Editorial | Globalizing financial aid

Penn's getting more global by the day.

That's because over the past few years, administrators have especially tried to emphasize the University's role as an international institution. This push has led to many admirable programs, like Penn's efforts in Botswana, which apply research on campus to support developing communities around the world.

But when it comes to offering financial aid for international students, Penn still needs to put its money where its mouth is.

The University hasn't yet extended its domestic need-blind admissions policy - which evaluates applicants solely on merit rather than considering their ability to pay - to foreign students. And while Penn has a World Scholars program to offer financial support to exceptional internationals, the initiative is still in its beginning stages.

Administrators may tout the diversity and size of the international student body on campus, but the fact remains that for the most part, a Penn education is only accessible to the small group of foreign students who can afford it.

Of course, offering need-blind admissions to international students would require an enormous commitment of resources. And whether universities should pump money into aid for foreign students before expanding financial aid for domestic students is a separate question entirely.

But given that Penn has already made a public pledge to engage globally, a need-blind admissions policy for international students is vital.

It's time for the University to make that commitment.

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