<p>I know we put whether we need fin aid on the app, but do adcoms get to see this during evaluation? Or is it truly "blind"?</p>
<p>It is truly blind because the financial aid office and the admissions committee remain as seperate entities that never discuss a certain applicant.</p>
<p>Really? Will someone confirm this?</p>
<p>Yes, it is. If you visit need-blind schools, you get a tour, and literally, the admissions office is on one side of campus, while the financial aid office is on the opposite end. Sometimes it isn't that drastic, and sometimes they are right next to each other, but still...they don't discuss applicants. These colleges DO have standards to live up to, and if they break them, they'd lose their credibility.</p>
<p>no...</p>
<p>ask yourself this question.....</p>
<p>colleges say that they are "need blind". But on the admission application, you have to check whether or not you are applying for financial aid. They then say that you can't change your decision. why would the adcoms need this information if they were seperate?</p>
<p>I would think they put that box to make it easier on the college or else you would have to mail two seperate forms [the application and a ridiculous letter that just has a check saying yes or no].</p>
<p>I hear they type it all in, so I'm guessing you get presented to the adcom on a portfolio type thing, and I thought maybe they leave the fin aid out, to make it blind.</p>
<p>Don't they see your parents' occupation? If they do that's a pretty good indication of your financial situation.</p>
<p>i'm sure its not because of having to send 2 forms. after all, you have to send in forms when you accept their admissions offer, housing forms, roommate preference forms. </p>
<p>yea...occupation is a fair indicator ...but i'm sure plenty of poor people have important sounding jobs.</p>
<p>well, what's all this crap about colleges saying "well, we know low-income students don't have as many opportunities and had to struggle more" if they don't see your income? A parent who is a "sales associate" can make anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000, so as oracle1 said, not-well-paying occupations can have names that sound otherwise.</p>
<p>Need-blind as it has traditionaly been used is a funny, one-sided thing. It means that need won't keep you from being admitted. Period. It doesn't mean that it has no influence on your chances, because at some places it can even help you. It means only that it can't hurt your chances.</p>
<p>But I think the original question was speaking to what admissions officers may know. Having access to the information, and using it to deny you admission, can be two very different things.</p>
<p>At some colleges the adcoms get to know their applicants fairly well. They may have met them at their high schools, given them a campus tour, talked with their guidance counselor, etc. The family situation vis-a-vis paying for college may be revealed in any number of ways. At a "need-blind" school, however, that shouldn't impact the applicant negatively. The adcom should never say "I don't think this family can pay their own way, so let's deny this candidate." In fact, as some people have noted, it can help a candidate.</p>
<p>Of course, on the other hand, the situation isn't always clear--very poor families may get a full ride from an outside source, or have a well-off relative willing to pay for college. And when someone checks "yes" for financial aid, an adcom may not know if that family means "Well, we probably don't qualify but we'll give it a shot" or "We are full-need with a $0 EFC." So they'd be foolish to rely to much on incomplete informaton, anyway.</p>
<p>Bottom line: It shouldn't matter whether or not an adcom has any financial aid information about you if it's a need-blind school. If they're truly need-blind, they ought not have to go to any great lengths to make sure your finances are concealed from decision-makers in the admissions office.</p>