<p>I was one of the recruited students… does this help my chances? I applied EA. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=503717[/url]”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=503717</a></p>
<p>Of course it helps your chances that Harvard (along with other top schools) is very interested now in having a truly economically diverse student body.</p>
<p>whoo hoo, yay for BEING poor!</p>
<p>my family income (including housing, welfare, food stamp assistance) is 15K</p>
<p>how will they know what your income is though? u dont file your financial aid papers till....a long time after the decision is made, right?</p>
<p>It always helps to have someone advocating your admissions from the inside. If you are recruited through any the college's programs, (other than their ad campaigns where the object is to get as many apps to the school as possible), it is helpful.</p>
<p>all i have to say is all the power to you statics. i think ppl who come from such disadvantaged backgrounds and make it to Harvard rock this nation's socks as well as many drive 1st gener american kids</p>
<p>awww thanks 7 nights!</p>
<p>i sent in my parents tax return as an attachment to the counselor-written app fee waiver, so they will know what my family's income is</p>
<p>Colleges also can extrapolate family income from your parents' jobs, their educational backgrounds, your school, and the neighborhood that you live in, and whether you qualify for a fee waiver for the application fee.</p>
<p>good call northstarmom!</p>
<p>we can only hope that they don't mistake equality of opportunity with outcome, or enlightened egalitarianism with preferred mediocrity.</p>
<p>to compromise merit for progressive social engineering is too great a sacrifice.</p>
<p>that said, cynical me tends to take everything with a pinch of salt, but then again this is harvard...</p>
<p>Wait - both my parents graduated college; our income is 21K, but I paid the $65 fee out of my own pocket. How would they know I am a low-income? Should I send a supplementary 2004 tax form, or should I tell my interviewer?</p>
<p>Same here.Should I send my financial aid application early?</p>
<p>why did you pay the 65 dollar fee? You could have asked your counselor to write you a Collegeboard college application fee waiver.</p>
<p>I don't think sending a finaid app early would help because they have a lot of applications to read through in a month. They're not going to look at it, plus Harvard is "need-blind."</p>
<p>Oh well. I'll mention it to my interviewer in the form of a question. My counselor refused to do it because "it was too late" or something, obviously total BS, but that's OK. I earn money on my own to pay the application fee anyhow, so it wasn't a huge dent on my pocket regardless.</p>