Emory University
PA-7: Affordability and Access

Emory College practices need-blind admissions. The Office of Undergraduate Admission admits the most qualified, most talented, most academically accomplished students to the first-year class without regard to the financial means. Put simply, being need-blind allows Emory College to pursue its mission of admitting and enrolling the very best scholars in America, without considering their ability to pay. Roughly 45 of the nation’s top universities and colleges are, like Emory, able to admit students in a need-blind environment. Emory College will meet the full demonstrated need of admitted domestic students. Students who apply for need-based financial aid are assessed by the Office of Financial Aid. The process requires a completed financial aid application – including the entire tax return – to determine the financial need of a student/family. Once the student’s need is determined, Emory fills that need with a grant or scholarship, a student job, and student loans. Emory Advantage is Emory's need-based loan replacement program for families with incomes below $100,000. The student loan portion is replaced or capped for families below that income threshold. In addition, Emory is a partner of the QuestBridge program, a national school to selective college program which helps Emory to identify exceptional students. These students are often first generation college students or from a lower socioeconomic status and benefit from the Emory Advantage program. Recent classes have contained more than 90 freshmen applying via QuestBridge, making Emory one of the leading university partners with this important organization.

The Division of Enrollment Services established a working group (named SOS—Supporting Our Students) to develop best practices for supporting students from low-income backgrounds through the enrollment process.

Emory’s Office of Financial Aid hosts Emory’s Financial Literacy Program. The Program’s goal is to help Emory students improve their understanding of financial concepts and services so that they are empowered to make informed choices and take action to improve their present and long-term financial well-being. Also, as a partner of QuestBridge, prospective low-income Emory students have access to online QuestBridge resources. One such resource is QuestBridge's online information about preparing and paying for college, accessible to prospective students through their online Student Resource web page. Emory also hosts special events for students of various ethnic and racial backgrounds, many of whom qualify as low-income. There are fall events for prospective students, and spring events for admitted students. By staying overnight on campus, attending classes, and interacting with members of the Emory community, students leave with a better sense of what higher education is like.

Since Emory meets the full demonstrated need of each student, a large majority of Emory's grant and scholarship aid takes the role of meeting that student need. As mentioned above, Emory Advantage is Emory's program to help reduce and eliminate student debt by replacing or capping the student loan portion of a student’s financial aid package with a grant.

QuestBridge is an initiative of the non-profit Quest Scholars Program that identifies high-achieving, low-income students nationwide, assists them with their applications and helps them connect with competitive colleges they would like to attend. Emory University is a member of a select coalition, including Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia and Rice universities, as well as liberal arts colleges such as Bowdoin, Oberlin and Wellesley, that partner with QuestBridge. Through the College Match Program, high school seniors chosen as finalists have their names and applications submitted by QuestBridge to college “partners” during the early admissions cycle in lieu of submitting their applications directly to schools. The colleges then rank the students they are interested in, and the students rank their top-choice colleges. If there is a match, the student may attend the school and receive a scholarship package that includes full cost of tuition, books and room and board. Students who do not want to enter the match program, or who do not find a match during the early admission cycle, may apply to their choices as regular decision applicants. Taken together (match and regular applications) Emory has consistently enrolled more than 90 freshmen in the past several cycles. An additional dimension of the QuestBridge partnership has to do with hosting summer college admission planning events for students, their parents and local high school guidance counselors. Conference expenses are being underwritten by Emory. This summer, for the second time, Emory is hosting a QuestBridge summit, and anticipates upwards of 1,000 guests on campus engaging in planning on selective college admission. Emory also hosts special recruitment and admission events for students of various ethnic backgrounds, many of whom qualify as low-income. By treating these students to several days of living in a dorm setting, eating in the dining hall among enrolled Emory students, and attending top-notch classes, Emory invests heavily in recruiting these students. Events for prospective students take place in the fall; events for admitted students occur in the spring.

Low-income students are eligible for a number of merit-based scholarships as well as qualifying for need-based aid. Merit awards are not selected by the Office of Financial Aid, but they can significantly decrease the cost of an Emory education for their recipients. Students who receive a merit award may renew that award for all four years, provided that they remain in high academic standing. Merit awards range from $1000/semester to full-tuition scholarships, and include the Emory Scholars Program, the Emory Opportunity Award, and National Merit Scholarships.

Some scholarships may be awarded to part-time students, but Emory does not offer any scholarships specifically for part-time students.

The Clifton School operates at two locations and provides full-time, year-round childcare to children (ages 6 weeks to 5 years) of full-time Emory students as well as employees of Emory, Centers for Disease Control, and CHOA. Currently, there is no subsidy available to assist students in affording childcare at the Clifton School. However, Emory employees’ may qualify for subsidies based on their family’s specific income. Emory also offers a program called the Emory Child Care Network, through which the school partners with 22 independent childcare organizations, all of which operate locations within 25 miles of campus (most are much closer). Some of those organizations offer discounts to Emory students, and Emory subsidizes tuition to others. Subsidies and discounts for Emory students range from a $200 waived application fee to a 15% tuition discount. Additionally, some of these childcare organizations offer priority admission to the children of Emory employees and students.