<p>D is a NMF and applying to some top schools. Even though we did not apply for FA, I'm wondering if she will be considered for any sort of scholarship. Some of these come with nice perks, like access to summer internships, that go beyond the money. Does she have any hope of getting one of these even without a demonstrated need?</p>
<p>Yes, I know that merit means merit, but everyone I know whose child has received a scholarship based on merit also applied for FA.</p>
<p>Every school is different. Some merit aid might have a need base component. I would check with the school. Keep in mind that many of the top schools only have need based aid since they feel that all their students could qualify for merit aid.</p>
<p>If in doubt why not apply?</p>
<p>It depends on the school.</p>
<p>Depends on the school. My kids never applied for FA, yet they each got merit offers. So, look at the scholarship webpages at your D’s schools.</p>
<p>The school my younger daughter attends has automatic merit scholarships that every accepted student with the required GPA/SAT scores receives.</p>
<p>your child is NMF; did she apply anywhere where she’d get a large NMF award? If not, she should quickly apply to one that will still award one as a back up.</p>
<p>Well, we got our answer! D has been awarded a large ($25K, renewable annually) scholarship to Mount Holyoke. She found out last night. She’s thrilled, but it just makes her decision that much tougher. Although we don’t need the aid, it seems crazy to just throw the money away if it’s the right school for her. Still awaiting decisions from Stanford and Pomona, but know there will be no money coming from those schools if by some miracle she gets in.</p>
<p>Awesome, Massmomm. I was going to add that I got a merit scholarship to my school before you even could apply for FAFSA. As long as you keep the grades above a certain GPA, the merit stays for the duration of your degree.</p>
<p>Wow, what an amazing award! Congratulations to your daughter!!!</p>
<p>Congratulations Massmom! Yes, I know that it makes the decisions more difficult. </p>
<p>To answer your original question, it depends upon the school and the scholarship. There are certain merit awards that do have some element of need based consideration in them, and some that are open to only those who have need. Then there are some, like the one that your DD has been offered, that are pure merit. There are also awards for which a student has to apply at various schools. Separate app, separate due dates are often in the picture for those. There is also the situation where though need is not a a factor, a FAFSA has to be filed to be considered for some awards. So there is no one size fits all answer to your general question. </p>
<p>Usually, in selective schools, Admissions gives out the merit awards simply to those students they want the most, and Financial Aid, a whole separate department, awards aid as needed and as a school can afford, sometimes with some ranking system as to which students are to be treated favorably. Again, this can differ widely with some schools having just the one office doing the whole thing.</p>
<p>If it is truly a merit scholarship, it is not dependent upon the FAFSA. Both of our daughters received merit scholarships long before the FAFSA was submitted.</p>
<p>Both my son and daughter received merit awards long before they submitted the FAFSA or Profile to several different schools. The awards they received were based on the strength of their application to the schools. The one DD received…was a total surprise. We didn’t have any idea that she was in the running for this.</p>
<p>My schools did not require FAFSA to be completed for my merit aid (scholarships, extra curricular grants, etc)</p>
<p>However, all of my schools had additional grant money which was based on both merit AND financial aid. So yes, fill out financial aid forms.</p>