<p>If a school says that they are need-blind then they are need-blind 100% of the time. The way that an Ivy League school can manage being need-blind has to do with the kind of kid who gets admitted. Most Ivies are looking for kids with high test scores and high grades. </p>
<p>Although poor kids can get high grades, rich kids are vastly more likely to have the very highest standardized test scores (thanks to test prep classes and the luxury of attending excellent schools). Consequently many admitted students to schools like Brown are likely to come from wealthier families that do not need financial aid. </p>
<p>If standardized testing were removed from the admissions picture as a means of differentiating students then many colleges would likely find it difficult to remain need-blind.</p>
<p>as to the person who saved 160k for college etc situation:
your savings factor in much less than your income in the FAFSA methodology, so saving up doesn't hurt very much
for example, reducing your savings by 50 thousand only reduces your expected contribution by 5 thousand, so even if you saved 150k for college, that would make up only 15 grand per year of your contribution. therefore, if your parents were both unemployed, you would only have to give up 60 grand of that 150k
the real question is how the hell would somebody save up 160k for college even though they have intense financial need? it just wouldn't happen.
the big exception to this is if that money is saved in a college fund type account, which is calculated differently (i think; this may be a CSS thing, not a FAFSA thing)</p>
<p>in any case, finaid is fair, even if parents that make over 100 grand don't think so just because they can't afford that new lexus now</p>
<p>I had a Yale interview with a guy who played baseball with W (said that if you asked him to name one guy on the team who wouldn't be President it would have been old George) and hockey with Kerry.</p>
<p>Same... indian girl from my high school, grandfather was the richest guy in india, and one of the top 50 richest in the world.. She got into stanford early...</p>
<p>I don't think anybody's implying that being rich is the only thing that will get you into a school, or that all rich people can go to whatever school they want, or that rich people attending any given school got in only because of their money. We're just giving examples from our own experiences that may demonstrate that the extremely rich may have a slight advantage in college admissions. Nobody's personal example proves the point in and of itself... we're just sharing our experiences.</p>