<p>Does MIT review financial need for all applicants, or does admissions clue them in on likely candidates to focus on? I know admissions is need-blind, but just wonder if financial aid tries to maximize their efforts by only reviewing applicants that are going to be offered admission. Doing this wouldn't skew admissions decisions since financial aid would not provide any info back to admissions.</p>
<p>The reason I ask is because we received an email requesting some missing pieces of financial aid documentation. That may have just been an automated process, or it may have been someone in financial aid specifically looking at my daughter's fin aid application. With so many applications to process, my assumption would be that MIT admissions would help out financial aid a bit by providing a list of students to evaluate for a fin aid package. Otherwise financial aid needs to evaluate all the applicants.</p>
<p>I'm probably just grasping at straws...we're on pins and needles waiting for the decisions. :)</p>
<p>i got a similar email. my friend asked a friend who worked in admissions and she said that it meant that I had passed some initial tests or was good enough to at least be considered for acceptance. just what i heard, it could just be automated.</p>
<p>No, the financial packages are prepared for every single applicant who applies for financial aid, and asking for a piece of your information is not a sign that you'll ultimately be admitted. Student Financial Services actually does evaluate all applicants.</p>
<p>Student Financial Services has no contact with the admissions officers while they're in committee, so they have no way of knowing who will be admitted and who won't.</p>
<p>This is probably true, but as decisions are made, wouldn't the computerized file be updated to indicate "admitted". Then the financial aid office would know that they must contact that person ASAP so they can prepare the package if documents are missing. Do they ever send an admit letter to someone who hasn't sent in all the forms?</p>
<p>Cornell sent a similar email last week (check threads), and everyone thought this was a sign. There is a lot of information about this on CC. But they finally drew the conclusion that it was sent to EVERYONE who was missing forms, based on stats. Actually, they are still trying to figure it out since acceptances have come out already.</p>
<p>
[quote]
This is probably true, but as decisions are made, wouldn't the computerized file be updated to indicate "admitted".
[/quote]
No. At the moment, I don't think anybody's computerized file reflects anything -- there are just piles of physical files sitting around in different baskets. Furthermore, I am almost positive that Admissions and SFS don't use a linked computer system, so even updating someone's record in the Admissions system wouldn't tell SFS anything. (For that matter, as I said in another thread tonight, I don't think anyone's actually been admitted yet. Usually the admissions office wants to select a lot more people than they can, and they don't usually whittle the pile down to the final class of admits until pretty late in the process.)</p>
<p>And yes, they will admit people who haven't sent in all the forms. (After all, you're not required to apply for financial aid, and not every admit does.) Preparing financial aid packages to send with acceptance letters is a courtesy -- if admits would like to apply for financial aid only after being admitted, there's nothing stopping them.</p>
<p>That's what happened with me and UChicago...I started to speculate and was almost driven insane wondering whether or not it meant something....I never found out, but it resulted in a happy ending! :)</p>
<p>Molliebatmit: Going back to the original q here, I do think it is a sign, because not everyone with missing documents has been contacted via email, thus indicating that there was some sort of pre-selection involved.</p>
<p>I know someone who applied for fa, and her "status" shows that she is missing CSS Profile and fa app, however she hasn't been contacted via email to provide the forms, at least not yet.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Molliebatmit: Going back to the original q here, I do think it is a sign, because not everyone with missing documents has been contacted via email, thus indicating that there was some sort of pre-selection involved.
[/quote]
It is not a sign of anything except that financial aid applications are reviewed one-by-one. People who have missing documents but who have not been contacted have probably not been reviewed yet -- they can't review everyone at once.</p>
<p>I'm not kidding when I say there's no contact between Admissions and Student Financial Services during the selection process. I'm also not speculating.</p>
<p>for gymkid: I have not sent my parents' taxes yet (since they haven't done their taxes yet!) and I have not yet received any emails from MIT (or any other college, for that matter)....so hopefully emails have nothing to do with admission. T___T</p>
<p>We send a "missing information" letter (via email) to all domestic admissions applicants who have also applied for financial aid. We do not send a copy to those who do not indicate they are applying for aid, nor to those who are already complete. We also do not send a notice to international students.</p>
<p>C'mon guys, we know you all talk to each other. There's no way we would give anything away at this point.</p>