<p>Yes, volunteer hours that you completed because they were required do count. Some students complain about such requirements–but the benefit to you (besides the normal benefits of volunteering) is that your school has kept records and can verify your volunteering hours.</p>
<p>With contributions from several others, I just updated a list of colleges offering various percentages of merit aid. You can find it here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/696637-merit-aid-percentage-common-data-set-6.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/696637-merit-aid-percentage-common-data-set-6.html</a></p>
<p>In general, you are more likely to be able to receive merit aid from private schools than from public schools. While Ivy League schools and other prestigious schools do not offer merit aid, they do tend to give more generous need-based aid. You can go to some of their websites to get an estimate of how much need-based aid they might offer. Princeton has an online calculator, for example.</p>