<p>On Princeton Review, there is a "financial aid rating" for each school. I noticed Boston College has a 97% rating. That seems to be very generous. Has anyone else looked into these ratings? This may open some up some new possibilities! </p>
<p>Don't you just love finding yet another aspect of this process to spend hours researching?!
Please tell me I am not the only one!!!</p>
<p>A few things to keep in mind: many colleges practice “preferential packaging” so that they give the best aid to the best students. Plus, schools that aren’t need blind often create a class based on ability to pay. Take Reed as an example: <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/economy/10reed.html?scp=1&sq=reed&st=cse[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/economy/10reed.html?scp=1&sq=reed&st=cse</a> Also, schools can define need any way they want. In addition, there are pledges, [Project</a> on Student Debt: Financial Aid Pledges](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php]Project”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php), to help the lower income, but middle class families often get stuck in the middle. </p>
<p>But regarding your query… “The Princeton Review tallied the ratings based on data from its surveys of administrators at hundreds of schools in 2008-09 and its surveys of student aid recipients attending the schools. School data included the percentage of their students determined to have need who received aid, the percentage of need met, and the percentage of students whose aid was fully met. The rating also factored in data from The Princeton Review’s surveys of students attending the schools about their satisfaction with their aid awards.” From here: [The</a> Princeton Review Ranks Colleges On Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.saycampuslife.com/2009/07/31/the-princeton-review-ranks-colleges-on-financial-aid/]The”>The Princeton Review Ranks Colleges On Financial Aid | SayCampusLife: Campus News, Sports and Events)</p>
<p>But yes, a relative score of 97% is really good. </p>
<p>Have you seen the financial aid statistics from the College Board?</p>
<p>Boston College
Financial Aid Statistics
Full-time freshman enrollment: 2,291
Number who applied for need-based aid: 1,214
Number who were judged to have need: 939
Number who were offered aid: 939
Number who had full need met: 939
Average percent of need met: 100%
Average financial aid package: $26,481
Average need-based loan: $3,513
Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $24,075
Average non-need based aid: $15,193
Average indebtedness at graduation: $18,799</p>
<p>No wonder Reed didn’t do well in this regard: Princeton Review has a factor-of-ten typo!</p>
<p>[Test</a> Prep: GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, SAT, ACT, and More](<a href=“College Search | Find Colleges | The Princeton Review”>College Search | Find Colleges | The Princeton Review)
Average Total Financial Aid Package: $3,262</p>
<p>[Reed</a> College 2008-09 Common Data Set SecH](<a href=“http://web.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds0809/cdssech200809.html]Reed”>Reed College 2008-09 Common Data Set SecH - Institutional Research - Reed College)
j) The average financial aid package of those in line d. $32,620</p>
<p>Wow, Princeton Review is fast; they fixed the typo after having it brought to their attention, bringing Reed up to 97%. Much better…</p>