<p>The majority of your scholarship money will come in the form of institutional merit aid from the school itself depending on how you compare to the rest of the applicant pool – so your safeties will probably give more merit aid as opposed to matches/reaches. In terms of need based aid, that is dependent on your family’s income and assets which will be determined by either or both the CSS PROFILE or FAFSA. Schools typically report the average amount of “need” they meet for their students – but keep in mind, need based aid is not always grants; it is also loans, so a school may advertise that it meets 100% of need; but much of it can largely be loans that need to be paid back.</p>