<p>You have to consider the full COA, not just tuition. Getting full tuition isn’t the same as getting a full ride, and an offer of full tuition at a less well known school doesn’t necessarily mean it will be less expensive than a name brand one. That’s why it’s important to run net price calculators and have financial safeties. </p>
<p>Low income students can qualify for a lot of need based aid at some of the name brand schools, so the COA there is equal to, or less than, the COA at less well known schools. Other families use a combination of savings, current earnings, and loans to cover costs. Some families borrow heavily to pay for the well known school. Just because a school has families with a wide range of incomes, it doesn’t mean all of those families are comfortably affording those costs.</p>