Do some private colleges "sticker price" like car dealers?

[GolfFather]

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@northwesty

It really isn’t all that hard to figure out the whole tuition discounting/merit aid thing.</p>

<p>Merit aid goes to kids that will improve the college’s stats. If you kid is very above average (say above the 75th percentile on that school’s SAT/ACT range) you will get a bigger award.</p>

<p>Having done this with two kids in the past couple of years, the results were pretty predictable. They got money where we figured they would, and didn’t where we figured they wouldn’t.</p>

<p>If you are talking about need based aid, then that’s a separate analysis you have to do.</p>

<p>The reach school for admissions is not the place where you are going to find merit money.

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<p>I’m always happy when someone posts first the same thing that I was thinking.
We’re still fairly early in this process but the quote seems to be correct.</p>

<p>But this also raises a quandary … does D decide to go to a less competitive school because she’s in the top 25% and will get more money?
Or go to the more selective (i.e. “better”) college and pay more?
I don’t know the answer.</p>