George Washington University was a university amongst many that touted “need-blind admissions policy.” In other words, whether or not you could actually afford the school had nothing to do with getting in. A student’s financial and academic stance were supposed to be completely separate and unrelated.
A turn out GW has been lying for years. They have been giving preference to wealthier students during an admission, which was first discovered by GW’s own newspaper, the Hatchet. Not surprising, since George Washington has been known for its “rich-kid reputation” as stated by the president Steven Knapp in an article published in the Post about attempting to diversify.
According to the Hatchet, hundreds of students who were academically able to get into George Washington were waitlisted because they were too “needy.”
After their dirty secrets were aired, George Washington quickly disposed of their “need blind” policy on the admissions portion of their website. It now states that they “evaluate” candidates initially without factoring in financial need, but then considers “applicants financial resources at the point of finalizing admissions decisions.” Which basically means that the wealthier you are, the better a chance you have of getting in.
The University is now calling themselves “need aware,” and stating that they are now coming clean because they want to disclose the admissions process and make it transparent for students.
However, this makes me wonder, did GW proclaim, “Need blind” for so many years as a marketing tool? This wouldn’t be surprising, and it makes one wonder how many other schools are blatantly lying to hopeful students.
A number of universities have come out and stated they are no longer need blind. Wesleyan is one of them and has stated it would reconsider students once financial dollars were allocated.
This whole dilemma is incredibly depressing. Why should a qualified student not be able to attend the university they deserve?