<p>Does anyone know what type of candidate receives a merit scholarship? Also, how much does BC award and how many?</p>
<p>I don’t believe BC offers much merit aid to undergraduates other than the Presidential Scholarship, given to 15 students among the top 1-2% in the country. BC is big on almost exclusively giving money based on need.</p>
<p>Just the Presidential Scholarship. 
It’s full tuition, which is nice, but I wish they had some things in between so we wouldn’t have to consider BC such a longshot for our daughter. I think the PS is only offered to 15 kids out of the thousands who apply. </p>
<p>Although it’s hard to tell our daughter - who’s a really good kid and who’s worked very hard - that we just can’t afford her dream school, I prefer to look at it from the point of view that the school just might not be a good fit for her. If BC really wanted kids like her, they’d do something to make its tuition affordable for upper middle class kids without them having to take on usurious loans.</p>
<p>the Presidentials are designed to buy kids from the Ivies. Thus, in addition to outstanding ECs, they require Ivy stats to be competitive.</p>
<p>@onthecollegehunt: I agree. So many middles and upper middles are penalized for either having been too financially responsible (work hard for higher salaries, lower debt, more savings) which ultimately disqualifies you for financial aid. The incentives in the system need some redesign.</p>
<p>Interesting. A friend’s daughter received the Presidential two years ago. It “stole” her from USC. She wasn’t admitted to any Ivies.</p>
<p>Is the Presidential allocation different for every school (i.e.: do schools unilaterally determine how much to give to each candidate, and how many candidates receive money)? I ask because I just received a Presidential Scholarship to UVM, and it does not cover the entire cost of tuition. …Still, I am very happy to unexpectedly receive $$$.</p>
<p>hi everyone:) I was wondering how difficult it is to get need based aid because my father earns a good amount of money but we r still unable to afford the full tuition. Thank you</p>
<p>There’s a huge number of folks out here who earn too much to qualify for need-based aid, but not nearly enough to pay full tuition. Our kids are pretty much shut out of schools like BC. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the way the system works right now. Your need will be determined by BC - they use their calculated value, not the one from the federal aid forms. You can play around with the net price calculator to get some idea how they will calculate need: <a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator;
<p>as you play with the price calculator, don’t forget to think about siblings who may be in college later. When sibs are in college at the same time, the EFC is essentially cut in half (1 sib) or by thirds (2 sibs). Thus, one might receive need-based aid later on. (Any amount helps, right?)</p>
<p>I don’t quite understand why people get so excited about “need base” money. You know, it has to be paid back. I say go to a college where you, or your parent’s can afford. If you can’t afford to pay full boat for a particular school, move on. The loans are probably not worth it. Free school is for sports stars, incredibly talented scholars and the poor. As things are now, it is not for someone whose parents make [mid] six figures, or for those who grew up in million dollar homes.</p>
<p>Need based money is not all in the form of loans. Depending on the school, a good bit could be grants, scholarships, and work study, none of which needs to be paid back. A recent study showed that kids from the poorest families actually take out the less in loans than those in lower middle income families.</p>
<p>^^Exactly.</p>
<p>Students at BC are provided federal loans as part of their financial package, but the loans are typically capped at the federal max of $5500. </p>
<p>BC awards millions of grant dollars…which do not need to be paid back.</p>
<p>But yes, those with incomes of $150k+ and a lot of home equity will probably not qualify for much, if any, grant aid, unless they have extenuating circumstances.</p>