Pushing for a Need-Blind Admissions Process

In his opening remarks, Principal William Rawson reminded the school body of the Academy’s history and its continued effort to be more inclusive. Since its decision 49 years ago to become co-educational, Exeter has redefined its original vision. It now not only includes the school’s commitment to guaranteeing a diverse inclusive community, but also promotes being challenged by thoughts and identities that are different through the Harkness method. An important component of that diversity is the racial ratios of school: a contentious issue that has wracked academia for the past fifty-odd years. While Exeter ranks relatively well compared to high schools across the nation, it still falls short of the mission racial diversity aims to achieve. There’s a lot more the Academy can be doing for those of lower socioeconomic status, and even more through its admissions process. It’s also important to recognize, though racial demographics are significant, they aren’t the only factor we should take into consideration when talking about inclusion. The racial distribution of the Academy is as follows: around 50% white, 25% Asian, 10% black, 5% Ibero-American and 10% miscellaneous and other. The racial breakdown of the United States, however, differs in that 60% of its population is white, 5% are Asian, 10% are black, 20% are Ibero-American and 5% are miscellaneous and others. Whites are slightly underrepresented, Ibero-Americans are massively underrepresented and Asians are extraordinarily overrepresented. Of course, these discrepancies are shaped in part by the presence of international students. Still, they make up only 7.8% of the school. In any case, rather than questioning if the school’s ratios should represent that of the United States or New Hampshire—which is 91% white—we should be examining the kind of students that make up those percentages.Understandably, without financial aid, the cost of attendance is expensive at Exeter. The school stands out with almost $22 million of its endowment set aside to support students who need financial aid. However, some people have misinterpreted the school to be need-blind, as 45% of students attending are on aid. While that percentage may sound impressive, Exeter does not have a need-blind policy. For those reasons, we fail to make this school truly accessible to all.Whether or not you need financial aid affects your application to the Academy. Most elite colleges (and Phillips Academy Andover) have a need-blind policy. The reasons for this are many, but all in all comes down to the belief that merit outweighs a person’s ability to pay. Under a need-blind agenda, an applicant’s need for financial aid would not be considered in their overall application. Yet, while I do believe the school reflects those values—the belief that merit outweighs a family’s affluence—the Academy doesn’t operate under any kind of similar policy. I don’t understand why this isn’t a bigger conversation on campus.Say there’s one candidate that has the same qualifications as another candidate. Only, one of them wouldn’t cost the school as much to attend, their family being more affluent. It’s obvious who the Academy would accept, and who the school wouldn’t: the school says it outright. They prefer the affluent.Sure, there might be reasons why Exeter hasn’t already adopted a need-blind policy. The money could be used to hire more faculty members who reflect the school’s diversity, or it could be spent on another set of unnecessary library renovations. But as emphasized by Principal Rawson earlier this year, Exeter has a commitment to diversity and inclusion. We thrive on being challenged and on building bridges across differences. Only then are we able to “dispel ignorance and fear, and create space to achieve equity and excellence.”If we truly believe in those words, the vision of diversity, equity and inclusion, then a new initiative needs to be undertaken. The school can only become a community of greater diversity when it becomes accessible to all. Excellence today requires nothing less.