Funny Money
 
Use Yahoo  School Search to print out the financial aid data of schools you are considering. 
Be sure to compare comprehensive fees with average need and non-need based gifts plus need-based loans.
This is the amount you will have to finance through state loans Pell grants.
Here is a comparison of how my former employer, Franklin Pierce College and my alma Mata, Marietta College, use financial aid to attract students.
25% of students from households earning $100,000 or more now attend community colleges, up from 12% five years ago.
 

This example was Researched a Few Years Ago. My guess is that both schools discount tuition about 30%.
Search guidestar.org for a free IRS 990 nonprofit tax return.

Sample Data is a little old but still appropriate. E-mail Professor A if you update either college.	Franklin Pierce  College	Marietta  College	FPC's first Offer	Marietta's first offer
Comprehensive Fees	$30,165	$26,838
Average Loans	4,802	3,258
Average need-based gifts and non-need-based gifts Students the college wants fall into one of these two categories. For many colleges, the money for these funds comes from students the college isn't crazy about but can pay the full bill. These students do not receive college aid. Colleges pay a lot of money to consultants that design a financial aid program specific to their audience.	11,000	6,300
Sub Total	15,802	9,558
Annual family contribution	14,363	17,280
Four year family contribution	57,452	69,120
Average debt upon graduation reported by graduates	20,815	17,643
Marietta College requires a larger contribution but their graduates have a smaller debts. Students attending Marietta have the ability to contributes a little more. My debt upon graduating from Marietta College in 1966 was $3,000, about one half of my first years teaching salary.

Visit Scholarship and Financial Aid Help for more information.
Return to Professor A's  scholarship guidance plus other good stuff.