Marlowe1, my comment about need blind/aware was mainly in the context of the economic crisis/recession brought about by COVID-19 and how colleges will need to react in light of a 25% hit to their endowments, hiring freezes, and budget cuts.
However, even before COVID-19, the notion that any college, even Harvard, is truly need blind in admissions is a myth. All college departments, including the admissions office, has an annual budget that they are expected to meet. If a college were truly need blind, it would run the theoretical risk of admitting 100% of its class who need financial aid and this would blow a hole thru its given annual financial aid budget. Yes, colleges gladly spend their entire allocated financial aid budget to support worthy students but this is finely calibrated during the review process well before final decisions are issued. This way, the college can ensure it meets its target of X% first-generation and other needy students while not spending more than its budget. Now, that whole calculus has been upended with the looming recession. Do you really think financial aid budgets aren’t going to be cut next year when all other departments are faced with budget cuts?
Chicago’s multiple rounds of ED1, EA, and ED2 are ideal in enabling the school to finely calibrate and lock in its desired proportions of all demographics, including the number of 1st gen and rural students and others requiring aid, and then using RD and waitlist to secure commitments from full-pay students. I would bet that the kids getting off the waitlist now are domestic, full-pay students (with great stats and credentials, of course) and this is exactly the right strategy given the circumstances.
In any case, there is no such thing as need blind before, during, or after an economic crisis because a fixed financial aid budget by definition precludes need blind admissions.