<p>For example: Would a public university in Wyoming grant an Idaho applicant more financial aid because they want students from other states? (I just made up random states, I live in Maryland and don't know any schools in Wyoming :P)</p>
<p>I’m assuming you mean merit aid, but I could be wrong.</p>
<p>Usually in-state students have the advantage because there are certain scholarships only open to residents. </p>
<p>However, there are some exceptions. Public schools in Georgia and Louisiana (UGA, LSU, etc.) for example offer better scholarships to out of state students because programs are already in place that pay tuition for in-state students. Even though students with identical academic records from in-state and out of state will pay the same after their scholarships, the out of state package is worth more.</p>
<p>For an example look at the presidential scholarship at Georgia State [Georgia</a> State University - Georgia State University Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.gsu.edu/apply_university_scholarships.html]Georgia”>http://www.gsu.edu/apply_university_scholarships.html)</p>
<p>OP,
We need to know what kind of aid you want: need based aid (typically referred to as financial aid) or merit based scholarships? </p>
<p>For FA, the answer is usually no, quite the opposite as states have a mandate to support in state students first.</p>
<p>For merit aid, SOU is correct that the majority of merit scholarships will be for in state students. However, sometimes a scholarship will give more to OOS students than in state, to bridge the gap between in state and OOS tuition.</p>
<p>These are very general answers, and there are definitely exceptions. It would really help to know the schools you are interested in.</p>
<p>Well, I’m considering ~2 in state schools, maybe ~2 private OOS (which doesn’t count), and University of Pittsburgh, which is public. So.. just Pitt fits my original post for now until another school catches my attention.</p>
<p>Well, as far as schools in wyoming giving (merit) aid to out-of-staters, my friend (also from AK) got essentially a full ride to University of Wyoming. So it depends on the quality of applicant you are. From Michigan state I heard that for a while, they mainly focused on out-of-state applicants because the # of in-state applicants they had was overwhelming (they also gave scholarships that equalized out-of-state tuition to in-state based on merit). I don’t know so much about University of Pittsburgh though, but often schools will give you a more attractive fin./merit aid package if you are from a “special/unique” state that would make their school more diverse, a factor that even public state schools consider. (i.e.we haven’t had a good student from ___ state in 8 years! Lets give this student more money so that we can have a better geographical diversity!)</p>
<p>UPitt merit aid:</p>
<p>[University</a> of Pittsburgh: Undergraduate Admissions & Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/universityschlrs.aspx]University”>Office of Admissions and Financial Aid | University of Pittsburgh)</p>
<p>I don’t see anything on their website about FA for OOS students, so my advice would be to give them a call. Also, since they use rolling admissions, it is advisable to apply as early as possible as more FA is available early in the admission cycle.</p>