<p>"A mid-pack applicant at Pomona or Swarthmore may get a better need-based package than a mid-pack applicant at Occidental."</p>
<p>Evidence? The only evidence I know of suggests that the mid-pack applicant at Swarthmore and Pomona comes from a family in the top 5% of the U.S. population, and gets NO aid whatsoever. That's most definitely NOT the case at Occidental. Oh, by the way, SAT scores are a little lower at Occidental, and the differences are almost entirely accounted for by the economic status of the acceptees who receive the aid, and who wouldn't even have been admitted at the other two where they have a distinct preference for full-freight customers.</p>