<p>Cumulative total from all schools that offered.</p>
<p>I'll start - S = $524K</p>
<p>(I think we should put together a big list, then start another thread with all of our suggestions to juniors and their parents - "How to Succeed in Winning the Big Bucks.") Not that I have that musical on the brain or anything......</p>
<p>Would it be more useful and helpful to others to post merit offers from schools rather than a GRAND total.......and also have the student's stats and outstanding achievements. I would fear that parents or students may pin their hopes on merit money, not having any basis on which to compare their own precious poopsies.</p>
<p>I think it would help us to see the breakdown if it includes the students stats.</p>
<p>The director of the regional youth symphony always has each year's seniors give him their figures, and then he announces the "grand" total at the final concert in May where the seniors are recognized. Every year, the total is well up in the millions of dollars for a group of perhaps a couple of dozen kids.</p>
<p>S's share this year is $309K.</p>
<p>It would be interesting to see the merit awards by school related to the student's stats...and perhaps to the EFC. Real case studies will probably shock the parents here (including me).</p>
<p>This thread is plain RUDE and people are just SHOWING OFF. I got 4 merit offers but would never post the total since it is meaningless.</p>
<p>I agree with Alice. Also, the grand total is meaningless because a student can only attend one school. My daughter applied to only one school and received one merit scholarship. If she had applied to more schools, it is possible she would have been awarded more merit money, but she would only have actually received the money from the school she chose to attend.</p>
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It would be interesting to see the merit awards by school related to the student's stats
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<p>This would be more helpful to folks next year. I agree that the total is sort of meaningless.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I am relatively new here as an active poster. </p>
<p>Granted that any child can attend only one school as a freshman, but we've enjoyed seeing the lists of where everyone got in. Students and parents post their scores and stats all the time; people wonder aloud why someone with "lesser" stats got into schools that shut them out. </p>
<p>All these things originally struck me as "showing off," but I came to realize that it was just part of the give-and-take atmosphere of CC, so I assumed this was a wanted thread. </p>
<p>Please accept my apologies for not understanding the protocol here.</p>
<p>I certainly don't think that the intention here was to be rude or to brag. But I agree with those who think a list of schools, stats, and merit offers made (as well as the one accepted) would be much more helpful, as would including whether the student applied EA/ED or RD. </p>
<p>But I am not comfortable sharing too much personable info, such as our EFC. I don't see why it is necessary in a thread on merit offers. Also, posters should be free to share their stats as they wish to - for example, one could just post "top 10% of class" rather than exact GPA or "top 25% of SAT scores" rather than exact scores. Let each include what they feel comfortable with; it will still be helpful.</p>
<p>Please share the award from each college separately and share any GPA/SATs/Other awards/ Athletics/ Music/Other Ecs etc. This information will be very valuable. Thanks</p>
<p>Anything concrete will be helpful for those of us trying to get sense for next year. For example, "XYZ college 1/2 tuition award. I think it was because of the following..." SAT or GPA, or whatever. I guess you're right that we don't need the EFC...but some parents are posting the idea that EFC is a "factor" even in merit awards...but maybe that is too much to ask for. Sorry about that.</p>
<p>I see some value in comparing the offers of merit scholarships if it is combined with a brief overview of the student in question.</p>
<p>My D: SAT just over 1400, top 6%, many AP courses (4's & 5's mostly), some EC's, marching band.</p>
<p>She was offered $7,500 merit from Northeastern Univ. in Boston.
She was offered $3,000 merit from Smith College (that's where she will attend).
She was admitted to Mt. Holyoke and UT at Austin with no scholarship offer.</p>
<p>Chill Alice, post your total instead.</p>
<p>As I said, this is a "Can do, can do, the guy says the horse can do" thread, posted for the sake of the parents of high-achieving juniors who are facing the reality of college costs and shaking in their boots, as many of us were/are. The total number proves the truth of the statement "There is lots of merit aid out there, and the lion's share is provided by the colleges themselves."</p>
<p>Step 1 - for juniors and their parents "Believe, and Ye Shall Achieve"
Step 2 - research, research, research
Step 3 - (after initial list and fit deterrmination) apply to as many colleges as possible where significant merit aid is likely, and at least a few where it is a reach but still possible.</p>
<p>A followup thread can be started to provide more detailed information -"How to apply for a job - how to advance from the mailroom - how to commute in a three-button suit with that weary executive smile!" </p>
<p>No surrender</p>
<p>I think this can be informative for new parents, but we need to know if the child had any special major that offered merit awards outside the general scholastic ones, i.e., athletics, drama (after tryouts), music, etc. Kids who get into those departments fall into a whole different category than non-athletic, non-fine arts kids, whose chances of getting 100's of thousands of dollars in merit aid, are much slimmer. That would tell parents not to bother applying, or expecting huge awards.</p>
<p>I think what you want is here:</p>
<p>That link really doesn't answer all the questions, because it doesn't give any relativity. I think it would be important to know how much (or how little, as the case may be) a student might expect in merit aid before going in to the process. When I was a kid, I always heard that if you earned good grades and had high test scores, you would get a good scholarship. I don't think that really is the case anymore. Most scholarships just scratch the surface of the total tuition package, at least at the schools to which my daughter applied.</p>
<p>I know I've commented on this before, but after being on CC for several months, I still don't understand how parents can feel comfortable broadcasting personal information that belongs to their kids - their stats, their financial aid amounts, etc. My kid would be very unhappy about that. (He's probably unhappy that I'm on here at all, but I try hard to keep it about me, not him.) Can someone enlighten me on this?</p>
<p>Partly, the anonymity of this information. What I have told you says nothing about who we are. You know she's a girl, and if you've read any of my other posts, you know we live in Texas. Guess what, there are lots and lots of girls who live in Texas who will be going to college next year. I'd venture that there are even quite a few girls from Texas going to Smith next year, so really, you know nothing about us.</p>
<p>Another reason I don't mind posting specific information is because I think it might help others know what to expect. Vague inuendo about scores and money would be no help, would it? What part of the country are you from, Weenie? (No need to tell me a specific state, just looking for a region)</p>
<p>This thread is meaningless; any student who places in any of the big national competitions will receive boatloads of merit money offers -- with cash value helpfully spelled out, along with offers of laptops, travel money, summer "research" cash, etc. -- from big state flagships, as well as lots of lesser-knowns, especially in the South. A NM finalist could easily elicit hundreds of thousands of dollars in offers without trying at all. Doesn't mean you'd want to go there, or that you can get much from the schools you DO want to go to. Many schools pride themselves on not having to "pay" for top students. Plus, as the admissions rep said at one top LAC we visited: "We don't give merit aid, because everyone [who qualifies for admission] would qualify"!</p>