<p>Last year I found Duke very unwilling to change my financial aid, even though UPenn was giving me about $4000 more. </p>
<p>And FreshElephant, what does that mean?<br>
Without financial aid, every Ivy/Upper level school would be filled with privliged kids and little diversity. It would also create a cycle where the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor (obviously this is a huge generalization, but it is relatively true as it is much easier to get a job coming out of one of these schools, esp. for buisness).</p>
<p>Yeah, but the OP is discussing a $24,000 discrepancy -- and it's not just a question of loans vs. grants, it's actually a question of differences in EFC.</p>
<p>like bomed6, we found that Duke was much more generous that WUSTL. And then, when we met w/FA over Blue Devil days (to make sure the offer wasn't too good to be true!) and explained a couple of the more unusual aspects of our circumstances, the FA officer offer further sweetened the deal.</p>
<p>Now, maybe this is because we really have some unusual circumstances that are not neatly covered by the questions on the FAFSA or the Profile. But, we did find that Duke worked hard to make so we could afford for our S to attend.</p>
<p>Duke's fa is not to shabby in my opinion. They gave me a little more than what Caltech gave me, and Caltech is ranked first in fa according to us news. And btw, duke is not the highest ranking school that gives out merit aid, caltech gives plenty and is ranked above duke, although i do not consider either school buying students.</p>