<p>I've heard that some colleges (Harvard, amongst others), despite saying that they are need blind, have actually admitted certain applicants over others because the former group didn't require financial aid.</p>
<p>How big of a role does financial aid play in these colleges' admissions processes?</p>
<p>They are known to be actively looking for and funding low income. It certainly did not hurt my daughter who got a fantastically generous package.</p>
<p>If you check the archives you will find many discussions on need blind admissions in the Ivies. From my personal experience all the schools with large endowments practice what they preach:) Some of the top LAC's especially Williams and Amherst are equally as generous as even Princeton which is in the numero uno spot for fin-aid.</p>