<p>Sorry if this has been asked before.</p>
<p>I'm an international student, and I've applied to lots of very selective schools (Ivies, MIT and the like). On my application I have said that I will be applying for need-based financial aid. So I wanted to know: Does the amount of aid you ask for affect your chances of admission?</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some schools are need blind, meaning they don’t take into account whether you have need when they make admissions decisions. Other schools are need aware, meaning they do take into account whether you have need when making admissions decisions.</p>
<p>FYI - you do not get to ask for a certain amount of aid. Schools base your eligibility for financial aid on your financial situation (income and assets).</p>
<p>Yes I am aware of the need blind and need aware thing. Only six schools are need blind for internationals, and I’m applying to three of them (MIT, Harvard, Princeton)</p>
<p>On the CSS profile there’s a question asking how much my parents will be able to pay for college. Now technically our annual income is below $60K, but we can pay for the full thing through a combination of loans and other transactions.</p>
<p>Forget about the loans and other transactions for the time being. Based on your family income and savings, come up with a figure that won’t bankrupt everyone, and use that.</p>
<p>Schools that Do not meet need for intnls will absolutely take into account how much you need. If you can pay and want to attend one of these schools, don’t ask for aid.</p>