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<p>Highly selective colleges that give only need based FA tend to only match other need based FA offers from peer schools. It is very rare that they will match a merit award from a non-peer college.</p>
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<p>While the OPs S is very accomplished, competition is extremely strong at the highly selective colleges, including for Hispanic candidates.</p>
<p>OP, one more thing to consider with Outside scholarships is how colleges will deal with them. It varies by school, so you need to read the college websites for specifics. Many of the need only schools will first apply Outside scholarships towards WS and loans, and then against grants. This can still be beneficial, for instance, D1 went to a no loan school and her Outside scholarship was applied towards her WS amount every year, thus relieving her somewhat from working as many hours as she would have needed to to recoup that money. If you are receiving no FA other than loans, it can help offset some loans. However, if is being used to replace grant aid, then it may not actually reduce the amount you pay.</p>