<p>Hi...new to this, so if has been discussed my apologies.</p>
<p>Seems that some financial aid is "need based" meaning aid is given/awarded based on a student/family's "need." Some financial aid is given/awarded regardless of need and thus "need blind" and thus based on "merit."</p>
<p>Shouldn't aid be based on need rather than merit? I mean it is the student/family that can't afford to send their kid to college that NEEDS the aid. Didn't both sets of kids (the one that may not be able to afford and the one that "merited" an award) BOTH work hard and "merit" the aid?</p>
<p>Both sets probably do "merit" the aid. However, colleges want to attract top students, regardless of financial circumstances. Merit aid may help to convince students to attend School A rather than School B, which did not give as much aid. And, as many of us have discovered, those EFC's are not always a good indication of what a family really CAN afford to pay. AND some schools do not give enough need-based aid (They do not meet 100% of aid.), so merit aid may be all that makes it possible for some kids to afford a certain school. I know I am very glad my son won some merit aid, because I do not see how we could possibly afford to send him to college without it.</p>