<p>From looking at the Macalester website, it looks like the maximum amount of merit aid is $3000 (or $5000 for National Merit Finalists). Has anyone received more merit aid than this amount from them?</p>
<p>Last year, my daughter was awarded 13,000 merit aid as part of her financial aid package. I do not believe her merit aid would have been this high if she had not qualified for financial aid. It was clearly marked as merit aid and she did receive further financial aid in the form of grants as well. I am not sure how much merit aid Macalester hands out when financial need is not an issue. However, their financial aid office is full of friendly people who would be happy to answer any questions.</p>
<p>My D was given 13K in merit scholarship through the Dewitt Scholarship (I think that was the name-Readers Digest). We did not qualify for need based aid. It was all scholarship. If you want to know her stats I will pm them to you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. Looks like there is more available than just the $3000 listed on the website. Anyone else have any info?</p>
<p>I was also given a 13K scholarship through the DeWitt Wallace program.</p>
<p>I’m going to bump this post in the hopes that someone who got merit aid will post/PM their stats</p>
<p>The Macalester website says that merit aid can be up to $64K over four years, which is $16K/year. Here’s the link: <a href=“Merit Scholarships - Macalester Financial Aid”>http://www.macalester.edu/financialaid/about/merit/</a></p>
<p>Responding to pde54003, I got the 14,000 a year, and my stats:</p>
<p>SAT: 2350 (800 CR, 780 M, 770 W)
5 APs (got a 5 on all)
3.95 GPA unweighted.
ECs were good, recommendations were probably very good. Essays were kinda bleh. I think I basically said I wanted to go to Macalester because I like midwestern people, but in a more eloquent way (I hope.)</p>
<p>I just received an offer of 16,000 a year in merit aid. Stats:</p>
<p>SAT: 2240 (750CR 760M 730W)
SAT II: 790 US History 750 Math II
GPA: 3.96/4.32
AP: Psych, APUSH, Human Geography, Calc AB - all 5s
ECs: Lots and lots of music, Varsity Cross Country, Human Rights Club
Letters of Rec: Good, but nothing special
Essays: Okay. CA essay was risky, but unique. Why Macalester essay talked about presence of Applied Math and Jazz, small school feel, and diversity.
Why I think I received a scholarship: Trombones are an endangered species, and Macalester probably needed more for their jazz ensemble. I’m currently part of a prestigious jazz ensemble for high school students, and I submitted a music supplement.</p>
<p>Through the DeWitt Scholarship I got 14,000 a year in merit. I am positing my stats because my standardize tests were not that spectacular, and yet I still got some merit
Female/Caucasian
SAT: 2010 (670CR 700M 640W)
SAT II: 680 US History 680 Biology M
GPA: 4.0
Top 10%
AP: Total of 9 AP, but did not send any scores (from freshman-junior year I only got 4s)
Letter of Rec: Amazing
Essays: This is where I think I was able to shine, I really put time and creativity into all my essays. I know that my SAT Writing score is on the lower end, but I am very dyslexic (colleges don’t know that), and my writing starts to stand out after some handy dandy help of spell check and editing
Interview: Yup, and submitted Part I of application early<br>
Activities: A few, but have been committed to them for years </p>
<p>My kid got $15K/year last year, and would have had a $2,000 more for NMF had she attended.
SAT: 2380 (800CR, 780M, WR800, superscored)
SAT II: Math II 800, Lit 800
GPA: unweighed 3.7
No APs (school does not offer until senior year, so she did not send them)
Letter of Rec: Probably pretty good, she got in everyplace she applied
Essays: Don’t recall specifically for Mac, Common App essay was pretty unique and showed her personality
Interview: She did not interview, did visit.
Activities: Pretty good, nothing tremendous.
No specific hooks, fairly close to Mac geographically</p>
I received the DeWitt Wallace Scholarship ($17,000 per year, $68,000 total)
ACT: 31
GPA: 4.0 (unweighted), 4.4 (weighted)
Rank: Top 10%
APs: AP US History 5, AP English Language 5, AP English Literature 5, AP US Govt 4
Letter of Rec: Probably quite good
Essays: My Mac supplement was my best supplemental essay by far – I really put my heart into. I’m very happy with my Common App essay.
Interview: Interviewed with a student, probably didn’t have much impact. Visited and submitted Part I early.
Activities: Unique internships and volunteer work. School-related activities are pretty average.
Hooks: None.
Note for the class of 2020: It seems that you don’t need incredible scores to get merit money. I thought I didn’t have a shot, considering the Mac website says that “DeWitt Wallace Distinguished Scholarships are awarded on a highly competitive basis to some students who are National Merit Finalists or Commended students.” There’s hope!
No merit scholarship for S. I don’t want to post exact stats but, 31-34 ACT, rank top 5% of class, unweighted 3.8+ gpa, varsity sport, all the traditional clubs, food bank volunteer, cultural exchange student, AP 5s, visited Mac. Haven’t received FA letter yet, but if it’s not great, he won’t be attending since he has received significant merit scholarships at other schools. 
I got a Catharine Lealtad scholarship for 17k/year. My test scores are pretty good, but this is definitely a school for under-represented minorities to apply to!