3 ms·

Financially it also means they have strict quotas on the required wealth of a specific portion of the incoming class, no? They must have a certain number of the

Financially it also means they have strict quotas on the required wealth of a specific portion of the incoming class, no? They must have a certain number of the incoming freshman class be from families making more than $150,000 a year in order to be solvent.

runako 8y ago
Like many rich schools, Harvard has had a need-blind admissions policy for decades. This means admissions decisions are decoupled from decisions about who can pay, basically guaranteeing the opposite of your supposition. Harvard's endowment is ~$40 billion right now. They're solvent.
- hopler 8y ago
  They have need blind admissions but they have legacy-aware admissions. It's a happy accident that alumni happen to be wealthy. So in reality it's not need blind.
  - jessriedel 8y ago
    Not just legacy-aware, they grant admission in exchange for large donations. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/10/18/day-three-harvard-admissions-trial/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/10/18/day-three-harv...
    - joejerryronnie 8y ago
      It’s amazing how a donated building can help the “need blind” admission officers see the light.
      - whitexn--g28h 8y ago
        In this specific case of making a donation large enough to build classroom space / hire professors , the person is increasing the teaching capacity of the school by more than 1, allowing them to attend in exchange helps everyone.
        jessriedel 8y ago
        Harvard's undergraduate size is absolutely not limited by funding.
xxpor 8y ago
Need blind (probably) works the opposite way people think it does. Instead of putting a quota on low income applicants, it means that the only people who meet the standards are high income students whose parents have the cash for all of the extra curricular activities and tutors etc. My alma mater just moved to a system where they consider income, so they could do affirmative action based on income.
- jnbiche 8y ago
  What university is that? It's a good policy, much better than controversial race-based admissions, but still promoting increased admissions among both minorities and poor white students.
  - hirsin 8y ago
    Case Western did this, or was considering it. There was backlash from the alumni though - from appearances and description it sounded like it would function as a cap on students with financial need, rather than an avenue for affirmative action.
    - xxpor 8y ago
      Yeah it was Case I was talking about. IIRC this was right as I was graduating (2013), and what I said was the line from the administration. The problem is there's no real way to verify what would happen until it's implemented.

runako 8y ago

Like many rich schools, Harvard has had a need-blind admissions policy for decades. This means admissions decisions are decoupled from decisions about who can pay, basically guaranteeing the opposite of your supposition. Harvard's endowment is ~$40 billion right now. They're solvent.

hopler 8y ago
They have need blind admissions but they have legacy-aware admissions. It's a happy accident that alumni happen to be wealthy. So in reality it's not need blind.
- jessriedel 8y ago
  Not just legacy-aware, they grant admission in exchange for large donations. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/10/18/day-three-harvard-admissions-trial/ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/10/18/day-three-harv...
  - joejerryronnie 8y ago
    It’s amazing how a donated building can help the “need blind” admission officers see the light.
    - whitexn--g28h 8y ago
      In this specific case of making a donation large enough to build classroom space / hire professors , the person is increasing the teaching capacity of the school by more than 1, allowing them to attend in exchange helps everyone.
      - jessriedel 8y ago
        Harvard's undergraduate size is absolutely not limited by funding.

xxpor 8y ago

Need blind (probably) works the opposite way people think it does. Instead of putting a quota on low income applicants, it means that the only people who meet the standards are high income students whose parents have the cash for all of the extra curricular activities and tutors etc. My alma mater just moved to a system where they consider income, so they could do affirmative action based on income.

jnbiche 8y ago
What university is that? It's a good policy, much better than controversial race-based admissions, but still promoting increased admissions among both minorities and poor white students.
- hirsin 8y ago
  Case Western did this, or was considering it. There was backlash from the alumni though - from appearances and description it sounded like it would function as a cap on students with financial need, rather than an avenue for affirmative action.
  - xxpor 8y ago
    Yeah it was Case I was talking about. IIRC this was right as I was graduating (2013), and what I said was the line from the administration. The problem is there's no real way to verify what would happen until it's implemented.