Lower Ivys vs. HYP: How do they match up?

Paying for College
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<p>Hi, Class of 2012er here looking for some much-needed advice before I finalize my Common App list of schools. Since some of what I’m going to share below is hearsay from the parents, and since I’m not that well-versed in financial matters myself, please correct me if you detect any inconsistencies in my post!</p>

<p>Some background on myself:
I’m an ORM with near-flawless stats, average EC’s, and no awards to speak of outside of the realm of College Board (lol). I’d figured I would have a very good shot at EDing at a lower Ivy -- my original plan -- until certain events derailed my family’s financial situation this year. I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say that my family lost a large amount of money while our EFC became artificially inflated due to other factors. I can PM for more details.</p>

<p>I’m currently looking at several Ivys/New England LACs -- you could say that I'm casting a wide net. In the event that I’m not admitted to/don’t receive sufficient FA from any of my choices, I’ll go to my in-state safety, UT. Not a bad deal by any means, but I’d much prefer to attend school on the East Coast. (Note: given the strength of UT’s engineering program + its relative affordability, I’m not considering OOS merit aid schools.)</p>

<p>My dad ran some FA calculations using the EFC calculator on the CB website, which spit out a figure of around ~$35K; my family’s (newly-inflated) annual income just slightly exceeds $100K. Unless I take out substantial loans, my family won’t be able to afford that. UT will cost ~$20K/year, which is just manageable, and potentially less if I’m awarded a $5K/year engineering scholarship.</p>

<p>Right now my only sure financial safeties are HYP(S?), which should end up being even cheaper to attend than UT. Needless to say, though, it’d be pretty foolish of me to hedge my bets on getting into any of them. I guess my question(s) boil down to…</p>

<p>Could someone please share their experiences with Amherst/Brown/Columbia/Dartmouth/Penn/etc.’s fin aid compared to HYP’s fin aid? How much variance should I expect in their offers? How common/uncommon is it for their offers to approach, match, or surpass those of HYP’s? Should I even bother spending the application fee, if it is uncommon?</p>

<p>I am also curious:
Does the fact that a school promises no loans in all FA packages (e.g. Penn) indicate that that school is relatively more generous than a school that packages loans above a certain income bracket (e.g. Brown)?</p>

<p>Thanks for reading! Any and all help is appreciated.</p>

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<p>Amherst used to have a calculator right on their website. Their offer to us came in very close to that amount. So check for that first. </p>

<p>“Does the fact that a school promises no loans in all FA packages (e.g. Penn) indicate that that school is relatively more generous than a school that packages loans above a certain income bracket (e.g. Brown)?” </p>

<p>I have no personal experience with Brown fa but, in general, the answer is no. No-loan schools will package work-study in place of loans. In our experience, they may also calculate your family’s efc in a way that expects a slightly greater contribution from your family. You do still have the possibility of taking out a loan.</p>

<p>If you are looking at engineering, have you considered Olin or Cooper Union? They’re not safeties but would be affordable.</p>