Emily Atteberry

USATODAY

GW officials say they consider students%27 ability to pay during the admissions process.

Students who require more financial aid than their wealthier peers are sometimes waitlisted.

A university official says this tactic is to ensure GW stays within its %27budget.%27

Hoping to "increase the transparency of the admissions process," officials at George Washington University confirmed Monday that the school considers students ' ability to pay tuition when selecting whom to admit to the $47,290-a-year private school.

On Oct. 18, Laurie Koehler, the associate provost of enrollment management, told the independent student newspaper The Hatchet that students who meet the admission criteria, but are not among the "top" applicants, can be reclassified as "waitlisted" if they need more financial assistance than their peers.

Until only a few days ago, GW's admissions website stated that "requests for financial aid do not affect admissions decisions." Following the Hatchet's publication of Koehler's admission that finances are indeed considered in the process, that statement was taken down and replaced with information about their "need-aware" selection process.

During the first round of application selections, admissions counselors do not consider students' financial need, the website explains. But as the second pool of applicants is narrowed down, some needy students fall into academic limbo: the waitlist.

Those waitlisted are eventually admitted to the university if enough spots open up in their class from other students who have turned down their spots. If not, those waitlisted students are ultimately rejected.

Koehler released in an official statement that the university's admissions process has always been what she calls "need aware."

"What has changed is the new leadership in enrollment management," Koehler wrote. "What we are trying to do is increase the transparency of the admissions process."

Colleges typically need hefty endowments to be able to give students 100% of their needed financial assistance amounts; often, schools only offer partial help.

It is for this reason that Associate Vice President for Financial Assistance Dan Small told The Hatchet that GW has to consider students' financial need.

"By being need-aware, GW is better able to stay within its aid budget allotment as well as provide better aid packages for those students with financial need," Small said.

Of the 14 universities deemed 'comparable' to GW by the U.S. Department of Education, four schools—including GW—consider financial need when admitting students.

With an endowment of about $7.1 billion, Northwestern University, one of the schools "comparable" to GW, offers students the full amount of aid they require as demonstrated by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). About 60% of Northwestern students receive "full" aid.

In comparison, GW's endowment is $1.37 billion. About 60% of students receive some financial aid, though it is not usually the full amount demonstrated.

Though some have characterized GW's policy as dishonest, university spokeswoman Candace Smith told The Hatchet the wording wasn't "intentionally misleading."

"It's still the same process, but it's a matter of one person defining it one way and one person defining it another way," Smith told The Hatchet.