Bye-Bye Financial Aid

For private colleges, few costs rose more quickly during the 1980s than dollars allotted for financial aid. But having a racially and economically diverse student body seemed worth almost any price. Now the economic realities of the '90s are forcing college administrators to make painful decisions about their commitment to students who may not be able to pay their own way. "Need- blind" admissions -- the high-minded practice of accepting qualified students regardless of their financial status -- is "close to a religion" at many schools, says Henry Rosovsky, economics professor at Harvard University. "But there can be no sacred cows...