<p>Went to a college fair yesterday. My "D" is an excellent student and has filled all the "blocks" good GPA, sports, NHS, leadership, awards, volunteerism, blah, blah, blah. Anyway it seems as though she should garner some merit aid when she applies in the not too distant future. I have not done the math but supposedly we won't qualify for much financial aid, if any. So basically what I was looking for were some details as to how much and/or how many merit scholarships and dollars are out there on a school by school basis. Okay, I'm not proud, FREE MONEY! I failed miserably. I asked the Union College Rep about merit. She went on to describe the scholarships offered, ie., the lucrative "Presidential". It sounded great. Then I asked her how many of those were given out. She said chidingly between 1 and 2000 but never really gave me an answer... What's the big secret? I mean if there are 3 is she worried that would be too few for us to apply. If there were 40 why not tell us and be sure we would apply. I cannot afford to pay 40-45k per year. It makes no sense, from my D's perspective, to apply to a private LAC that is stingy with merit aid since she won't be getting much of the other kind. Why is it so difficult, on a school by school basis, to find out how much and in what increments merit aid is given out. Why not say on your web site or at these college fairs "We offer 40 Presidential Scholarships for those students exceeding this criteria, 60 Dean Scholarships for stats like these. Yet, most schools are very guarded and provide only thumbnail sketches as to what is available. It seems much of the time you truly learn only AFTER you apply and are turned down or happily surprised. Why does it have to be a crap shoot? Is it a violation of principle to pander to the best students by offering them money. I mean frankly that's how its done, except among the select few, but apparently it is in bad taste to be overt about it. Am I wrong?</p>
<p>I don't see the big need for secrecy, either. I know that most of the colleges we looked at for our daughters (like WUSTL and U.Rochester) posted pretty clear stats about the #merit scholarships awarded each year, and the amounts awarded.</p>
<p>A flippant answer like "Between 1 and 2000" is <em>not</em> going to gain Union College any fans among prospective students.</p>
<p>While I understand your point of view, I would take into account the person you were asking. At many college fairs, schools are rep'd by alums, not employees. In effect saying to an alum, especially a young alum, who may not have received any merit money and may even have gone into debt to attend the college, "I'd never dream of paying for my kid to go to your school" may have ruffled a few feathers. </p>
<p>Additionally, the person may not have known the answer to your question. Or, it could be that the college pays a certain amount for X stats--and the number of people with those stats who accept the offer varies.</p>
<p>There's a good thread on this board about merit $. You might also pick up a copy of Bruce G. Hammond's "Discounts and Deals at the Nation's Top 360 Colleges" or a title very close to that. Gives exactly the info you're looking for, though it's a few years out of date if he hasn't done a revision--I don't know.</p>
<p>Some schools are very straightforward about the number of merit scholarships they give out; other schools merely describe the "general profile" of the typical recipients. Also, the schools like to inflate their numbers by lumping merit money in with "financial aid" (i.e., need-based grants, loans and work-study).</p>
<p>If you want to maximize the chances of getting top merit money, you need to think about your student being a bigger fish in a smaller academic pond. Ivies don't award merit money, but many excellent, lesser-known schools can be very generous. During my son's college search, he targeted schools where his SAT scores put him well above the 75% of accepted students. He also looked at schools that were further from home in CT (SC, IN, MI). All the schools met his criteria of what he was looking for and he said he could imagine himself at any of them (thus, no anxiety about "reach," or "first choice.") He got into all 7 schools he applied to, with merit scholarships of between 1/2 and full tuition.</p>
<p>Funny you should mention that those behind the tables at college fairs are actually alums of the college. That would make perfect sense ...only it wasn't the case at Lafayette, Unniversity of Vermont, and RPI. The Merrimack Rep. was. Seems like they all should be alums and recent ones, so they might have first hand knowledge about the institution they're representing. But again, often not the case. The Merrimack Rep/Alum knew her stuff hands down. She mentioned applying "Early Action" vs. "Early Decision". Early Action can get you early award money but without the commitment associated with ED. Yeah I thought the Union College person's response was kind of condescending. I don't exactly rate Union as being upper tier elite, but who knows. Maybe they don't have problems filling a freshman class and if you don't then why pony up the merit money.</p>
<p>Nightingale, I agree it can be confusing! But try a careful search of each individual school's website, and you should come up with merit aid info. You can also skim the various merit aid threads in this and the Financial Aid forum, then confirm what you read by checking it against the official sites of those schools that would fit your d.</p>
<p>Some sites provide very general merit info on their Finaid/Scholarship page, but provide more elsewhere in the site (the catalog, for instance).</p>
<p>I think that they don't tell you exactly how many because it can vary from year to year. Depending on the restrictions on any scholarship funds, or placed by the school, they might have 12 qualified candidates one year and none the next. Or if school funds, they might need the funds for need-based scholarships.</p>
<p>They also don't want to lock themselves in. Suppose they say, "We give 3 scholarships." Then someone will demand to see the names. Then, they will demand that all three be given. Then we'll start seeing a comparison of stats for the merit aid, just like we see on those "I didn't get in, but this idiot did" threads. Or "We give 40", but then the funds dry up or the investments don't work out, so they only give 30. Imagine the outcry. Why would a college set itself up for that?</p>
<p>I think the big lesson that I've seen this year is that to get merit $$$, you need to be well above anything the college hopes to get stats wise. Your stats need to blow away their typical student.</p>