Unless a school specifically states they are need blind, you can assume they are need aware, unless they don’t promise to offer to meet full need. And, even when they are “need blind” there are factors that come into play that not everyone realizes in the stats. Consider the link to the following article about Hamilton - https://spec.hamilton.edu/january-admits-not-granted-need-blind-status-in-admissions-d9fbb6815ae0. I also did some research on average income of the families of students who go to private schools and there was a very interesting article from the NYT - and it makes really wonder what type of access these schools truly provide. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/