As prior posts suggest, it varies a lot by school. Many schools also think of ED as an indication that full pay may be an option since those students will be admitted without regard to financial aid, even though theoretically they can reject the offer is there is insufficient fin aid. But, what the student's family and the school consider inadequate often differs and can lead to awkward discussions, and many (though not all) ED students end up being full pay, again depending on the school.

Anonymous wrote:NO. Apps are evaluated separately from FA info.

At a small percentage of schools.

There are basically 4 categories of schools.

1) Schools that evaluate apps separately from FA, and meet full need for everyone who gets in. (This is the Harvard, Yale group, but it's a very small # of schools).

2) School that evaluate apps together with FA, giving priority to students who need less aid, and then gives full aid to everyone who gets in. (This group is slightly bigger).

3) Schools that evaluate apps together with FA, give priority to students who need less aid to protect yield, and don't meet need of everyone who gets in. Aid is given based on combo of merit and need. (This group is bigger than 2)

4) Schools that don't look at FA, but also don't meet full need for the vast majority of students. (This is the largest group, and includes most public U's.)

At tuition driven institutions with minimal endowments, absolutely. It’s framed in terms of international students and cultural diversity but the reality is that those institutions need cash. The current estimate is that 50% of them is I’ll be bankrupt in 10 years so they really need cash.

Yes! People are so naive. Someone has to fully pay and there aren't a lot of students who have families that can pay $250,000 cash for a 4 year degree.
Unless you are talking about the top 10 schools with enormous endowments being a full pay student gives you an edge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard and Yale really do not look. They don’t actually need the tuition because their endowment could support them. They’ve always had policies that don’t expect you to pay over a certain amount unless you have a lot of money. Some colleges absolutely look because their margins are much tighter.

Even though no school is 100% need-blind (despite what they claim), HYPS are the closest to being 100% need blind because of their insanely large endowments. Money is practically no object for them. Still though I think 100% need-blind is a myth. If it really didn't make any difference at all, then schools wouldn't require applicants to also designate their FA status on the part of the application that is reviewed by the adcoms who will end up making the final admission decision. If a school was 100% need-blind then FA status would be masked until an admissions had been made. No school does that, not even HYPS.

Somehow for all their ‘need blindness’ they regularly accept kids with very average records of achievement who come from money.
There’s definitely some kind of ‘looking’ going on.

No they don't. Not unless your idea of "average" is skewed. At least not in the last couple of decades.

Many schools that purport to be need blind are not when it comes to their wait lists. Full pay is a hook in that regard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard and Yale really do not look. They don’t actually need the tuition because their endowment could support them. They’ve always had policies that don’t expect you to pay over a certain amount unless you have a lot of money. Some colleges absolutely look because their margins are much tighter.

Even though no school is 100% need-blind (despite what they claim), HYPS are the closest to being 100% need blind because of their insanely large endowments. Money is practically no object for them. Still though I think 100% need-blind is a myth. If it really didn't make any difference at all, then schools wouldn't require applicants to also designate their FA status on the part of the application that is reviewed by the adcoms who will end up making the final admission decision. If a school was 100% need-blind then FA status would be masked until an admissions had been made. No school does that, not even HYPS.

Somehow for all their ‘need blindness’ they regularly accept kids with very average records of achievement who come from money.
There’s definitely some kind of ‘looking’ going on.

“need blind” just means they evaluate without caring if you can pay or not. “Meets need” is something else that you need to look for. And then you need to know what that school defines as “need”. A Needs Blind school could admit you and then not cover all the costs, give your FInancial aid as mainly loans, etc.

Full pay makes it easier to ACCEPT admission

Anonymous wrote:Harvard and Yale really do not look. They don’t actually need the tuition because their endowment could support them. They’ve always had policies that don’t expect you to pay over a certain amount unless you have a lot of money. Some colleges absolutely look because their margins are much tighter.

Even though no school is 100% need-blind (despite what they claim), HYPS are the closest to being 100% need blind because of their insanely large endowments. Money is practically no object for them. Still though I think 100% need-blind is a myth. If it really didn't make any difference at all, then schools wouldn't require applicants to also designate their FA status on the part of the application that is reviewed by the adcoms who will end up making the final admission decision. If a school was 100% need-blind then FA status would be masked until an admissions had been made. No school does that, not even HYPS.

Harvard and Yale really do not look. They don’t actually need the tuition because their endowment could support them. They’ve always had policies that don’t expect you to pay over a certain amount unless you have a lot of money. Some colleges absolutely look because their margins are much tighter.

DC was admitted to a highly selective college that is need blind and meets all FA needs.
DD goes to a private school and we live in a fancy area so I wonder if they hope that someone like that is full pay - but we’re not.
And getting enough FA from the school was bloody, awful and stressful . And it isn’t enough.

Anonymous wrote:You can tell if admission and financial aid are the same office on the school website

This is one indicator.

OP, it depends on the college. At high EPS schools, full-pay means nothing; at tuition-dependent schools, full-pay means a great deal. HYPS could fill their freshman classes entirely with full-pay applicants. The lower down the scale, the more that full-pay matters.

You can tell if admission and financial aid are the same office on the school website

NO. Apps are evaluated separately from FA info.

In this day and age of "need blind" and "we will meet 100% of demonstrated need," is being a full pay student actually a hook? Isn't wealthy/suburban the opposite of what most schools are looking for?