<p>It makes a big difference as to which schools you are a good candidate for, in terms of gpa and test scores, and which ones you are considering as to what monies you might get in merit and financial aid. Most schools do not even meet need for most students. They list what you can get from the government and refer you parents to PLUS for Direct Parent loans. You generally have to be at the top of the accepted student pool to get aid or merit money. If you are looking at schools that use PROFILE, a number of them do meet full need for all applicants, AS THEY DEFINE IT, or most of it. How they meet it is up to them. It is usually a combo of self help, government money (mostly self help) and their own grants. Those schools that also give merit tend to reduce their aid by those scholarships.</p>