Last month I fell into a giant spreadsheet rabbit hole trying to find need blind colleges for international students, and honestly most lists online were either outdated or super vague. So I started my own mini resource list.
The big thing I learned: there are very few schools that are truly need-blind for internationals and also meet full demonstrated need. A commonly mentioned group includes schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Amherst, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Brown, and Notre Dame, but policies can change, so always double check each school’s financial aid page.
- Search the exact wording of the policy
- Check if they meet full need for international students
- See whether CSS Profile is required
- Look for separate merit scholarships too
What helped me most was making 3 columns: need-blind, need-aware but generous, and merit-heavy schools. Way less confusing that way.