<p>Is applying without listing that you need financial aid and changing your mind to go ahead and request it after acceptance a bad idea?</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some schools do not allow you to apply for aid in the future if you have said you are not applying for aid. At schools that do allow it you may lose out on aid by missing priority deadlines.</p>
<p>Bottom line, if you need aid to attend a school be upfront and honest about it.</p>
<p>rsg, I’m assuming you think you will have an admissions advantage by NOT asking for financial aid when you apply. Bottom line is…if you NEED the aid, apply upfront. Some schools will NOT allow you to apply for institutional aid in the future if you didn’t so so up front. They are not in the business of thinking that a student CAN pay full freight and accepting them…and then being told ooops we do need aid but we just didn’t ask up front because we thought our admissions chances would be reduced.</p>
<p>Many schools are need blind for admissions anyway so your need for financial aid would not be a factor in your admissions decisions.</p>