<p>I would like others opinions because I need to get something off my chest. My son applied to Lafayette College in the hope of getting their top scholarship for outstanding applicants, the Marquis Scholarship that awards him a $20,000 scholarship towards his education. After running the net price calculator for Lafayette, the price was around $25,000 after the $37,000 in institutional grants they offer. Sounds great! If he gets the Marquis Scholarship, that will bring the tuition down significantly! Maybe not down to $5000 but down...Right? Ok, we visited and liked the college very much thereby solidifying his decision to apply. He applied, and received the scholarship! (The scholarship is offered to top candidates to as incentive to go to Lafayette) Hooray! We were very happy, but wait... The financial statement we received reflected the same price as the net price calculator, $25,000. How you ask. All they did was "give" him a $20,000 scholarship and then reduce the institutional grant to $17,000!!!! Same cost! We called. Their explanation was that the scholarship money was "guaranteed" and the others was not. This seems to me like classic bait and switch. This is not quite applied as it is marketed. We were not happy. Lafayette is a great school, but we have better choices for lower costs. If they are truly concerned about attracting the "best students" then they need to attract those student by awarding a scholarship that significantly brings down the cost. I know outside scholarships are applied to financial aid packages where sometimes all the money does not apply, but this is THEIR scholarship. Is this common practice? Am I missing something?</p>
<p>Yes, it’s normal - need-based aid and merit-based aid normally do not “stack”.</p>
<p>The answer you are seeking lies in paragraph #2. [Lafayette</a> Scholarships · Tuition & Aid · Lafayette College](<a href=“http://finaid.lafayette.edu/financing-your-education/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/]Lafayette”>http://finaid.lafayette.edu/financing-your-education/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/)</p>
<p>There are additional benefits for designated Marquis Scholars not available to non-Marquis financial aid recipients.</p>
<p>It’s been awhile but I remember Lafayette being very upfront with their marquis scholarship and their financial aid. As with most if not all schools which award need based aid they don’t stack scholarship and need based aid. Glad you have better offers.</p>
<p>That is the way it works with most all merit money and financial aid. The scholarships that are not need driven, the ones that EVERYONE has full access to, the ones that are purely for the best, are generally given out by financial aid. Trump’s kids could get one. Doesn’t matter. These are equal opportunity awards, </p>
<p>Once a student is accepted and the merit money distributed, the file goes to FInancial Aid. That’s where the bean counters are in the college, and that is all they do. Sometimes they get some guidance as to who gets the best beans by some rating system that admissions uses when they accept the kids, and getting the big Merit prize will give a kid a definite A-1 rating to get the best aid from those schools that do give out the money that way, but, yes, your need is reduced by that merit award as is for every kid who gets it. Of course the kid whose need was a big fat zero, just goes into the negative numbers, but for those who still have need, it just reduces the need and makes it more probable that it will be met at some schools.</p>
<p>There is not as much outrage about this as there is about those awards a student gets from the outside, because schools adjust their packages internally and don’t offer money, and then take it awy when it comes to internal scholarships. If your student had gotten the same amount from some outside scholarship agency, Lafayette would do the same thing with any financial aid that it has offered. The effect will be a reduced package. What they are doing is really reducing your need that HAS been reduced, and then the financial aid that your kid is getting ONLY, PURELY because his parents don’t make enough money, have enough money, has NOTHING to do with how great he is, because that need has now been met. That money can go back in the pot for future kids who need it since your kid no longer does. </p>
<p>Now understand, that if your kid should get an outside scholarship, the Marquis award and other merit only money will not be reduced and he can keep both awards. He can MAKE money off of this. But the financial aid will be reduced. </p>
<p>Lafayette is very clear about this. They could not be clearer, IMO. I will say that I am bothered by what I am seeing where schools are beginning to hedge their bets and using hybrid awards that are neither fish nor fowl in terms of being financial aid, to avoid commitments, transparency and gaining flexibility, but the Marquis does not fall under this category at all. Congratulations to your student for winning the award, from one former Marquis winner from many years ago.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for the information. Being new to this process, I was unaware that it was so complicated and tricky. While we are honored to be given this scholarship from a great liberal arts college like Lafayette, I am still miffed knowing that without the scholarship he was awarded we would still be paying the same amount. To use an analogy, it reminds me of buying a car. They will offer you $10,000 on your used car if you buy the new car for $30,000. When you complain on the offer for your used car, they offer you $15,000 but the price of the new car is now $35,000. Again, no savings. Thanks again.</p>
