Thanks all for the replies, really useful information.
The NPC was tricky for this school (Drexel) because of the 5 year/3 coop. So the NPC kicks out the super high price for freshman year when he would not be on coop, and paying full tuition/room and board. When I apply what Drexel says are typical coop earnings to years 2, 3 and 4 (when he would be paying tuition only half the year) and then factor in year 5 (same price as year 1) it actually does work out to be about the same over five years as the other schools would be over four years.
In any event I did inquire last week about the possibility of additional merit in a later round and noted his other awards. They were very understanding, didn’t make me feel bad for asking, and said they would forward the info along and have a decision for us sometime in late January.
Now that we’ve figured out that it will cost us about the same as the other schools, I’m satisfied either way. But in case it is helpful to others, I wouldn’t be afraid to ask. They couldn’t have been nicer in the exchange.