Is my financial situation relevant?

When universities are need-blind, do they still look at your financial details in order to analyse your background or are they completely unaware of ur financial situation? e.g if your really poor, could this advantage you as you may have had less opportunities than someone whos wealthy

The application review process is holistic. If your hardships are evident from your stella essay and your school is known to be under resourced, that will be taken into account. Your actual financial aid application will not be looked at by the admission officer at a needblind school. They will only know your parents’ jobs.

Many schools are need blind and they won’t ask you for financial information before they give you a decision. Several schools have released information that if your household earns less than USD $60,000 a year, the school will offer 4 years of free tuition. However, the Common App has a section that you must fill out per school that asks if you will be needing financial aid. There are some schools that do factor this in their admissions process, not many, but some do if you’re an international student.