I had a thread a while back asking about aid at both schools, and from that + my own running of the net price calculators on both sites, I thought the amount would be pretty similar. My family made close to 70k this year so I was expecting a couple thousand ($4500-5000) for my total contribution (parent + me). That’s what both school’s net price calculators had me at.
So Yale’s fin aid letter expects a contribution within that range. Harvard unexpectedly put me at $0 parent contribution and only like $1600 student contribution. I was expecting a difference of a few hundred, not a few thousand.
Are the two schools supposed to differ this much? Does Harvard just give better aid, or did I maybe communicate financial hardships less clearly to Yale? I’m obviously very happy about this 
but i was just curious.
Yes, the schools can have aid that is different by this amount. Congratulations…great options.
S rec’d more aid both at Duke and Vandy than Yale, several years back. Maybe Yale’s just stingy…Great options, congrats
Harvard has the most generous FA (and largest endowment) of any college. Yes, it will be better than Yale’s.
I have to say mileage varies. WashU is maligned for its aid and they have given us the best offer. I don’t have all of the offers in front of me right now, but off hand I know that Princeton and Williams are both better than Harvard for us.
Yes similar differences, small in the scheme of things, have been reported before. Also identical offers have been reported.
Each school has its own calculations so who knows how each family’s unique situation affects differences in aid from schools who have reps for super-aid.
If you did include a “hard luck” story with each FA app to these schools, it is possible that the person who handled your H aid was more sympathetic.
However, if you prefer to go to Y, then call them up and tell them that you PREFER to attend Yale, but H is more affordable to your family. Y would probably like to poach a H acceptee for a few thousand bucks.
I probably won’t pick a school until the last days of April after I attend both visiting days. I wanted to make sure Yale would match Harvard’s aid in case I go, so I was thinking to request that now. But I don’t want to mislead them and act like I love Yale and would definitely go if they do match, because I could very well pick Harvard. So is it appropriate to ask now if I’m still just in the process of deciding?