<p>Firstly, Byerly, I can tell you that most ABs can choose from pretty much any school they want; it's not just "lower Ivies". I say this with more intimate knowledge of the program than I suspect you have, and I would guess that the Robertson scholarship is similar in that sense.</p>
<p>Also, I'd argue that offering merit aid is not inherently an indicator of a lesser school. Most of Duke's merit scholarship programs have been around for decades, and Duke was not a top national school when most were created. That said, the programs do work: ABs (and recipients of other scholarships, I suspect) are inordinately likely to add a lot to the campus -- they're Rhodes scholars, student body presidents, etc. Granted, Harvard cannot offer merit aid, but I bet Harvard wishes they had won some of Duke's three Rhodes scholars last year. Whatever the reason they come, many of these students add a great deal to the school, and we're better for it.</p>
<p>If your point is that people like money (or "offering merit aid increases yield"), that's a very obvious point, and nobody will challenge you on it. If you're arguing that Duke's numbers are artificially inflated, that's pretty much immaterial.</p>
<p>I guess my question is why, given the benefit of these "merit" scholarships, Duke doesn't do better yield-rate wise. </p>
<p>Stanford - which also has a yield rate boosted by athletic scholarships, and which is tied with Duke in the USNews rankings - ended its non-athletic "merit award" programs several years ago, saying that it had outgrown the need for them.</p>
<p>Probably because Duke accepts the same kids who are choosing from other top schools...isn't that a good enough explanation? There are only 50 merit scholarships a year...which can only be given out to a total of 50 students. Only 50. Out of the entire class. Its not like Duke pours in a few thousand to every kid who doesn't know whether he should go to Pton or Duke.</p>
<p>Also, of this years Rhodes scholars at Duke, only one was on a Merit scholarship (the Anges B Duke scholarship)</p>
<p>It was interesting that the article on Mr. Carroll, which was linked twice, mentioned his National Merit Scholarship, which Harvard does not participate in. Ah well - I wonder how his first year at Harvard went. The Robertsons I know had a blast down here.</p>
<p>Right - that's what I mean by not participating in it. Several schools are willing to take the money as "external scholarships" and are willing to alter their need-based levels accordingly.</p>
<p>Byerly - The top 300 get a likely letter that says they are in the top 2% of the overall Duke applicant pool. They get asked to a different as opposed to a special weekend at Duke. They do fly first class and have all expenses paid. Basically it is just a visit Duke weekend but without the large crowd that comes later for a similar event. The 300 excludes ED applicants and Robertsons. The 300 are told they might be eligible for a limited pool of merit aid. I am told that this year thirty people in the 300 got merit aid in some amount. It didn't seem like a huge big deal - some satisfaction in knowing that you are in the top 2% from the school's perspective. That is about it.</p>
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I guess my question is why, given the benefit of these "merit" scholarships, Duke doesn't do better yield-rate wise.
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We all know that's not your question, as the answer has been well established: there are too few merit scholarships available for the effect on yield to be significant. Also, contrary to what you seem to believe, athletes who are offered scholarships by no means always come to Duke, so they're not artificially propping up yield either.</p>
<p>The fact is that Duke has merit scholarships (and Stanford never did; they offered a research stipend), and they work. What's the problem?</p>
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Right - that's what I mean by not participating in it. Several schools are willing to take the money as "external scholarships" and are willing to alter their need-based levels accordingly.
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<p>Does Duke do this? Not that it would help much with my supposed 65k EFC (buh?!) but still.</p>
<p>Harvard is still pretty damn generous when it comes to aid though. That stratospheric endowment helps some. :p</p>