Declaring Family Income?

Just curious, how much difference does a high/low family income affect the chances at admission to a public school, like the UCs? (This is NOT for the FAFSA/Financial Aid).

If you declare high, you may not be as preferred because you could likely afford somewhere else (especially if you’re in-state).

If you declare low, you may be viewed as dependent on the limited grant supply to the school, and unable to foot the bill yourself.

(^ just things I’ve heard).

So, which is more advantageous?

Wow, I can’t imagine that being true at all. Think of the outcry if that were actually the case. And I’m pretty sure with the number of applications the UCs receive, they simply wouldn’t have the time to first make such decisions and then have the time to cover them up. Sounds like a nice conspiracy theory though.