<p>There have been some post on schools that do and do not give merit aid.</p>
<p>For those that do give merit aid, I was wondering how merit aid then interacts with financial aid. Does anyone know the answers to the following:</p>
<p>1) Do schools generally grant merit aid without any regard for financial need so that those who do get financial aid and those who don't get it have an equal shot at the merit aid -- or is merit aid used to attract kids who wouldn't get financial aid?</p>
<p>2) Does the merit aid affect the amount of financial aid awarded? Or is it usually a "bonus" in addition to the financial aid? I've heard of cases where outside scholarships can actually decrease your finanical aid, so I was wondering how merit aid from the college itself affected financial aid.</p>
<p>I'm sure the answers to these questions may depend on the schools - just like the amount of "financial aid" can vary with schools, but I was wondering what if anything the "norm" was.</p>
<p>You would think merit aid is based on merit, but that is not always the case. Some schools adjust or award merit in relation to need. Any merit aid will reduce need based aid. That is not up to the individual school, since Fafsa aid is part of a Federal program.</p>
<p>We have also discovered that "merit scholarships" are not always based on merit alone. I have ASKED financial aid offices and scholarship committees, and a more qualified student with less need may be passed over for merit scholarships in favor of a less qualified student with more need. Why then don't they call it a need based award given to the best scholar who applies? Hmmm. I'm sure they are not all like this, but some definitely are.</p>
<p>There are definitely differences across schools. Tulane made a point at Info Session that your merit awards would not compromise your financial aid. The policy is written somewhere, but I can't access it as only their emergency website functions right now due to Katrina. </p>
<p>I imagine you will have to look school by school at details of the policies, and probe with questions and look to actual past behavior to really get an idea. At Tulane, the initial merit awards are done by a totally separate entity from the Financial Aid office, as I recall, and that may be a factor to check on. The merit awards in many cases are given before FAFSA can even be completed.</p>
<p>If it's all within FinAid seems like might be more chance that your "aid grants" get cannibalized when you get a "merit grant." </p>
<p>I can't give first-hand experience as to how they dovetail as we did not qualify for need-based aid. However, as I said, S' substantial merit award came without having provided FAFSA. We did later provide it, as non-subsidized loans require it, and some schools require it for "merit" awards (hence, the problem many of you are experiencing).</p>
<p>I have 2 in college, both of whom received merit aid to their respective schools. My understanding that, at my sons' schools anyway, merit aid is given without regard to financial need. It is awarded strictly on the basis of merit and may be used to attract students who the school wants but who might not get other aid. After the merit aid is awarded, the school then looks at the financial picture overall and awards need based aid accordingly. </p>
<p>For example, when my first son went to college, when his merit award was subtracted from the total expenses the bottom line was less than our EFC, so he was not awarded any additional aid. Two years later, #2 entered school. The picture changes with 2 in college. The EFC is now divided by 2. The second son receives merit aid which is subtracted from the total expenses, then they subtract the EFC. However, these 2 things do not cover all the expenses. So son #2's college also awards him grant money and a subsidized stafford loan. </p>
<p>The merit aid will always remain the same from year to year, regardless of our financial picture. However, grant money can vary. If son #2 were to receive an outside scholarship of some kind, the college is within their rights to reduce the grant portion by the same amount as the scholarship, meaning that our contributution will remain the same. </p>
<p>As an aside, when #2 started college, we thought that the college of #1 would come up with grant money since our EFC was being divided between 2 students, but this didn't happen. We are still expected to pay the same as we were when we only had one in school. The only difference in the first son's FA was that he now qualifies for a subsidized Stafford instead of an unsubsidized one.</p>
<p>It is pretty common for schools to reduce the amount of grant aid that they give a student if they receive outside scholarships but this practice varies from school to school. In any case, when merit aid is awarded, it should be spelled out exactly how much the aid is and how many years it will be offered. The offer should also include the terms for continuation, usually a specific GPA that must be maintained. If all the terms are met, then merit aid will remain no matter what your financial picture is.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships/aid policy varies by school. Check each schools website and if you don't find a clearly stated policy, call and ask the FinAid office. Schools that offer geniune merit aid do not require you to file FAFSA. The FinAid people should also be able to tell you how the school handles outside scholarships. In my S's case, his college only allows merit $$ to cover full tuition. His school scholarship, National Merit $$ and a small outside scholarship cannot exceed the amount of tuition. Fortunately those awards are just shy of his tuition, hence he gets all the $$ applied to his tuition. (This is a pricey private school.) Also, outside scholarships will decrease any need aid by same amount. Basically, you cannot receive more in aid than it will cost to attend.</p>
<p>You can always call a FinAid office and ask questions, especially at this early stage of the game. You can even be anonymous. The more you know about each's schools policy, the better prepared you are to make your attendance decisions.</p>
<p>"1) Do schools generally grant merit aid without any regard for financial need so that those who do get financial aid and those who don't get it have an equal shot at the merit aid -- or is merit aid used to attract kids who wouldn't get financial aid?"</p>
<p>Schools' policies vary. Some have found that labeling part of students' need-based aid as "merit aid" increases their yield because the students feel proud to have earned merit aid. If you Google, you might be able to find an article about this.</p>
<p>Some also use merit aid primarily to attract students in highly desired categories, including those from regions that are underrepresented at the university.</p>
<p>Sometimes by using Google or the search function here on CC, you can figure out the schools' policies by seeing who was awarded aid in the past.</p>