The app says, “Please estimate your family’s gross income for 2018”.
It is an optional question. Will it reflect badly on me in any way if my family’s is super high or super low. Like does the answer to this affect the decision?
This is on the college admissions application? Or on a financial aid application?
It was in the “General” section of the Michigan questions on the common app
Your ability to pay for Michigan does not impact the admissions decision (not sure if this is the case for international students). However, I could see the income being used to contextualize your application. For example, a student from an upper middle class or upper class upbringing will likely have less forgiveness for subpar test scores than a student from a lower class upbringing, ceteris paribus.
Michigan has a big push to enroll qualified applicants from low-income backgrounds. I think that’s why they are asking. The school is need-blind, so they are not looking at your FA application. This is how they find out you are low-income.
Since Michigan has a big push to enroll qualified applications from low-income backgrounds, would it be disadvantageous to write the income since I am coming from an upper class family? Since the question is optional, would I be better off leaving it blank?
A low income may help. A high income would never hurt. Your choice whether to include it.
Alright, thank you @brantly