Hello everyone. I am considering applying to Grinnell ED, but am wondering about the ED scholarship/incentive and if it is worth it. They offer a 10K scholarship per year to any applicant admitted through ED, in addition to the merit aid, which goes up to 25K.
I would like to know if anyone has applied and been accepted through Grinnell ED and if any merit aid was given, is it possible to negotiate it if it is not as much as you were hoping? Thanks for any responses!
If you need to compare financial aid packages do not apply ED. If you need merit to afford it do not apply ED.
for what it’s worth, i was an ED applicant my year, but i didn’t apply by the merit aid “deadline” (in quotes because i know RD candidates who have applied after the deadline have also received merit aid awards). when i was accepted, i actually had to appeal my financial aid because i wasn’t going to be able to afford it (let it be known that it was a mistake i personally made on my CSS profile… super long story). the office was very helpful, and they gave me more financial aid than i asked for (more than $10K of extra support). also, it was a pretty painless process.
now, because you’d be applying ED, it’s not that grinnell won’t give you any merit aid at all, it’s just that they’re more likely to not give it to you because you’re bound to the ED agreement, meaning that you’ve said if they accept you—pretty much under any circumstances—you will go, regardless of if they give you merit aid or not. schools like grinnell that provide merit aid not only do it because highly achieving students deserve an award but also to attract students who would otherwise choose another school over it or come from wealthy families who don’t need need-based aid. this is a pretty common practice across the board and isn’t exclusive to grinnell.
now, with the facts that COVID-19 caused the school’s admission rate to drop all the way down to 10%, the school overenrolled the freshman class by 50-60 students this year (intentionally or not), and that the no-loan initiative has no doubt attracted more students, admission is becoming scarily increasingly competitive. for reference, the overall admission rate for the class of 2024 was 19.1%. that’s a 9.1% drop in just a single year. oof.
the best advice i have is to think wisely. when in doubt, get into contact with your admission officer and see what they think.