<p>@IlariaCaelestis I can tell you my strategy when I applied last year. My parents refused to fill out the FAFSA, so we didn’t apply for financial aid. because we didn’t get anything when my brother applied (yay middle class), so I applied to outside scholarships and schools where i knew I had a shot at getting full tuition scholarships. Mason was my financial and academic safety in case my plan backfired- I got into the honors college there. My top two choices I got full tuition scholarships at. I accepted at richmond and due to the virginia tuition assistance grant and outside scholarships, I have approx $5k COA yearly, which is cheaper than it would be for me to go to mason and live at home.</p>