<p>I’m curious, GCC31, did Lafayette include loans and work study in the package for your DD? If they did, I would have a bone to pick with that. Let me know.</p>
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<p>Really? The description of the Marquis Scholarship (linked to above) couldn’t be any clearer or more straightforward. All you (or your student) had to do was read it.</p>
<p>But you didn’t read it. You made an assumption instead, and now complain of “trickery” because your utterly unwarranted assumption turned out not to be . . . utterly unwarranted.</p>
<p>GC…
for merit to reduce the amount that you pay, it has to be so HUGE that it covers all of need in addition to “cutting into” EFC.</p>
<p>I know it’s upsetting when a scholarship just replaces a grant. It’s great for those who have little or no need, though. </p>
<p>Schools replace grants with scholarships so that they still have enough funds to award to other needy students. They spread the money around.</p>
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<p>Can’t speak to the FA package offered in this particular case, but my understanding (from speaking to someone in the Lafayette FA office) is that the Marquis scholarship does not replace loans and work study in the recipient’s FA package. So, the total package (exclusive of other benefits afforded to Marquis scholars) ends up being identical to what it would have been without the scholarship.</p>
<p>For students with family income above $50k, this means federal loans would be included in the package. And I agree with cptofthehouse - it’s kind of a lousy deal!</p>
<p>Dodgersmom, I read the info on the FA page and it sounds like the scholarship does not replace loans and work study. That is a change from when my D was applying when receiving a Marquis scholarship meant that the rest of your aid would be in the form of grants. It was a good deal and would have saved quite a bit of debt for the student who had need. Honestly now it seems to help discount tuition for those who are full pay.</p>
<p>That would be a lousy deal, since if the student won an outside scholarship, it would replace the self help first before eating into the grants. I say “lousy” in that I think that Lafayette is being sneaky doing that, and can get away with it since the aid recipients don’t see that the one grant replaced the other, as they would if it were an outside one. I would bring that up, though if it is school policy, it is likely to go no where. It is inconsistent with their own general policy about merit awards, however.</p>
<p>I agree that merit does reduce need and the way that most FA offices reduce aid when a student gets a merit awards makes sense with the loans and grants going first, cutting into the grants only when the award is of that size. but to take that Marquis and treat it differently from other scholarships seems to be sneaky and corner cutting to me.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Cpn…I don’t think that’s true with institutional scholarships. Outside scholarships, yes, but not internal ones.</p>
<p>Good one dodgersmom! You will have to excuse my ignorance, we applied to 12 schools and were accepted to eight. Needless to say, we spent some very exhausting months, but it appears to be well worth the efforts. He has some excellent options who’s financial packages are much more lucrative and transparent. Plus, we get great advice from experts like you! The way i see it, no matter how you cut it, getting this scholarship did not save us any money. This is not a “complaint”, it is a fact. Not to take anything away from Lafayette, it is a great school, but one my son will not be attending.</p>
<p>Clearly, it is the case with Lafayette and the Marquis.</p>
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<p>I agree completely. With the exception of the $4k stipend applicable to an off-campus interim program, the Marquis didn’t really help you at all. The good news (I think) is that it at least didn’t require an additional application or supplemental essays.</p>
<p>I disagree with your claim that it wasn’t entirely transparent . . . but I also recognize that once a kid gets somewhere upwards of 6 or 8 applications, it starts getting difficult keeping track of all the “fine print” associated with each.</p>
<p>The other good news (especially if you have other kids still in high school) is that you seemed to have done a really good job of identifying the schools where your son qualified for merit aid . . . even if the “aid” ended up being illusory. Figuring out where a kid will qualify for merit aid is a skill that many families don’t ever master.</p>