Is it possible to get merit aid DURING freshman year, when no aid was received upon admittance?

If a student receives generous merit aid from every college to which that student applies, but applies early (binding) decision to a particular university (not higher-ranked than all of the ones that did offer merit aid) and does not receive merit aid from the early-decision school, then the student excels academically at that university freshman year, is it possible to get merit aid from the university when the student is already attending? It is tempting as a parent to have the child transfer to another, very selective, university now that evidence of stellar grades is in, since the cost of the college being attended is so high the parents would be paying the same or LESS at almost any of such schools. What are the chances the existing university would give some merit money after admittance and attendance, and who would be the official at the school to ask?

The answer…it depends.

Some schools offer NO merit aid to transfer students.

Some schools offer limited merit aid to transfer students.

Some schools offer NO new merit aid to upper class students.

Some schools offer departmental scholarships for coninuting atudents…limited in amount and number.

You are talking about possibly having your kiddo transfer? Before you go this route, make sure that the college transferring to offers aid to transfer students. AND do not withdraw from the current school until you KNOW that a new school will be affordable.

A student who does well as a freshman can usually get SOME merit aid but not much. Usually some scholarships by department or major. The vast majority of merit aid is offered to INCOMING freshmen.

The flaw in your scenario is for binding Early Decision, in exchange for an early decision, if accepted, the student will attend. The student will withdraw all other applications and not make any new ones. Unless these merit offers came in before the ED offer, you really have nothing to talk about.

If the student did not receive merit with the ED offer, probably the best you can hope for as @“Erin’s Dad” said, is departmental scholarships or scholarships by major for continuing students. Even then it will most likely be a nominal amount.

A student who does well freshman year MIGHT get some merit aid. MIGHT. Not usually.

Sample of two. My FSIL got a 4.0…had received NO merit aid. His department offered NO merit aid to him…and yes, he asked. My DD also did very well…applied for merit aid for every year after her freshman year…and didn’t get a dime.

Some departments offer departmental scholarships at SOME colleges.

Many…don’t.

The best merit scholarships offer to freshmen. Department scholarships for sophomore and above are usually much smaller, not automatically renewable, or have a need component.

This is a high risk strategy. If you can’t afford the school which didn’t offer merit there is a simple solution- take the money from one of the college’s which DID offer merit and don’t look back. There are a LOT of “departmental awards” which are for $1000 dollars. Yes, nice bragging rights, but no, hardly make a dent in a $65K annual bill. If you are banking on an award in subsequent years, that is not a terribly sound plan IMHO. Take the money being offered now.

This is helpful; thanks. To clarify, all merit offers and acceptances at the other schools came in before the ED deadline. at the school the student is now attending. Also to clarify, there is no thought that merit aid would be requested at a transfer school; a transfer would be made, if one is made, in order to get more perceived value (a higher-ranked, more prestigious school) from the full-tuition payments ($70,000+ all-in) being made.

Didn’t know about the Department scholarships, etc., and after looking at the university’s website I see that’s exactly right ($1,000, $1,500). And I was wondering if not seeking merit aid following excellent academic performance would in any way be “leaving money on the table” and I see from thumper1’s actual experience that it would not.

Thanks, everyone.

@Curiouss1

Well…I should add…we did know a business major at Syracuse well over 10 years ago. She was THE top student in her program, and received a surprise $10,000 scholarship her senior year.

So…possible… it not something I would bank my money on.

Also, checking for clarity…I’m reading that your kid is currently IN college…and didn’t receive a merit award where he is attending. Is that correct? If you have checked the departmental scholarships…have your KID go and talk to someone in financial aid to see if there are any merit award scholarships he can apply for. For my continuing student…that is where she got the info about scholarships to apply for.

Yes, currently attending the ED college with no merit aid. The student will talk to the school this semester (probably partly motivated by the parents’ agreement to put any money saved toward study abroad expenses or grad school). Thanks!

During my freshman year I was selected for an employer-sponsored scholarship that provided significant money for my sophomore through senior year as well as internship opportunities with the company. I had no idea this scholarship even existed but it seems someone recommended me for it (likely due to my high GPA) and it was awarded to me without any application process. Obviously there would have been no way for me to plan in advance for this happening but just using this as an example that there can be other types of scholarships offered to individuals after the start their freshman year.

@adlgel respectfully, aren’t you a parent? The way aid works has changed considerably in the last few decades.

@romanigypsyeyes Yes I am. I was just trying to demonstrate that sometimes unexpected things happen with merit aid for folks after they are admitted. But obviously given it’s unexpected, it can’t be planned for.


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A student who does well as a freshman can usually get SOME merit aid but not much.

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Not really. Students who do well freshmen year usually get zero merit aid…zero.

There are sooooo many high GPA students in college. Grade inflation is rampant. Dept majors usually have little funds to award merit so if they have any, they typically pick out a rising junior or senior to award a small award to. The colleges themselves rarely award any merit to continuing students.

More times than i can count, i’ve seen students and parents assuming that if the student does well in college, then she/he’ll be awarded money. There’s some sort of disconnect. While schools are pleased when students do well, they don’t suddenly have thousands of dollars to award for good grades.