Confused about financial aid and acceptance?! HELP!

<p>Okay so,</p>

<p>I live in Canada and where I'm from, we don't receive our tax returns until late into March. Now, I emailed Harvard to see if that was okay. I submitted the CSS Profile on time and all I have left is the IDOC to submit. When I emailed Harvard, they told me that it was fine and that I should hand it in as soon as possible.</p>

<p>My question is this: I've been reading on CC that the acceptance package comes with the financial aid package, and that if the financial aid package is not submitted, then they will not even consider the application. Is this true?? Because I would be terribly surprised if I wasn't even considered because I couldn't get the last part of my financial aid documents in.</p>

<p>I would appreciate it so much if someone could help me! To the rest of you, good luck! One more week until decisions come out.</p>

<p>Harvard has a need-blind admissions policy which means they look at your app separately from your financial aid documents. From reading on here, Harvard admissions officers sends all of the acceptances to the financial aid office to determine aid amounts. </p>

<p>Good luck to you!</p>

<p>If accepted, your ‘fat envelope’ will not contain a financial aid award, as you have not send in your tax returns. But, not to worry – whenever you do submit your IDOC, Harvard will then process your aid application. Best of luck to you.</p>

<p>To Quillabee93 and gibby: Thanks so much, to the both of you! I feel much better now.</p>

<p>Just to be sure: If, for whatever reason, the financial aid components were never completed, one can still get an acceptance letter.(?) Also, is it possible to gauge which colleges plan on accepting you by whether or not they sent an email telling you that FA is not complete? Or is it just an automated message and has nothing to do with the committee’s decision?</p>

<p>One can still get an acceptance letter. I received my financial package for H when I campus in late April (as well as a couple other financial aid packages that trickled in since I was so behind on the paperwork), so that’s definitely not an issue.</p>

<p>For your other questions. I would assume pretty comfortably that the messages are automated. Even though many institutions do have admissions and financial aid working jointly in some capacities, I would guess they function independently when it comes to communicating with prospective applicants (but not certain, of course).</p>