People will pressure your student to attend his reach school, if he's accepted. Not only do you need to pay for college, but also for retirement, which is looming. For example, your student might get a lot more money at Drake University than at Middlebury College. Your student might also get better grades for graduate school in the bargain. Use your wisdom to help the decision.
All schools use the same formula and give about the same aid.
Aid packages vary considerably, with the biggest difference showing up in the distribution of institutional grants in private colleges. Federal financial aid is awarded on more or less the same basis for school to school because the awards result from the Federal Methodology calculation, which Congress developed. All colleges use the Federal Methodology in calculating a student's Stafford Loan eligibility, for example. Federal aid is very similar from school to school. Aid packages at private colleges vary because the Federal Methodology does not restrict how they dispense their own money.