<p>Agree with everyone that the wording makes you look industrious- colleges love to find students who can face reality and roll up their sleeves. It signals more than you can imagine about how you will approach the rigors of academic life.</p>
<p>Yes, there are many truly needs-blind colleges- a huge burden to them, by the way. They label themselves as such and have a pact (I don’t remem enough details to name it, but it involves many of the ivies.)
Lastly, the poor way the recc was written reflects terribly on the education of the writer.</p>