<p>I know that at some schools the amount you need in financial aid can hurt your admissions decision. However, if you apply for financial aid but the college doesn't think you need it does that hurt your chances for admission?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If the college is NOT need blind and you have NO NEED, it should not affect your admissions decision. They will not offer you aid, and they will expect you to be a full pay.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks!</p>
<p>It depends upon the school. In some schools the fin aid office is completely separate from the admissions office. That is the case in school that are need blind in admissions. The degree that financial aid information is shared at schools that are not 100% need blind varies. At some schools, the admissions folks just know how much in aid you need and they have to take that into consideration for a portion of their admissions decisions. At other schools, checking that you are applying for financial aid may open up your financial aid application information, especially if the admissions officers and fin aid officers are the same people or work together. </p>
<p>I don’t know how true this is, but some posters here have reported that it makes a difference at some schools that they checked the financial aid box on the application even if the student ends up not qualifying for aid. That the student wants aid is taken into consideration at certain schools is what this implies. I believe Connecticut College was the school that was mentioned in this respect. </p>
<p>You can ask the admissions personale specifically how they treat those who apply for financial aid. Ask for specifics. It truly differs from school to school.</p>
<p>Most colleges are need blind so this only comes up in a minority of colleges, that are selective and need aware in admissions.</p>
<p>Yes…but if the school computes that you are a FULL PAY, that should not really have any negative affect on your admission application.</p>
<p>…in a twist, consider this…IF parents are willing to pay full sticker price and no need, why not flaunt that as part of application process; in other words, indicating full pay may help child get admitted at some schools…</p>