Anyone know about receiving merit scholarships when applying and getting accepted via Early Decision? My child applied Early Decision, was accepted and on the same day was accepted to another school she applied to. Prior to declining the offer from the other school, she received a substantial merit scholarship. We decline the school, as it obviously wasn’t her first choice. I’m wondering if applying early decision eliminates your changes of receiving a merit scholarship. We haven’t heard anything yet from the college she accepted.
What is the ED school?
Do they give merit?
What stats?
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Yes
Top 10% of class; 1280 SAT
Hmmm… and the ED decision was in a few weeks ago? If so, and the school normally sends out merit with acceptances or soon after, then it doesn’t sound like one will be offered. Do you know when they normally send merit with ED acceptances?
It’s too bad you declined the other acceptance. With that in hand, you could have contacted RC and asked if merit would be forthcoming because of this other offer you had.
Does she have an exceptionally strong record of high school achievement?
Had you read the above on their website when your daughter applied?
TBH…since her SAT is at the bottom of their considered scores, I’m guessing that to be considered for merit, the student would need to have some other sort of hook, like be an URM or Val of the class.
Did you need merit for the school to be affordable?
Are you instate?.
The student was accepted ED to Ramapo College of New Jersey?
If so, the school would have been under NO obligation to consider a financial aid offer from any other school in terms of reconsidering ED merit aid. The decision to apply ED clearly means that all other acceptances are off the table.
The merit awards at this college are not guaranteed…they are competitive awards. This means that all students with the SAT score listed are considered for the award…but NOT all will receive it. This really has nothing to do with ED vs RD application.
If the school is not affordable, you can decline the ED offer of acceptance.
You could also contact the other school where merit aid was offered, and see if their offer might still be available…maybe it will be. Is that school affordable?
Since merit scholarships exist to entice admitted students to matriculate, it is possible that some colleges are less likely to offer them to ED admits who are almost certain to attend anyway.
Technically yes, but when the other acceptances come in either earlier or the same day as ED (as in this instance), AND the Family mistakenly determined affordability based on belief that ED school would award merit, then the other acceptances aren’t off the table…yet. In this family’s case, at the time they had both acceptances in hand, no merit from ED school, then family could have contacted the ED school, explained that it’s not affordable because merit was (mistakenly) expected. The family could mention the merit from the other school, which made that school affordable. The ED school could then decide to say “no,” or offer some merit to protect yield. But that ship has sailed.
The RC website has conflicting info on their website in two different places. In one place, it suggests that those with a 1250 SAT would be considered, and then in another different place, it indicates 1270. If the family only saw that 1250 mention, then it would be more understandable that they would anticipate some merit offer (even if not guaranteed.)
If this school is NOT affordable w/o merit, then contact the other school that was declined, ask if the acceptance and merit offer could be reinstated…if so…then decline the ED school and go there.
If the merit scholarship is not automatic-for-stats, it should generally be treated as a reach, since there is no way to know how competitive it is. Indeed, it may be substantially more competitive than its minimum qualifications may suggest.
Did this student apply early to the nursing program? Other threads indicate your kid was looking into nursing.
What was the school that offered merit aid? Was that also for nursing?
Merit offers are very school dependent, and also the strength of the applicant pool is considered. At your ED school, it sounds like there was a strong ED applicant pool…maybe this was not the case at the school offering merit aid. OR maybe the school offering merit aid has a lower bar for offering merit aid.
Are you saying you accepted an ED offer of attendance without knowing your financial aid (merit or need based) status?
To others reading this thread…if your student is accepted ED, you need to wait for the financial aid details before making a decision about this acceptance. If it’s not affordable, it’s just not, and you can decline the offer. Don’t withdraw anything else until you know if the ED offer is an affordable one.
The school confirmed that merit info went out with the acceptance letters. We weren’t counting on it. Was just wondering if it was a possibility. This was her first choice so we are OK with paying what it is. Thanks!