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. Even though institutional methodologies do vary from college to college, all schools tract Federal Methodology closely. The house doesn't count. See Myth 5. I'm mentioning this twice, because it confuses almost all parents.