<p>I've read in various posts about merit aid at Grinnell. This surprises me because my impression from the website is that such scholarships are only available to Iowans.</p>
<p>Am I correct?</p>
<p>Please advise. We earn too much to qualify for financial aid, but that does not mean paying for college is easy.</p>
<p>[Scholarships</a> - Admission | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/admission/apply/scholarships]Scholarships”>http://www.grinnell.edu/admission/apply/scholarships)</p>
<p>You must have missed this link. There are Trustee Honor Scholarships for Non- Iowan’s. Try using the net price calculator as well to get an idea of need based aid.</p>
<p>Definitely not. S isn’t an Iowan, didn’t qualify for financial aid, applied ED and still received a Trustee Honor Scholarship.</p>
<p>Thanks, M’s Mom and mommaof2! </p>
<p>I googled “grinnell ‘trustee honors scholarship’” and found the information. The awards are up to $20K per year. That’s BIG. Even half that amount would mean substantial savings for us over the course of four years. We’ll have to wait and see.</p>
<p>Is it merit aid only awarded if you have high test scores?</p>
<p>Third Planet - it was hard to determine this. It appeared that ACT’s over 30 helped but I never found out what the “formula” was. However the financial aid office was very helpful in general. One nice thing about a small school is that someone answers the phone by the second ring!</p>
<p>Ah. How does Grinnell calculate need based aid? I know they meet 100% but do they do that based on the EFC or that combined with some other weird formula that makes it hard to predict what you will get?</p>
<p>Third planet - I would strongly suggest you go to the Grinnell website and find the net price calculator. It was very accurate in predicting our need based award. Part of the entire package does also include loans (this year 3,000 max), work study (2,200 I think) and an assumption that you will contribute from your summer earnings (about 2,250 I believe). So that totals roughly 7,500 “out of pocket” before any grant funds kick in for need.</p>
<p>The admissions officer that S interviewed with made the qualifications for merit aid quite transparent. She told him he needed to raise his test score to qualify. He practiced, retook it, and qualified. I’m sure the cut off point for qualification probably changes year to year depending on the strength of the applicant pool and the criteria they are using for merit, so why not ask them directly? As mommaoftwo said, they were very accessible and clear with us when we asked if, for example, applying ED would reduce his chances of merit aid. (It doesn’t.)</p>
<p>My son received what I think is the top award, $15,000 per year, that was increased if tuition was increased. We live in VT. His test scores, grades, LORs, ECs and essays were great. We also visited campus. My son was interested in Grinnell from our first glance, but didn’t apply ED because he was waiting for acceptances before “falling in love”. His ACT was 34, SAT 760, 790, 790, GPA 3.998 uw.</p>
<p>mommaoftwo- So does that mean if my family’s EFC from FAFSA is 16k but there are two kids in school so 8k with an additional 7,500 making the financial aid at Grinnell paying for everything but 15500?
I am very bad at standardized tests. I have a 29 on two seperate occasions for a 31 super score, which I am assuming they don’t use for merit as they don’t use it for admissions. I have a 3.89 UW</p>
<p>I also think the criteria might change year to year. Good to know it will be adjusted if tuition increases! My D managed to not take out loans this year thanks to an outside scholarship which reduced her need aid but also reduced her out of pocket. I spoke many times with my “new best friend” Linda in the FA office and she was always very patient and explained things to me until I understood, because if you get need aid and outside scholarships it can get complicated.</p>
<p>Anyone know if I might qualify for merit aid? I (somewhat miraculously if I do say so myself) raised my ACT to a 33. I have a 3.89 UW GPA and I’m basically right at the top five percent of my class.</p>
<p>You might qualify. I’m just a Mom so I don’t really know, but you go for it!</p>
<p>thirdplanet - it seems over 30 was the magic number for merit last year but that may change. Congrats on raising the ACT score!</p>
<p>Is merit aid in addition to need aid? Or does one cancel the other out?</p>
<p>30 is just their average ACT score though. I would be surprised if they gave it to half the incoming class…</p>
<p>Merit is in addition to need aid. I don’t think everyone gets merit with 30 or above but I think with solid grades, a strong schedule and test scores 30 or over you stand a good chance for merit aid.</p>
<h2>From the Grinnell web site–</h2>
<p>Awarded for outstanding academic achievements, the Trustee Honor Scholarship is merit assistance and does not have to be repaid. If you are receiving grant, loan, or employment assistance in addition to the Trustee Honor Scholarship indicated on your award notification, you must complete Grinnell’s regular application process by our published deadline each year. Once you have paid your deposit, a special certificate for the Trustee Honor Scholarship will be sent to your high school principal for presentation at graduation or honor ceremonies.
Highly competitive, based on an admission evaluation
No separate application needed
Ranges up to $20,000
Must maintain 2.75 GPA to renew</p>
<p>Grinnell performs a comprehensive review of each applicant’s qualifications for admission and merit aid. Though most successful applicants are outstanding high school students, we do value other dimensions of the application including (but not limited to) the essay, letters of recommendation, extra-curricular activities, and demonstrated commitment to one’s family and/or community. We do not use a simple formula to determine the admission of our applicants. Similarly, our decisions about scholarships are reached through a comprehensive review of each admitted student’s unique qualifications. Consequently, it is possible for students with similar academic records and test scores to receive different awards.</p>
<p>In general what percent receive merit?</p>
<p>according to Grinnell’s 2011-2012 CDS:
Number of students who had no financial need and who were awarded institutional non-need-based scholarship or grant aid (exclude those who were awarded athletic awards and tuition benefits) = 44 with average amount of $9,549.
<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/files/gc_cds_1112.pdf[/url]”>http://www.grinnell.edu/files/gc_cds_1112.pdf</a>
Section H is for fin aid</p>