<p>Have a niece who did NJ Stars at community college and NJ Stars II finishing up Rutgers this year. Good deal for her but yes, she had to do cc which was not her choice and finish at Rutgers which is also not her choice. There are some guaranteed merit awards spelled out on college websites, but due to the recession, some of that language is being revised. Given Christie’s habit of cutting programs and public education…well, NJStars might just go byebye too. To get merit, look for privates where your stats are above the avg. Read through this thread too: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html</a></p>