Quote:
Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB
No you wouldn't, because the Ivies - like lots of private schools - have excellent financial aid. Most of the Ivies pay almost the entire tuition now for their students. And many other private schools (such as my alma mater) have such nice endowments that they give generous grants and scholarships, making them possibly more affordable than a public university (certainly an out-of-state public).
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The Ivies and a couple of other like-minded schools only provide need-based aid, not merit-based. They don't need to attract attract star applicants with the lure of a merit scholarship. The Estimated Family Contribution is calculated using the CSS Profile (more extensive than FAFSA). The CSS Profile's idea of a student's EFC and what the family thinks it can afford are sometimes very different.
That being said, if the student DOES qualify for need-based aid, the FA package will probably have a higher percentage of outright grants vs. loans/work-study since these schools have huge endowments.