<p>I’m really disappointed that the US News data base no longer shows % of students who receive merit aid. This is in the Common Data Set, but not all colleges make their CDS public, so I used to rely on US News for this info. College Board doesn’t include it either. If anyone can still find this number in there, please let me know! Maybe it’s been moved and I just can’t find it.</p>
<p>For Californians, one big problem with the PROFILE schools is home equity, unless the college is willing to ignore or cap it. Also, some students with divorced parents have a non-custodial parent who is not willing to supply financial data or pay their part of the EFC. So even though the PROFILE schools tend to be wealthier and offer more aid, some students do have to focus mostly on the FAFSA-only schools.</p>
<p>I’ve been surprised at the low level of (average) support from some PROFILE schools, such as Santa Clara University. Even our UC’s have better statistics - I wonder if this is because places like Santa Clara are putting more into merit aid or just not putting a big emphasis on any kind of financial support.</p>