Need Blind Colleges: Do admission officers even look at financial circumstances?

Applying to College
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<p>I'm a new member so was unsure where to post this message so I posted here and also in the Financial Aid area. I don't know if this is allowed or not??</p>

<p>I realize that need blind means that one is admitted regardless of finances. However I would like to know if admission officers see the FA application when reviewing an applicant or do they just look at the occupations of the parents to get a general idea of the family's circumstances. I am really interested in the more selective schools (HYPS) that are actively recruiting lower income students. </p>

<p>We live in an upscale town that has a repuptation as having an excellent public school system. Each year our public high school sends at least a dozen kids to Ivys with Harvard having the most acceptances. MIT and Stanford are always well represented as well. The average price of a house is about $750,000 and median income is around $120,000. We were fortunate to have bought a house here 30 years ago before we had children because if we were to try to move into this town today we would not be able to. One reason that home values have gone crazy in our town is the quality of the public schools. Our income is right around $50,000. I have my own business and have barely been braking even for the past 10 years. We have no savings only a small IRA that we managed to contribute to when we were younger. We basically live month to month. Our nest egg will be our home value when it comes time for us to retire. We cannot refinance because we would not be able to afford a higher monthly payment. By our town standands we are definitely the exception. I realize that this does not in any way compare to an inner city, poor applicant however I would like to know if a family’s financial picture is considered during the admission process.</p>

<p>We are a blue collar family while the majority of people in our town are professionals. My son who is in the top 3% of his HS class of 300 works very hard to keep up with his more privileged classmates. While most of his friends attend prestigious summer school programs, intern at various places (jobs secured by parents) or travel during the summer, my son works 50 hours a week doing landscape work and construction. We are also not able to afford SAT classes or private tutoring but he managed to score above a 2200 the first time he took the test by self studying. He will take the SAT’s again in hopes of raising his score.</p>

<p>Our hope is that he can gain acceptance into one of the schools that has the new financial aid initiaive in place. But because we are not from a stereotypical lower class, poor town I am concerned that the admissions officers will take for granted that my son is privileged like the majority of his classmates and not see how he has really achieved on his own. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge or suggestions relating to my concern?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

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<p>I can understand your dilemma: perhaps advise your son to prominently mention his 50 hr/week job in one of his personal statements? Since the HS regularly sends kids to top schools, one can reasonably assume that the counselor staff is well versed with presenting notable applications. Perhaps share these exact same concerns w/your son's GC and see if the GC can make mention of the fact that despite attending a normally affluent school, that your family is not the norm yet your son has kept pace w/the others. I think it would be a nice "selling point" that deserves recognition from the adcoms.</p>

<p>To answer your questions, the file readers don't look at you FAFSA forms but would take note in statements and recs that indicate out of the ordinary financial or family circumstances. These are the nuggets they search for in order to really find applicants who have shown extraordinary character or ability to overcome. </p>

<p>Congratulations on your son's accomplishments. Your family should be proud. I'd hazard to guess that his summer construction jobs have developed his character much more than a cushy internship from a connected relative that others might be getting. As a parent, I feel one of my main jobs is to not instill a sense of entitlement to my kids -- not just provide easy paths for them. Best of luck to you and your son!</p>

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<p>You should mention most of those circumstances when applying for the superselective colleges. Those should be helpful diversity factors for admission.</p>