<p>To OP, As already alluded to by other posters, one needs to differentiate between tuition discounts versus truely meaningful merit aid. If you have difficulty meeting full costs at public institutions, then "tuition discounts" at private schools are unlikely to meet your needs. Such discounts are unlikely to drop your costs at a private below that for a public. </p>
<p>Having said that, a student with excellent credentials is able to get full merit aids at many public and private colleges. For example, many colleges offer full rides to National Merit Finalists, a credential that is within reach to many strong students. I know that several State University of NY give out such. There are a few excellent schools, e.g., William and Mary, UNC etc that also give out full rides to students. The credential of these students are normally stronger than just being National Merit finalists. Finally, there are a few elite schools such as University of Chicago, Duke and Caltech, which also provide full rides. However, the credentials of such students have to be quite exceptional, i.e., just short of walking on water.</p>
<p>In short, merit scholarships at private college do not necessarily provide you a cost lower than that of a public institution, unless a student's credentials are unusally strong, independent of those of the average students at said institution. Having credentials stronger than the average students at a college may give you "tuition discounts" but not the kind of aids that you will need.</p>