<p>There may be some confusion because people sometimes use the term "financial aid" to cover both need-based financial aid and merit aid.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Morehead scholars are gods
[/quote]
</p>
<p>what are the criteria for morehead scholars?</p>
<p>also for </p>
<p>robertson s?</p>
<p>and posse s ?</p>
<p>I have a question: Are international students eligible for merit aid ?</p>
<p>Emory gives merit aid too. The deadline has already passed-Nov. 1, but under the Emory scholars program you can get 2/3 to full tuition renewable for four years, they said something about additional stipends to 'enjoy Atlanta' at the college info thing, but I'm not sure...</p>
<p>Danas,</p>
<p>You are right about there being some confusion between merit aid and financial aid. I did not appreciate the distinction when D was applying to colleges in 2005.</p>
<p>If you have FINANCIAL NEED, much of the discussion about the best MERIT aid colleges may be of limited use.</p>
<p>Merit aid is usually (in my limited experience of reviewing offers for 2 LAC kids) simply folded into the aid a school would provide to a needy student, anyway. What really matters to a financial aid student is how much he/she has to pay - not what scholarships he/she receives.</p>
<p>Perhaps there is a need for a "best bottom line school" thread.</p>
<p>Actually, there is some overlap, as schools that really WANT a student (who is attractive due to high grades, stats, ECs & other characteristics) have the ability to make a larger amount/% of the aid package a grant/scholarship rather than loan (or vice versa). This is especially true from private Us but I have heard it happens with many schools, especially those with larger endowments.</p>
<p>HImom,</p>
<p>Yes, there is overlap, and there's also a continuum of need, so that some merit scholarships will meet all of a FA student's need and then some. I'm just saying that FA students need to be focused on the actual amount they will pay of out pocket, rather than focused on merit aid, per se.</p>
<p>I'm also saying that I think a lot of students and parents going through this process for the first time don't appreciate the difference.</p>
<p>You are right that the # that families need to focus on is the net cost to the family, as well as renewability of aid as it is awarded freshman year (some schools are notorious for switching from scholarship/grant to loans down the road).</p>
<p>I think this thread was begun for those who didn't qualify for need-based aid (or at least that was my understanding) & it served that purpose quite well. There are many folks who don't qualify for any/much need-based aid, tho they don't readily have the assets to make paying "full freight" possible, no matter that calculators claim.</p>
<p>Is there a link on UF's website about out-of-state reduction fees?</p>
<p>krug- If your daughter is interested in chemical engineering, she should look at LSU or LA Tech. Both schools have very respectable engineering programs. Also, my friend (who wants to be a chemical engineer) is looking into Ole Miss. I'm not sure how there programs is, but it's one of his top choices.</p>
<p>Try this link: Waivers</a> - University Financial Services - Finance and Accounting - UF</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>TaraPiantanida- Thank you so much!!</p>
<p>Many colleges admissions decisions are made without regard to ability to pay. </p>
<p>What does anyone know about whether ability to pay plays a part in merit aid (scholarships and grants)?</p>
<p>Winchester, you might want to check out this recent thread:</p>
<p>Colby-Sawyer College gives great financial aid. <a href="http://www.colby-sawyer.edu/news/USNewsRanking.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.colby-sawyer.edu/news/USNewsRanking.html</a></p>
<p>To study accounting after high school,which is better,university of south dakoda or Louisiana Tech university.or to some LAC?</p>
<p>The average "aid package" at Duke is over $30,000. That's against a total cost of $50,700 (Books, room & board, tuition and fees). It's similar at the Ivy League schools. My guess is that the real "cost" of the education is in the upper 20s, so the schools make money on the small percentage who pay full tuition, and that buys margin used to pay for the poor folks like me who can't pay our own way. If you have a pulse you'll qualify for some money at most schools. Whether you'll get enough to make it affordable depends on how much they want you and how rich the school is. Harvard's endowment last year was over $30 Billion. That's $30,000,000,000, or about $475,000 per year for each undergraduate student! Princeton's endowment was about half of that, but there are only 4,600 students at Princeton. They don't even need to collect tuition. </p>
<p>Obviously, lower tier schools don't have the same ability, but there is a lot of money available if you're a decent student (top 10%), especially if your parents earn less than $60,000. If you're a minority there's even more money, much more, and top half of the class is probably enough for most schools. The folks who are really jammed up are the white, middle-class kids with parents who earn between $90,000 and $150,000 -- especially if they live in a place like New York or L.A., where $90,000 supports a very modest, minimal lifestyle. Those kids/families will be expected to write checks for twelve or twenty thousand per year, and the vast majority wont be able to do it.</p>
<p>A friend of mine was admitted to Brown this year. She's awesome. She's exremely smart, funny, and athletically talented. She didn't need any extra "points", but she's black too, and that does matter to schools trying to compete for diversity. Her parents both work, and their combined income is $110,000. By living modestly and driving old cars they managed to save almost $100,000 for college over the last 19 years. They're being punished for that. Brown says they have to spend that money before they'll qualify for any aid -- even though that money represents the college savings for ALL their kids. They're screwed, so she can't afford to go to Brown. In this context, the best possible profile is minority with poor parents. If that's you, you can go to almost any decent school for cheap or free as long as you have a pulse and decent grades.</p>
<p>Well, I'm just going to ignore the previous post 'cuz I'm not sure where to start and we would all go off on tangents not related to the purpose of this thread.</p>
<p>It might have been stated previously, but I just wanted to remind those new to the college application process: </p>
<p>Many schools have an early, priority application deadline to be considered for merit scholarship aid. Look for and meet those deadlines.</p>
<p>UW-Madison-->I was just given a full-tuition scholarship the other day. It's called the UW-Chancellor's Scholarship (for URMs), so I don't know what scholarships are like for other groups......</p>
<p>This year U PIttsburgh is giving aid to students in the top 5% of their class, with a 1425 or higher SAT.</p>