Colleges use both formulas and feelings when awarding aid.
Here's how to stack the odds in your favor. When it comes to college financial aid, people have plenty of misconceptions. Financial aid is based on a combination of factors, and differs from school to school, even child to child. Despite the climbing costs of a college education, the outlook for parents seeking aid is pretty bright. After adjusting for inflation, that's a 4 percent increase over the prior year and an 88 percent increase over the past decade.