Collusion for Exclusion? An Exploration of Dartmouth’s Financial Aid Practices

By Abigail Bordelon and Ari Morris

Art by Abigail Bordelon

Sixteen-year-old Abby spent countless hours awake awaiting college admission results, to great success! They jumped for joy at their Dartmouth acceptance letter among others. Then came the moment of truth: the looming financial aid package. Could they afford to go? Were they truly able to pick their favorite school option, or would financial aid offers decide their fate?

Abby’s story isn’t rare, despite the popular portrayal of college admissions being a meritocracy where the most qualified applicants are admitted and able to attend. For low-income students, the admissions process is only one hurdle (though difficult on its own). Allegedly, Dartmouth, among other prestigious universities, have been conspiring to lowball financial aid packages, limiting access for low-income students to higher education.[1] Although many of these universities pride themselves on accessibility and generous financial aid packages, they are actively excluding low-income students from higher education.

Conveniently, two days after the New York Times exposé on the federal lawsuit, Phil Hanlon announced that Dartmouth has gone need-blind for international students, citing an anonymous donation of $40 million as the financial reason they could afford it.[2] Somehow the $8.5 billion endowment couldn’t cover international students’ financial aid until now![3]

Despite being need-blind for American applicants, Dartmouth intentionally fails to meet the financial and academic needs of low-income students.[4] By requiring low-income students to maintain a job through work study, Dartmouth makes academic success exponentially more difficult. Dartmouth classes alone are extremely difficult and requiring students to spend their time working to afford their education detracts from that education. In addition to tuition, students have expenses such as a high quality computer that meets Dartmouth’s strict standards, calculator, textbooks, winter coats, social activities, and travel. Both of the writers of this article had to purchase new computers and winter coats after committing to Dartmouth. This disproportionately impacts low-income students who cannot afford tuition, let alone the thousands of dollars of additional expenses, further excluding them from higher education.

Low-income international students have been kept out of higher education even more disproportionately because of Dartmouth’s international need-aware policy. Turkish international student Ülgen Yıldırım ’24 says, “Although schools like Dartmouth have the financial means to pay international students’ financial aid, most of them remain need-aware to discourage low-income international students from applying.” This makes higher education in the US inaccessible to low-income international students. By limiting the application pool of low-income international students, Dartmouth fails to foster the true cultural diversity it advertises.

While low-income students are kept out of higher education, prioritization goes to legacies, donors, and wealthy applicants. Currently, legacies, some of which are the children of million dollar donors, make up 13% of the student body. Colleges claim their priority status for these children is to preserve their “school spirit and community.”[5] But what community are these schools aiming to preserve? One comprised of wealthy people who historically have had access to higher education? This is evident by the 69% of Dartmouth students who come from the top 20% economic bracket in the US.[6] Dartmouth’s aim to create a strong community built on tradition is not an issue, but if the tradition itself honors a legacy of inequity, it serves to create barriers, not community.

Dartmouth and other prestigious institutions’ failure to meet low-income students’ financial needs disproportionately affects students of color.[7] As Yıldırım explains, many low-income international students choose not to apply to American universities, which filters out low-income students before the admissions process has begun. This is also relevant in the US because of insufficient financial aid packages. This contributes to a lack of diversity in higher education perpetuating a system where wealthy (usually white) Americans achieve generational success while low-income Americans and international students are left to financially struggle. Yıldırım also explained how campus culture is primed for wealthy students: “Social activities such as winter sports and Greek Life tend to be very expensive, contributing to a culture of exclusivity on campus.” Money rules who applies, who gets in, who can go, and the quality of their experience once they get there.

This phenomenon is not limited to Dartmouth. As discussed in the federal antitrust lawsuit, at least 16 “elite” colleges are conspiring to keep low-income students out of higher education.[8] For many low-income students, Dartmouth offers the largest financial aid package of their options. Ana Noriega ’24 described how Dartmouth offered the most financial aid out of all of the colleges to which she was admitted: “Coming here is cheaper than going to a state school.” Yıldırım explains how in Turkey, Dartmouth is considered one of the best American options for low-income students.

