With $132 million gift, Washington and Lee to go need-blind

Washington and Lee University has received a gift of $132 million that will allow it to go need-blind in admissions, on top of its existing commitment to meet full students’ financial need without loans, it announced Thursday.

William H. Miller III’s donation will allow the private liberal arts college in Virginia to stop considering students’ or families’ ability to pay in deciding whom to admit (the definition of need-blind). A small number of institutions are both need-blind and commit to meeting the full financial need of all students it admits.

Miller is an investor and philanthropist who has also given major gifts to other institutions, including a $75 million donation to Johns Hopkins University for the humanities in 2018.

“We are so grateful to be able to make student talent the singular focus of our admissions process, and to eliminate students’ ability to pay as a factor in admissions decisions,” said Sally Stone Richmond, Washington and Lee’s vice president for admissions and financial aid. “Thanks to Bill’s astonishing generosity, W&L’s distinctive education will be accessible and affordable for talented and curious students from all walks of life.”

Several other institutions have announced major investments in financial aid in recent weeks. The University of Notre Dame said last month that it would go need-blind for both domestic and international students. And Centre College in Kentucky said that it would invest additional funds so that it could meet students’ full financial need.