What's the bottom line?

[entomom]

<p>First concerning my specific statement:</p>

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I often tell Hispanic students who are obviously well off financially (eg. they state their family income, they’re not applying for FA

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<p>Members often state (or are asked) their financial situation on chances thread. While most students want to know about their chances at admissions, I always also address their financial situation, as how you’re going to pay for college is just as important as getting in. </p>

<p>Here’s an example, for an AA student, but the same holds for Hispanics:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/799157-chance-me-black-h-p-y-am-i-shooting-too-high-my-friends-advisors-say-i-am.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/799157-chance-me-black-h-p-y-am-i-shooting-too-high-my-friends-advisors-say-i-am.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Next, concerning your general questions about college applications and financial information: </p>

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Who states their income on a college application or says they don’t need financial aid? All the books I’ve read on the application process say that everyone (regardless of income) should check the FA box on the application.

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<p>The CA asks applicants to check a box if they are applying for FA. For a relatively small number of need-blind schools, this is not considered; but for the vast majority of colleges, it is taken into consideration, particularly in the current financial climate. I agree that everyone should apply for FA no matter what their financial situation, however the reality is that many mid-upper income families have a reasonable understanding that they won’t qualify (by running estimators) and don’t want to go through the paperwork. Take a look at the FA & Scholarship forum to see a plethora of these types of threads. In addition, some students want to show that they are prepared to be full pay as it may help for admissions to need-aware schools. Here’s a recent example of how FA can play into acceptances, from Reed College:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/economy/10reed.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/economy/10reed.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;