<p>Happymom is so right in what she wrote. Those colleges that meet 100% of need, all define “need” in a variety of ways. BC and ND have come under fire, as has Holy Cross and GTown on how they define need. Some of these schools look at things that are not usually taken into account by PROFILE schools in coming up with their need numbers such as 401K and other qualified plans savings. I’ve seen other quirks in the way schools define need with some schools wanting the values of all vehicles earned, some taking the amount a student has in savings at the onset as a set figure for 4 years (UCh) and other things that can affect the institutional EFC greatly in given cases. But if you don’t fall into those niches, those schools can offer great packages.</p>
<p>Also many schools that do offer full need also are not need blind in admissions and have loans in their packages. I would check if Loyola, for one considers PLUS as part of their financial aid package, as some schools do. I don’t consider loans as part of an aid package since it means you are paying for it…albeit eventually. They are just adjusting the time as to when you have to pay the piper. So I tell families to look at the bottom line as to what they will have to pay including in loans and by earning the money through work study, to compare what is truly the best deal.</p>
<p>But the catch is that you don’t know what your package is going to be until you get it. You go by probabilities till then. The fact of the matter, is that most schools will give the best merit/aid packages to those kids with the highest test scores. The SAT seems to carry more clout than the ACT (my own observation and may not be true), but the grades as long as they are not below 3.0 or too many grades below a C in the transcript are not as important as long as the school/course load is a rigorous one. So the 3.3 is not as much of an issue as what the student’s SAT scores are in relationship to each college’s averages. There are countless number of 3.3 students who need money but not that many who can achieve a certain threshhold in SATs.</p>