About ABAFAOILSS

Recognizing the unique challenges facing African American, Native American, Latino, and Hispanic students during the college admissions process, the Association of Black Admissions and Financial Aid Officers of the Ivy League and Sister Schools (ABAFAOILSS) was founded in 1970 to provide vital assistance for these students as they make the transition from high school to college.

Now in its 35th year, the professional organization has over 150 active members representing a variety of educational institutions. ABAFAOILSS members work in all facets of education, but most especially in the admissions and financial aid offices of the country’s most selective colleges and universities. Members strive to increase among the administrators of these institutions awareness of and sensitivity to the rapidly changing demographics of their student populations, particularly in regard to issues of racial, cultural, economic, and geographic diversity.

Members actively seek to create access to the schools represented by ABAFAOILSS for students of exceptional promise who have traditionally been underrepresented on the schools’ campuses due to ethnicity, economics, or geography.

In order to sustain and deepen its efforts, ABAFAOILSS members meet each year in September, January, and May. Meetings are timed to correspond with the three critical points in the college admissions cycle in order for members, committed to increasing diversity on and accessibility to these campuses, may share timely information and insights. Despite the group’s cohesiveness and shared goals, members function independently of one another when making decisions regarding admissions and financial aid on behalf of their respective schools.