<p>Is there any way to receive merit scholarships at the Ivies? Most of them have only need-based aid.</p>
<p>No..........</p>
<p>It is an Ivy policy - they all have only need based.</p>
<p>It is probably possible with an outside source with a merit scholarship. However, most scholarships either require an essay or an interview attached to them. Merit scholarships tend to be tied to a particular college or university. If you have not applied for FAFSA, it is an idea. An idea to also do a search on Google.com and Yahoo.com for scholarsips from major companies. However, it might be your best bet to talk to a financial aid counselor about locating more assistance.</p>
<p>I doubt if you need a financial aid counselor to find scholarships.</p>
<p>Talk to the financial aid office at the college to find out if there are an opportunities for other aid that they are aware of.</p>
<p>Your highest probability of success lies with local scholarships. Your guidance counselor may be aware of many of these, but also check things like parents employers, your employer if you have a part time job, etc.</p>
<p>Finally, check sites like fastweb.com for a free scholarship search, though the results are likely to be disappointing.</p>
<p><<your highest="" probability="" of="" success="" lies="" with="" local="" scholarships.="" your="" guidance="" counselor="" may="" be="" aware="" many="" these,="" but="" also="" check="" things="" like="" parents="" employers,="" employer="" if="" you="" have="" a="" part="" time="" job,="" etc.="">>
In our D's experience last year, 100% of the local "merit scholarships" include a section where the applicant is asked to describe his/her financial situation.
I tried to explain to her that it would probably take her out of the running, but her guidance counselor strongly encouraged her to fill out 14 applications and attend the Awards ceremony: our family spent an entire evening watch every single one of the scholarships to which she applied awarded to somebody with lower grades and lesser service/leadership commitments than hers. It was obvious that the primary criterium <em>was</em> need. </your></p>
<p>So, yes, clevfry, look at local scholarships, but if your parents’ financial situation is any better than average in your school/town/state (and I am guessing that it is if you are asking about merit aid at Ivys;-)), don’t waste your time applying;-).</p>
<p>AVos,
Sorry to hear that your GC gave you such very bad advice. Anytime we saw need as a component of any scholarship, my D did not bother to apply. On top of this, most local scholarships are of a relatively small amount (most less than 1k) and the majority are for one year only. I know that 'every bit helps' and that some kids have been able to get a substantial amount of money in outside scholarships, but it must be considered a financial long shot. In my view, local scholarships are good for paying for books or helping out with expenses, but not as a reasonable alternative for funding an Ivy education.</p>
<p>ps. one scholarship available in each state that does not include need as a factor is the Byrd, 1.5k/year, renewable. Each state processes and selects candidates differently.</p>