<p>How do the adcoms know if one is low income or well off? Do we submit tax forms before or after decisions? Thanks.</p>
<p>Bring up my post</p>
<p>If you want financial aid, you have to file the forms. They know from that.</p>
<p>Adcoms can't really tell for sure what your financial situation is, and even checking that you're applying for financial aid means absolutely nothing b/c both poor and rich apply. However, and though this is not an exact art, they can usually base your current situation on your parents' occupations, the town you live in, and the school you attend though obviously none of these give a true picture because there are many exceptions, though nonetheless they try to draw a picture with these factors in mind.</p>
<p>Should I include my situation in one of my essays?</p>
<p>If you really feel compelled to then I would say go for it, though I really don't have much experiences with this, though we're not exactly wealthy ourselves, but hmmm, I would say ask your GC and your parents or anybody experienced enough with college admissions if this is a wise decision.</p>
<p>If you are low income go to your GC and get a fee-waiver for the application. That is all you need to do... and they will definitely understand you are low income.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. </p>
<p>Josh_AK: Can I get a fee waiver for all my applications? What if I were applying to 10 schools, would they waiver all of that?</p>
<p>I think the fee waivers depend on the school in question though if you get one you should most likely get them all.</p>
<p>I hear that at most schools, the admissions office and the financial aid office are seperate and they often don't have contact with one another during the admissions process (only until after you're admitted, i guess). So, if you use a fee waiver, which the finan aid office sees, doesn't that mean the admissions ppl won't see you used a fee waiver ? Or, is the use of a fee waiver reported to the admissions office, or will they see that on the general application ?</p>