If Dartmouth is considered one of the best American schools in terms of financial aid, how fucked is the entire system? By colluding with other universities on financial aid offers, these institutions all offer insufficient financial aid packages, ensuring low-income students have no good options. Their only choice is to take out thousands of dollars of student loans and to work while in school. Student loans are often devastating years after graduation, and so the poverty barrier to education persists to the next generation. This creates a cycle where low-income people are kept out of higher education and, in turn, the high paying jobs that require a bachelor’s degree. Insufficient financial aid offers also negatively impact middle-class students whose financial aid packages consist either heavily or entirely of loans which can take decades to pay back.

A scandal such as this is not an isolated event. As exposed in the past few years, the college admissions process is no meritocracy. The most well-known scandal is Varsity Blues in which many elite schools (ex. USC, Yale, Stanford, etc.) were exposed for admitting the children of wealthy donors through a “side-door.” This side door was, of course, lying about being a college recruited athlete and falsifying test scores to gain admission.[9] Despite the fact that the parents in this case were prosecuted, a “back-door” still remains: million-dollar donors’ children are still prioritized in admissions.[7] Perhaps there's an argument to be made that donors' children should be given preference to provide extra funding for things like good financial aid packages. Regardless, it means the entire college process hinges on far more than individual merit.

Now that Dartmouth has become entirely need-blind, it is one of only six entirely need-blind American colleges. Take it from us: everyone we’ve talked to about this is pissed.

There are many steps Dartmouth students want to see taken to achieve the true diversity and equity Dartmouth proudly boasts about in their admissions magazine, statements to the D, and emails to students.[10] Dartmouth and its peers need to be held accountable for perpetuating the cycles of poverty and exclusivity that haunt disadvantaged students and applicants. Dartmouth needs to abolish legacy and donor considerations in admissions. Dartmouth needs to tap into that endowment — even tapping into 7 or 8% instead of the 5% used for yearly operating expenditure would make a huge difference! — and give sufficient financial aid. Make higher education accessible so the applicants who are admitted to Dartmouth can actually afford to go and get the same quality of education as their peers. Institutionalized inequity in higher education is not a thing of the past and it will continue to haunt us until real steps are taken to change the admissions and financial aid systems.

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Notes:

[1] Anemona Hartocollis and Stephanie Saul. “In Lawsuit, Yale and Other Elite Colleges Are Accused of Limiting Financial Aid,” The New York Times, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/us/financial-aid-lawsuit-colleges.html.

[2] Philip J. Hanlon, “A historic change to our admissions policy,” email message to Dartmouth community, January 12, 2022.

[3] Brenhin Keller, “Endowment Growth Supports the Dartmouth Community,” Dartmouth College, 2021. https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2021/10/endowment-growth-supports-dartmouth-community.

[4] Katherine Arrington, “Student Workers Continue To Be Underpaid, Overworked,” Dartmouth Radical, 2021, https://www.dartmouthradical.org/news/student-workers-continue-to-be-underpaid%2C-overworked.

[5]Rebecca Ostriker, “Boycott targets college admissions boost given to children of alumni at Harvard, other elite schools,” The Boston Globe, 2021, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/25/metro/boycott-targets-college-admissions-boost-given-children-alumni-harvard-other-elite-schools/.

[6] “Economic diversity and student outcomes at Dartmouth,” The New York Times, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/dartmouth-college.

[7] “Indicator 22: Financial Aid,” National Center for Education Statistics, last modified February 2019, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_rec.asp.

[7]Arrington, Katherine. 2021. “Student Workers Continue To Be Underpaid, Overworked.” dartmouthradical.org. https://www.dartmouthradical.org/news/student-workers-continue-to-be-underpaid%2C-overworked.

[8]Hartocollis and Saul, “In Lawsuit, Yale and Other Elite Colleges Are Accused of Limiting Financial Aid.”

[9] Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admission Scandal, directed by Chris Smith, Netflix, 2021 https://www.netflix.com/watch/81130691?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2C8b637330789d0732c0227b0615e0c7543ffc742e%3A5bfdc4b74fa56d8a3dbf410262152284d96c03d5%2C8b637330789d0732c0227b0615e0c7543ffc742e%3A5bfdc4b74fa56d8a3dbf410262152284d96c03d5%2C%2C%2C%2C.

[10] Bill Platt, “Dartmouth Offers Admission to 'Multidimensional' Class of 2025,” Dartmouth College, 2021, https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2021/04/dartmouth-offers-admission-multidimensional-class-2025.