<p>So far, on my list of colleges, all are roughly 50K a year private schools.
At Boston University and Northeastern I can receive merit based aid, and at schools like UPenn and Brown, it is solely need-based.</p>
<p>My family is mid to upper-middle class. We make over 100K a year, which doesn’t necessarily exclude me from financial aid. Thing is that we have the entire value of our home as an asset (its fully paid off) and we and I have a decent amount of money in the bank.
I was planning on applying for aid at the schools that don’t offer merit, because it can’t really hurt to try. However, I have a feeling I won’t get any.
[Case</a> Studies](<a href=“http://www.sfs.upenn.edu/paying/paying-pro-case-studies.htm]Case”>Submit My Documents)
We would be closest to the last example, though we don’t make that much money–and he doesn’t get any.</p>
<p>I had heard from another person who received a Trustee Full ride from Northeastern and was also around my financial status and she said she applied for financial aid at BU and said she only got 10K–not even the half tuition University Scholarship.</p>
<p>I will apply for the Trustee Scholarship at BU, and I meet the criteria for the half tuition University scholarship. Do you think that applying for financial aid at schools where I will likely get a merit scholarship will decrease my scholarship? If I do not apply for financial aid and rely solely on the probability of merit aid will I be better off?</p>
<p>(Notice on the “Probablitiy of recieving…” link on this page, the percent that are given merit scholarship goes down as income goes up: [Boston</a> University - Office of Financial Assistance - Applying for Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/finaid/apply/incoming.html]Boston”>http://www.bu.edu/finaid/apply/incoming.html))</p>