<p>A couple of points to keep in mind…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most college-based merit awards are considered part of your financial aid package. If your “demonstrated need” is $40,000/year at a 100%-need college and the college has offered you a $15,000/year merit award… your “demonstrated need” just got reduced to $25,000/year. Don’t count on a merit tuition reduction being stacked on top of your need-based aid.</p></li>
<li><p>When reviewing award packages, it’s easy to get hung up on the amount of merit aid offered. Sort of like buying a car, the sticker price can be inflated to begin with so that the discount amount can look really big but the dealership is still making a tidy profit and you’re still paying about the same price you’d pay for that car anywhere. What you should look at is the total cost to you, and whether the value of attending that college is worth your cost of attendance. Who defines the value of attending a particular college? You do.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If School X has a TCOA of $160k and offers you $60k in aid, the question you should ask yourself isn’t, “Is $60k enough recognition for me?” The question you should ask yourself is, “Is School X worth $100k to me?”</p>
<p>And if School Y has a TCOA of $60k and offers you only $20k in aid, the question shouldn’t be, “Isn’t it great that generous School X offered me three times as much as stingy School Y did?” The question should be, “Is School X so much better than School Y that I’m willing to pay $60k more to attend School X?”</p>
<p>Good luck. :)</p>