SSN Question Forum

[Skier]

Hi TLS community,

Just as I thought I was about ready to submit the rest of my applications, I stumbled across the following blurb on UCLA's application:

The Social Security Number (SSN) you provide will be used by the University to verify your identity and will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pursuant to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Disclosure is mandatory. This notification is provided to you as required by the Federal Privacy Act of 1974. If you do not have a Social Security Number, obtain one through the nearest district Social Security Office and notify the Admissions Office of the number when it is received. If you are not a US citizen and do not live in the US, a Social Security Number is not required.

Being Canadian, this would seem to suggest I don't need to submit a SSN. What confuses me is that LSAC has my Canadian SIN (equivalent to SSN in Canada) on file from when I wrote the LSAT and it was auto-completed in SSN field on the biographical section of my applications. Until I saw this directive from UCLA, I didn't even think about that field.

Is it incorrect to list this? Will I confuse the admissions staff? I have already submitted 4 applications with the Canadian SIN so I'm wondering if I need to inform them of this situation and whether I should omit the Canadian SIN from my remaining applications.

[Skier]

Hi TLS community,

Just as I thought I was about ready to submit the rest of my applications, I stumbled across the following blurb on UCLA's application:

The Social Security Number (SSN) you provide will be used by the University to verify your identity and will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pursuant to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Disclosure is mandatory. This notification is provided to you as required by the Federal Privacy Act of 1974. If you do not have a Social Security Number, obtain one through the nearest district Social Security Office and notify the Admissions Office of the number when it is received. If you are not a US citizen and do not live in the US, a Social Security Number is not required.

Being Canadian, this would seem to suggest I don't need to submit a SSN. What confuses me is that LSAC has my Canadian SIN (equivalent to SSN in Canada) on file from when I wrote the LSAT and it was auto-completed in SSN field on the biographical section of my applications. Until I saw this directive from UCLA, I didn't even think about that field.

Is it incorrect to list this? Will I confuse the admissions staff? I have already submitted 4 applications with the Canadian SIN so I'm wondering if I need to inform them of this situation and whether I should omit the Canadian SIN from my remaining applications.

Upon further review, I realized that the field is titled SSN/SIN under Biographical Section (even on UCLA's form) so I believe to answer my own question it is appropriate to list a Canadian SIN instead of a SSN.

If anyone has other thoughts, feel free to respond!