Merit Scholarships

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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@CrazyCatMama We did not allow our kids to apply anywhere ED because we felt very unsure of what we might receive in terms of FA (on the cusp for income). Also, we weren’t willing to forego the option of going to second choice school if it came through with a great merit deal (freeing up money for grad school, law school). Just our family’s strategy based on our financial situation, age, siblings, kids who would be competitive for some pretty good merit at tier 2 schools, etc. It is a very personal decision to ED or not.

Others can probably give you better information re: the finances vis a vis ED. You CAN turn down an ED offer if it’s not financially feasible, but I always wonder who defines “feasible”? Sometimes NPC’s aren’t super accurate depending on your financial situation - divorce, small business, real estate holdings, etc. Will the school just accept the explanation that you can’t afford their offer because you feel you can’t, or is there pushback? Would it make sense to talk to the FA office before she decides whether to apply ED or not? Hopefully, others with experience in this will chime in!

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@CrazyCatMama we had the same questions when our D was applying a few years ago that you have now. Before signing the ED agreement, I spoke to a FA officer to understand the potential for grant aid a bit better. My D’s FA package turned out better than the NPC was estimating. Others on the UChicago forum have posted that the NPC was pretty accurate. So you should contact FA to get current advice, but the estimate is probably good or perhaps an underestimate of what to expect. Brownie’s experience made sense for their family. Our D originally applied EA and was deferred. So she knew she was very likely out of the running for any merit. Switched to ED2 and was accepted with grants amounting to what we were hoping for merit. So it all worked out for us as well.

Need-based grants are awarded yearly so might decrease or increase depending on circumstances. Merit, however, is a four-year guaranteed award. That’s one important reason to prefer merit aid over need-based.