<p>I have twin seniors. My S has a very nice fin aid package from a school which is giving him a grant that is both merit and need-based (plus loans and work study). He also has another school that has awarded him a significantly lower need-based package which he likes a lot. Is it legitimate to ask the need-based college to increase their aid to the level of the other? My D is in a similar situation; she has two very nice merit offers from two different schools but of course the third one is need-based only and that's the one she wants, so the same question applies. Can you go to the need-based school and tell them you've got these really nice merit offers and ask them what they can do for you?</p>
<p>No, need based only schools won’t match a merit aid offer. If the schools are truly peer schools and the need based aid component is lower, they may look at that.</p>