<p>Columbia and Cornell are among the colleges providing the best financial aid. Probably the only colleges that are likely to give more favorable need-based aid are places like Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Amherst.</p>
<p>If what you really want is to shop around for the best aid – including merit aid – offers, then don’t apply ED. If you’re competitive for places like Columbia and Cornell, you probably could get full ride merit scholarships from some of the less competitive school that offer those.</p>