Is Brown or Pomona generally more affordable after financial aid?

Neither Brown nor Pomona is reliably more affordable across the board after aid. Both say they meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students and provide need-based aid without requiring loans in their standard aid packages, so the final difference often comes from each college’s institutional calculation of your family’s need. Since both net price calculators give your family similar estimates, treat the schools as financially comparable for now and apply to both.

Pomona can be the less expensive option for a family whose circumstances receive a more favorable assessment there, including factors such as home equity, business ownership, divorced-parent information, siblings in college, or unusual income changes. The sticker-price difference matters less than the grant each school ultimately offers.

Compare the actual award letters line by line, not just the stated net cost. Check whether each includes an expected student work contribution, how outside scholarships reduce aid, health-insurance charges, travel from home, and whether aid is likely to remain stable if a parent’s income changes. If one school’s offer is meaningfully lower and your financial information is accurately represented, it is reasonable to ask the other school to review the competing aid award.