<p>Other than to the very few students who get the Murray scholarship, it appears that W&M gives virtually no merit aid. Yet tuition is (like everywhere) on the rise, esp. for OOS kids. Understanding that the school's priority is its in-state students, I wonder whether W&M will get fewer high-achieving OOSers given the financial climate.</p>
<p>Is there merit money available that I'm not aware of? Any changes afoot there, given the rising costs? I know at least 2 or 3 OOS kids very interested in W&M but the $ is giving them pause. Does W&M want to attract kids like this, or are the OOSers mostly those who can pay full costs?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for sharing any aid insights or experiences .</p>
<p>In addition to the Murray Scholarship we do provide the William & Mary Scholarship each year (students are given funds equal to the amount of in-state tuition each year) to about 50 incoming students and about 80 students enter as Monroe Scholars (with $3000. for research, not tuition). There are also additional small scholarships granted by the Development Office as part of financial aid packages but that is essentially the merit money available. All applicants (regardless of domicile) are considered for these awards but as you can see, they are incredibly limited in number.</p>
<p>We very much want to attract out-of-state students regardless of whether they can pay in full but we do have limited means in terms of scholarships. This is something we are aware of and working towards improving through increased financial aid and we hope eventually additional scholarship opportunities.</p>
<p>Thanks, W&MA. The kids I referred to probably wouldn’t qualify for the William & Mary Scholarship on the diversity/adversity basis. It would be nice if W&M were able to provide more merit aid as costs rise. I see many of the very best and brightest from our (non-VA) high school staying in-state due to finances. It really appears to be a trend for all but the wealthiest families. I imagine this is common in many states these days. Virginians are fortunate to have so many good choices.</p>
<p>We certainly wish we had more merit-based scholarships to provide and that will certainly be a focus of W&M fundraising and planning in the years to come. There’s a financial upside and downside to being a public university. The upside being that we’re generally cheaper than many of our peer institutions but the downside being we have less monies for merit and need-based aid. More students across the country, whether admitted to W&M or not, are staying in-state where tuition is simply cheaper. This is not a phenomenon unique to W&M unfortunately.</p>
<p>W&M Admission- Does W&M provide any merit aid that is bundled within the category of Need-Based Aid? W&M was the only school I received need-based aid from, including schools with a much higher COA (however, these schools were on the CSS Profile and not the FAFSA), and I’m wondering if this was due to the vast different in my FAFSA vs. CSS Profile EFC or whether my award was merit-based. Anyway, thank you for the need-based aid; attending W&M would be impossible without it!</p>
<p>bandgeek, glad to hear your financial aid package is helpful. Financial aid is strictly need based. There are some scholarships that are sometimes awarded with need-based aid but they are still need-based rather than merit-based. The Admission Office awards all merit aid.</p>