<p>will applying for financial aid affect your chances of admission? I know many colleges say they are need blind, but are they really? I'm the kind of applicant that will probably be either borderline of getting in or just getting in. Will applying for financial aid hurt my chances?</p>
<p>Not "many" colleges say they are need blind. I'd say only a handful. The vast majority of colleges are not need blind as far as admissions goes. For those rarefied few that do state as much, I'd trust it. Their endowments match their mission to educate students regardless of economic background. Your one case isn't gonna tip them over -- they're fully prepared. For instance, approx 45% of Yale's students are NOT on financial aid. Yet of matriculating students about 80% of them applied for FA. Yale's coffers have allowed them "need blind" and "full needs met" for decades now.</p>