<p>Didnt they change some policy this year such that need based aid wont dig into the merit scholarship as quickly? I might be thinking of something else though.</p>
<p>I will say that when it comes to matching financial aid Caltech has us pretty outmatched. However, it might swing differently in different income brackets. On the other side, my first year Mudd offered me $10,000 need based and UChicago offered me roughly $300, with the rest being loans. So it could go either way I guess if you got roughly equal offers from Caltech and Chicago.</p>