<p>I don’t think publics look for geographical diversity while many privates do.</p>
<p>You will have much, Much, MUCH better chances for full ride at the private colleges (non-Ivy’s) than you will at the public colleges. Did I stress that enough? Maybe I should add a few exclamation points… !!! There, that should get the point across.</p>
<p>The Ivy’s and near Ivy’s do not award based on merit, therefore you’re stuck with whatever your finaid calculations indicate. In fact, I’ve found that most (not all) of the schools associated with using the Profile do not award based on merit.</p>
<p>Now the vast majority of private colleges (publics as well but they’re not nearly as generous on the whole) do award based on merit, and they will pay big money for a “blue chip” student. That is where you need to concentrate your search. Look for those colleges with generous track records where your student will likely be in the top 25% of the incoming class.</p>
<p>scotta, thanks for your advice. The more I talk to people, and the more I look at college’s financial aid websites, the more I think you are exactly right. I am forming these conclusions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The very best colleges do not have to compete for outstanding students, so they don’t have to offer merit aid.</p></li>
<li><p>The best public colleges also have many outstanding students, and because they are tax-supported, they focus their limited merit aid on in-state students.</p></li>
<li><p>Regular public colleges are fighting to attract outstanding students, so they offer more merit aid than better public colleges, but their efforts are still focused primarily on in-state students.</p></li>
<li><p>Regular private colleges are fighting to attract outstanding students, and since they are not state-supported, they can offer their merit aid to anyone they want, regardless of state of residence. This makes them the most likely places for outstanding out-of-state students to get a lot of merit aid.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Sound right?</p>
<p>That sounds exactly right.</p>