<p>is their any correlation between getting accepted and applying for financial
aid? for example, does applying to css profile or fafsa increase chance of getting in? what happens if someone said that he/she will apply for FA in the application but ended up not applying?</p>
<p>It depends on whether or not the college is "need blind". Not all colleges claim to be completely need blind, but at the elite colleges, admissions doesn't normally depend much on the finan aid required.</p>
<p>what if it is not "need blind"? how does not applying for FA matter to "non-need blind" schools?</p>
<p>It is actually two issues: 1) Need-blind means that they do not consider if you are applying for FA when they decide whether or not to admit you. 2) The second part is whether they will meet 100% of your need if you are admitted.</p>
<p>There are only 28 colleges that satisfy both 1 and 2. These are:
<a href="http://www.wfu.edu/admissions/finaid/twenty-eight.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.wfu.edu/admissions/finaid/twenty-eight.html</a></p>
<p>If a college meets #1 and not #2, then you may be admitted but then you can't attend because you can't afford it. If the college meets #2, then you are okay if you are admitted but may have less of a chance of being admitted. Personally, I think #2 is more important.</p>
<p>It isn't that easy to know. You will notice that Harvard and Princeton are not on the list (although the other 6 ivies are). You can get some idea by looking at the % of undergrads receiving aid, and the average frosh grant and the average frosh loan. If the % receiving aid seems a bit low, then they may be weak on #1. If the average grant amount looks low, they may be weak on #2. Also, the size of a college's endowment can be a sign.</p>
<p>I think it is fair to say that most people just apply to a bunch of schools and then compare the finan aid packages that come back from the colleges that they are accepted to. Colleges, at least the elite colleges, are pretty good about trying to make it possible for people to attend.</p>
<p>The real problem with applicants is that they have no idea whether or not they will qualify for finan aid. Colleges have a COA (cost of attendance). Each applicant has a EFC (expected family contribution). Your NEED = COA - EFC. Your EFC depends on your parents and your own income and savings. The basic idea is that the rich pay full price and the poor pay very little. The problem is that they consider families making $120K per year to be rich. This is not that much for a two income family. You should estimate your EFC at one of the EFC estimators on the web such as at:
<a href="http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp%5B/url%5D">http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/efc_welcome.jsp</a></p>
<p>Regarding your OP, a college that is not need blind might use whether or not you are applying for FA to break a tie in a borderline case. You might as well send an update to the admissions office (and FA office). You probably indicated on the app form whether you were going to apply for aid or not.</p>