<p>Since Harvard and other top schools, like Stanford and Princeton, are trying to attract more students who are poor with financial initiatives, I am curious as to how they factor this into the admissions process because all these institutions claim to be need-blind? Are poor students becoming the new URMs (meaning are they given a boost in the admissions process)? If they never look at a student's financial situation, do adcoms judge that the person is poor by the person's parents' occupations and if the person requests fee waivers?</p>
<p>and what they write thier essays on. many applicants from a low socio-economic class have overcome adversity, and have had many life experiences that are unique within the applicant pool.</p>
<p>I don't think the term "need blind" should be interpreted to mean that college admission officers decide in the complete absence of information about applicants' incomes. Rather, what that term means is that a student will be admitted, even if the student will require much financial aid. The intended meaning is that the college doesn't budget such a limited amount of need-based financial aid that it has to exclude admissible students SOLELY because they need financial aid. (That happens at many "need aware" colleges, with smaller endowments.) </p>
<p>College applicants have long been free to describe what life circumstances limit their ability to travel, buy books, obtain privately operated schooling, or otherwise spend money on educationally advantageous activities. Admission officers may decide that a high school student who has learned a lot in a poor neighborhood as part of a poor family is a better admission prospect than another high school student who has learned as much in a rich neighborhood as part of a rich family. It seems to me that the student who can achieve well with limited resources can best make use of the great resources of Harvard or Ivy-peer colleges.</p>