[quote=joec]I agree that if you had to pay your whole way to a private ivy or out of state school, then the choice to go is much lower. The hope is that your kid is desired by the school (the only reason for them to go I suppose) and they will offer some type of reduced cost or at least some lower cost aid based on income…With how much these schools cost, I’d assume most normal, non 1% will qualify for some decent aid. I think the percentages are very high for ivys as to who needs/gets aid.[/quote]
My daughter is a freshmen at an Ivy. Ivy League schools and most top schools (Stanford, Caltech, MIT) DOES NOT give any merit aid. (In fact all Ivy League schools does not give athletic scholarship.) Only need-based aid. If your HH income is about 200K+/year plus decent savings, you are full pay or near full pay. The most generous are HYPS wherein, they still give you a little bit of aid even if your income is more than 220K. At the other end of the spectrum: if your HH income is below 70K, you are free or almost free to attend. The trick though is to get in.