<p>You really cannot assume anything. It will depend on the financial situation of the family. Particularly, most private schools use CSS Profile while most public rely on FAFSA to determine your EFC and your need. Often time, these two calculation do not agree with each other depending on your family asset allocation. In addition, most top privates do not offer merit aid while public do. The scholarship amount will largely affect your final cost. In my D’s case, the private school has the highest CoA and offered a lot of aid, but at the end, it is more expensive than 2 public (1 in state 1 oos), cheaper than 2 other oos public, and about the same cost as another oos public. So the figure can go anywhere even for the same student.</p>