[2006alum]

I am skeptical that any school's admission is needs blind. Stanford claims that it doesn't consider need. Back in my day, one year the SLS admissions committee was run by a professor that set out to actually follow the wonderful things the school had been claiming. Almost depleted all the financial aid funds. The school beat an immediate retreat.

It's been a while since I applied to grad school (late oughts), so I may be forgetting, but I don't remember filling out financial aid paperwork as part of the application process, including at SLS. I only remember filling out such paperwork at SLS once I was admitted, in order to find out what my aid package would be. 

And I do think "need" is fungible, because when I got a slightly better need-based package elsewhere, I took it back to SLS and they suddenly discovered I had a bit more "need" than before. So I think your broader point is well taken!

[2006alum]

I am skeptical that any school's admission is needs blind. Stanford claims that it doesn't consider need. Back in my day, one year the SLS admissions committee was run by a professor that set out to actually follow the wonderful things the school had been claiming. Almost depleted all the financial aid funds. The school beat an immediate retreat.

It's been a while since I applied to grad school (late oughts), so I may be forgetting, but I don't remember filling out financial aid paperwork as part of the application process, including at SLS. I only remember filling out such paperwork at SLS once I was admitted, in order to find out what my aid package would be. 

And I do think "need" is fungible, because when I got a slightly better need-based package elsewhere, I took it back to SLS and they suddenly discovered I had a bit more "need" than before. So I think your broader point is well taken!