Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:58     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?


Actually low income or low income relative to peers?

My kids get a lot of financial aid, and are lower income than 90% of their classmates, but we are still solidly middle class and won’t qualify for Pell. I don’t think they will get advantage relative to other private school kids, although I don’t have anecdata to back that up because my senior fell in love with safeties and matches and didn’t apply anywhere reachy.

DP. My take is that being low-ish income, but above the cutoff for Pell, may be a disadvantage - not low enough for the benefit of Pell (from the college's US News ranking perspective) to kick in.

Also use college Net Price Calculators to make sure you don't fall into the donut hole.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:50     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?


This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. You're kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.


This is a good point, especially if the kid who didn't go to a top private was stuck in a rural high school or inner city one.


Strongly disagree, they want low income kids who they know will do well.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:49     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:YES.

Read up on the SFFA supreme court decision from 2023.


SFFA = universities cannot examine an individual student’s skin color, and then lower the admissions standard based on their examination of the student’s skin.

That would be racist, obviously. But it was what universities did for decades; first as “racial quotas,” which were then disguised as “affirmative-action,” and finally disguised again as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA). Only certain groups were given these advantages, while Indians and Asians were excluded, because they benefit from unearned Indian and Asian privilege.

However, SFFA still allows universities to use “proxies” for race: low income / FARMS status is one of those proxies.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Fair_Admissions_v._Harvard
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:44     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:YES.

Read up on the SFFA supreme court decision from 2023.


SFFA = universities cannot examine an individual student’s skin color, and then lower the admissions standard based on their examination of the student’s skin.

That would be racist, obviously. But it was what universities did for decades; first as “racial quotas,” which were then disguised as “affirmative-action,” and finally disguised again as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA). Only certain groups were given these advantages, while Indians and Asians were excluded, because they benefit from unearned Indian and Asian privilege.

However, SFFA still allows universities to use “proxies” for race: low income / FARMS status is one of those proxies.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:41     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?


Actually low income or low income relative to peers?

My kids get a lot of financial aid, and are lower income than 90% of their classmates, but we are still solidly middle class and won’t qualify for Pell. I don’t think they will get advantage relative to other private school kids, although I don’t have anecdata to back that up because my senior fell in love with safeties and matches and didn’t apply anywhere reachy.


Yeah I had the same question. The "low income" kid of college-educated teachers is not the same thing as a truly low income first-generation kid from the inner city (or from a truly depressed rural area that gets into a boarding school).
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:40     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?


Actually low income or low income relative to peers?

My kids get a lot of financial aid, and are lower income than 90% of their classmates, but we are still solidly middle class and won’t qualify for Pell. I don’t think they will get advantage relative to other private school kids, although I don’t have anecdata to back that up because my senior fell in love with safeties and matches and didn’t apply anywhere reachy.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:39     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
It always has been. A lot of the low income students at the top colleges have extremely privileged educational backgrounds.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:36     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
It's hard to say, because a decent number of the low income kids who get to top privates would be competitive no matter what because in addition to being low income, they are often hooked. Meaning they are an underrepresented minority and/or they have some special skill--a lot of top privates recruit for sports, for example.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:33     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?


This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. You're kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.


This is a good point, especially if the kid who didn't go to a top private was stuck in a rural high school or inner city one.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:31     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
YES.

Read up on the SFFA supreme court decision from 2023.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:26     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?


This is just a total guess, but I would think it helps but not nearly as much as a low income kid who didn't go to a top private. You're kid had lots and lots of advantages that most low income kids don't get.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:23     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Also, Ivies and T20s consider assets and also income and assets of a noncustodial parent, in determining need-based financial aid. Make sure these schools would be affordable before applying.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:22     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Anonymous wrote:Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?


Yes it's an advantage at any school right now!
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:21     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Low income helps if eligible for Pell grants. Pell grant numbers are part of the US News ranking calculation. This is not new for this year.

Ivies and T20s are need blind. I'm not sure how/whether colleges determine Pell status without accessing financial data, though perhaps they can see the Common App fee waiver question under Demographics, which asks if you are expecting to be eligible for Pell.
Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 14:16     Subject: Is being low income at a top private an advantage this year?
Low income, on financial aid at a top private. Top 25% GPA, good SAT.

Does being low income help this year with admissions at Ivys and T20s?