<p>geek_mom, can you point me towards some real life examples of the situation described in #1 above? It seems counterintuitive that a 100%-need college would count merit based awards toward reducing "need " . . . as such colleges would fill the original need with need-based awards anyway. In that case, what’s the difference between need and merit awards if your need exceeds your merit award? I had been assuming that merit based awards were in addition to need based, but I’d be interested in hearing the real facts based on real evidence. Thanks.</p>