown is a prestigious school, but they're not a wealthy school compared to, like look at endowment per students numbers, they're not on the top of 100.

Wow. That's surprising to me. Wow.

Georgetown, NYU, those are a couple of the schools that are not really wealthy and money has played a bigger role at those schools traditionally because they need to find full pay families, and it's been prioritized in their process.”

From Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews: What is a “Do No Harm” SAT/ACT Testing Policy, Jan 22, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-college-bound-kid-admission-tips-admission-trends/id1349060136?i=1000685112541&r=574
This material may be protected by copyright.

I haven't listened yet to the podcast, though I was looking for what I thought might be the second half of the last podcast involving the potential big donor applicants ,i.e., wealthy families who might be the target of future development efforts, not those who have already given to the university in question and not mere full-pay applicants.

Georgetown still rejects full pay applicants with sufficient stats, so it seems like "need-aware" doesn't exactly sum up their approach.

I dont think it’s so black and white. That’s the point. They do consider ability to pay as another data point in admissions. It’s just another data point and not determinative.

This is the part 2. I skimmed the transcript.
Is the Sara Harbersin he talks about the same one from application nation? If so, I had no idea she was the Penn whistleblower!!

[Anonymous]

All schools are need aware, even the ones who lie about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are some top 50ish schools where being full pay makes a difference?

ALL.

Money talks.

+1
Especially if you ED

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are some top 50ish schools where being full pay makes a difference?

There's like a dozen schools that do NOT consider ability to pay.

115, actually

https://blog.prepscholar.com/need-blind-colleges-list

A smaller number that are need blind and meet full need, but still significantly larger than a dozen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

Eh. In the real world, Princeton and MIT are always going to be cheaper than Colby or Wake Forest and so on. The high endowment, very selective private universities will make it happen for anyone they accept. No one is saying no to Stanford because they can't afford it. It really is about 20 private schools that want the talent regardless of family circumstances.

False.

I know a student accepted to Stanford. They turned Stanford down for a full scholarship at UMD.

UMD is happy to pay for HYSP-caliber students.

This happens frequently!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are some top 50ish schools where being full pay makes a difference?

There's like a dozen schools that do NOT consider ability to pay.

115, actually

https://blog.prepscholar.com/need-blind-colleges-list

A smaller number that are need blind and meet full need, but still significantly larger than a dozen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

Eh. In the real world, Princeton and MIT are always going to be cheaper than Colby or Wake Forest and so on. The high endowment, very selective private universities will make it happen for anyone they accept. No one is saying no to Stanford because they can't afford it. It really is about 20 private schools that want the talent regardless of family circumstances.

False.

I know a student accepted to Stanford. They turned Stanford down for a full scholarship at UMD.

UMD is happy to pay for HYSP-caliber students.

This happens frequently!

Very frequently these days. Presumably schools like Stanford and Princeton are taking that into consideration. They must know that the UMC students they accept at full pay often have full rides in their pocket from state flagships. And there are many families of exceptional students who will choose 0$ for UMd or its equivalent over $400,000 for Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the other thread:


For T50, its best to omit SSN and not complete FAFASA for these schools if you are full pay - it doesn't matter anywhere else in the T50:

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
ND
Georgetown
Emory
WashU

USC
NYU
BC
Tufts
BU
Lehigh
Wake

This list isn't right. Vanderbilt is for sure need blind. So is Rice. And Rice gives exceptionally good financial aid. It's among the most generous schools in the country. It's a point of pride with them and part of their history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are some top 50ish schools where being full pay makes a difference?

There's like a dozen schools that do NOT consider ability to pay.

115, actually

https://blog.prepscholar.com/need-blind-colleges-list

A smaller number that are need blind and meet full need, but still significantly larger than a dozen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

Eh. In the real world, Princeton and MIT are always going to be cheaper than Colby or Wake Forest and so on. The high endowment, very selective private universities will make it happen for anyone they accept. No one is saying no to Stanford because they can't afford it. It really is about 20 private schools that want the talent regardless of family circumstances.

False.

I know a student accepted to Stanford. They turned Stanford down for a full scholarship at UMD.

UMD is happy to pay for HYSP-caliber students.

This happens frequently!

Very frequently these days. Presumably schools like Stanford and Princeton are taking that into consideration. They must know that the UMC students they accept at full pay often have full rides in their pocket from state flagships. And there are many families of exceptional students who will choose 0$ for UMd or its equivalent over $400,000 for Stanford.

100%

[Anonymous]

At my kid’s private school, anyone full pay gets into NYU. Anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At my kid’s private school, anyone full pay gets into NYU. Anyone.

Same here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the other thread:


For T50, its best to omit SSN and not complete FAFASA for these schools if you are full pay - it doesn't matter anywhere else in the T50:

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
ND
Georgetown
Emory
WashU

USC
NYU
BC
Tufts
BU
Lehigh
Wake

Here's the thread for the person looking for schools that really love full pay students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if you apply for financial aid but don't get any? Are you still considered full pay?

Quite the opposite. You would be considered a yield risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From the other thread:


For T50, its best to omit SSN and not complete FAFASA for these schools if you are full pay - it doesn't matter anywhere else in the T50:

UChicago
Rice
Vandy
ND
Georgetown
Emory
WashU

USC
NYU
BC
Tufts
BU
Lehigh
Wake

Here's the thread for the person looking for schools that really love full pay students.

Yep. This makes so much sense.

Wake
NYU
BU
Emory

These four really stand out as I have seen first hand that full pay matters significantly.

[Anonymous]

Liberty
Grand Canyon
Vermont
UT