<p>^typically, when people say “full ride”, they don’t mean “free everything”: most people know they’ll need the federal loans, money for books, etc. “unlikely to happen” would imply that an EFC0 student wouldn’t get that taken care of by financial aid, when in fact it does. How generous the school is to EFC0 varies, but Top 25 universities and LACs typically cover <em>everything</em> in their financial aid package, with often a little bit of leftover money.
I know you go on explaining a Pell Grant, a federal direct loan, and some work earnings may cover the “student contribution”, but I’m not sure whether you realize how that first sentence sounds to people who are first gen and may not understand how financial aid works.</p>
<p>Need-based financial aid at most “100% need” school covers tuition + room&board at a minimum - and often covers everything that a work-study won’t cover, including health insurance, books, and even transportation. So, a kid could have a work study job and a small loan, or even no loan at all, and have that “full ride”. A top school will be cheaper for most EFC0 students than a state school.</p>