What does it mean to be "need blind" and meet 100% of need?

Being need blind and meeting 100% of need basically means that when admission officers consider the many qualifications for admission of your application, one factor they are NOT going to consider is how much your family can afford to pay for college.

About 40 colleges and universities in the United States are need blind and meet 100% of student need by building financial aid packages to make college affordable for you. We call this the gold standard in higher education. So if you're admitted to one of these schools, you can be sure that you and other students were admitted based upon achievements, talent, and potential - not family wealth.

Need-blind schools like Grinnell College want every student to know that when you're offered admission, we don't want any financial barriers to stop you from attending. Instead we're going to meet 100% of your family's financial need to make attendance not only available, but financially feasible.

We go a step further - Grinnell has also eliminated student loans in financial aid packages and replaced them with scholarships and grants for all students receiving need-based financial aid. Initial financial aid packages do not include loans. Instead, the college commits to meeting 100% of demonstrated need with the use of grants/scholarships and student employment.

So when we're reviewing your application for admission, what really matters to us is what matters to you. We're going to look at your achievements, your talents, and your potential, but we're not going to look at how much your family can afford to pay for college.