<p>Oldfort, never heard of a private school which did not have generous scholarships for talented kids from not-wealthy families.</p>
<p>We’ve had few college application workshops to discuss the process, and FA application was not one of the topics. Maybe GCs provided private counseling to kids who needed it. I would think FA from those top tier schools would be very similar and generous that it wouldn’t be necessary to shop around.</p>
<p>Even if schools all meet need, the packages can be different. I think that at least some of the Ivies are no-loan so maybe less difference there. But I was from a low EFC family (not 0, but very low–needing FA does not mean your EFC is 0) and I applied to several LAC’s that met full need. The packages were not identical. I chose the one with the smallest loan.</p>
<p>The whole point of EA as opposed to ED is that you can apply to other places and are not expected or required to withdraw.</p>
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<p>The ESC (expected student contribution) varies. If you go to the net price calculators of various “meet full need” schools, you will find that the minimum net price = ESC for the maximum financial aid student from the poorest family is not the same at each school. E.g. Harvard $4,600, Stanford $5,000, Yale $2,700, Princeton $4,000, MIT $2,350, etc…</p>
<p>Granted, these differences may seem small to the typical demographic posting on these forums. But they are not small for the student who actually would get maximum financial aid.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus - I was posting very specifically to my kid’s school. I would be very surprised if any of those students were applying to other top tier schools after being accepted EA to a top 3 for financial reason. I was not making a general statement if you read my post carefully. Unlike other posters, I don’t like to post things I have no direct knowledge or experience with.</p>
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<p>My reply #24 was in response to your more general post #20, rather than your kid’s school specific post #18.</p>
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<p>I’ve often thought scores should be an official part of the common app - so sent once - or that students should be able to self-report when applying then verify after acceptance…or something.</p>