<p>One could say that ALL FA is merit based in that it puts one in a more competitive pool of applicants. Remember what happened at Exeter last year? Only FA apps rated A1 were admitted (and thus given FA). It seems that many kids on this board were told that the reason for their denial or waitlist was due to financial need.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it’s true that “most schools have merit aid.” I think most may sweeten the pot if it’s a student that they really want, but it will only go to kids with financial need. Sometimes, the difference in aid awards and out of pocket expenses will make the decision for a family. </p>
<p>“Merit Aid” usually means that students do not need to qualify for FA to be eligible. Perhaps we just have different understandings of what that means. Only a few schools, to my knowledge, offer financial assistance to students whose families can afford to pay the full tuition.</p>
<p>I think what happened in Exeter last year was that they actually WL’ed/rejecteded some applicants rated A1 because they were applying for FA. Accoding to the Exonian article, some teachers did think that this practice affected the quality of the admitted class negatively. Exeter also suffered a relatively lowered yield because of it (64% I think?).</p>
<p>Back to the merit aid topic, I don’t if newebs was explicitly told part of the aid they received was merit based. I am curious what it is.</p>
<p>Our situation is a bit different from most on the board because my DD was applying only to local day middle schools. But her ISEE scores weren’t that great and she got a FABULOUS FA package. She went through ABC and had great grades, good essays and good teacher recs. The program director told us for most of the day schools if the child gets at least 50% total they are in the pool of acceptable applicants and also that the middle schools don’t factor in test scores as much as the high schools. My DDs ISEE scores were:</p>
<p>We knew math was her weakest subject but were a bit shocked by how low her math/qualitative scores were. Her SSAT math score was even lower. But she was accepted to 3 schools and waitlisted for 2. So scores aren’t everything!</p>
<p>You don’t have to get over 85% to get FA or admitted to top 10 schools.
EC plays a big roll. Plus if are gifted, talented, consisitent with your grades, good essays and recommendations, it helps too. Also awards play a big roll. Was identified by Duke talent program, achived high score in ACT and SAT duing 7th grade, President’s Oustanding award also helped.</p>
<p>They look at the total package for acceptance and FA award and how baldly they want you.
The dropped the enrolled cost $150 too and waivered technology fee of $550, and free laptop and books paid too. I guess how you present you application plays a big roll.</p>
<p>I am not trying to argue with anyone. This year admission is very tight at all top schools. A lot of people are hoping waitlist will open up or a maricle will happend. FA is also very tight. Some schools that offered FA to 36% of enrolled students lastyear dropped it to 27% this year. That is the reason we applied to 13 shools, and received positive news on some and negative news from others. I am gald we had 3 solid results out of 13.</p>
<p>I am sort of new at all of this…so this may be a silly question - but…For those receiving FA - Does it generally match what SSS determines is the Family Contribution? Or is it generally not in line with SSS at all?</p>
<p>The President’s Outstanding Award is given based on grade’s and teachers recommendations, I dont’ think it is very competitive, the students do not apply for the award and I don’t think all schools participate.</p>
<p>Saying most schools offer merit scholarships is misleading and can possibly lead folks in the wrong direction. Merit scholarships that do not take into account your financial need are not common at most boarding schools. SPS states: St. Paul’s School offers special-interest scholarships through specific programs, all of which have a preference for financial need.<br>
Andover states: All financial aid scholarships are awarded through the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends of the Academy and are guaranteed through endowed scholarship funds. I think most schools have a similar policy. </p>
<p>There are some schools that offer strictly merit scholarship,s I can think of Miss Porter’s and Mercersburg, but there are others. List have been posted with additional schools on this site. </p>
<p>I agree with neato, all financial aid scholarships are based on merit, since it is more competitive to gain admittance when seeking financial aid.</p>
<p>@dadprep - in our case, the amount we received from three schools was precisely the amount we entered that we hoped to receive in aid on the PFC under sources of funding. One school awarded 1000 more than that. Another awarded tuition and fees minus the EFC but then added on books and computer. So the short answer is, it depends! It depends on the school’s policy and how much they want them to enroll I guess. </p>
<p>An example: we were told that although son was perfectly “admissable” at one school, they could not fund him. They offered to accept him if we could somehow pay the full tuition. How do I interpret this? They want him, but not enough to pay for him. There were plenty of other kids who did get aid. They must have filled a need that the school had, or were simply stronger applicants than my son for that particular school. This is what I mean when I say that all FA is, in a sense, merit based. But the merit is not merit in simple measures of academic accolades. It’s merit in that there is something the student has that the school wants. And it only applies to FA kids. It could be something as intangible as personality. This is why it is so important not to take decisions personally. At the school I referenced above, it is entirely possible that FA funds went to students with lower paper stats than my son. That is perfectly OK. Not everything can be quantified, as much as we would like to think it can.</p>
<p>newebs, I am not arguing with you. I was just seeking more information. Could you tell me if the school told you explicitly that part of your aid is merit based scholarship, and based on what merit? As noted by other CC’ers, some schools - but not the top tier schools often mentioned here - give out merit based scholarships. (In addition to M’berg and Miss Porter’s I know Kent has merit scholarships too) I was just curious from what kind of schools a student with 82% SSAT can expect to possibly get a merit based scholarship. I am sorry if this sounds unfriendly - not what I meant to be honestly.</p>
<p>neato - Thanks for the information! We haven’t yet received the FA Package from my son’s #1 pick…we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the school will meet our need. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Dadofprep ~ In our case, our EFC was $3820. Two schools accepted DD and offered aid, at one we would pay $2700 and the other $3100, so in our case, it was definitely in the ballpark and was actually less than what SSS said we could afford. In the case of the $2700, that is exactly the number I said I could afford on the PFS and on their supplemental form. I’m not sure if they lowered the amount we pay because they know there will be additional fees throughout the year, or if they apply a different formula. I am happy with our FA results.</p>
<p>What I think Neato means (she and I have talked about this) is that FA is competitive. Schools have only so much to give out and more applicants than money. So…they pick the BEST students. That could mean, they have an awesome underwater tuba player needing FA and their underwater band is in desperate need of one…it could mean the student is of higher academic standing than their “average,” or any number of things. It’s not 100% need-based because they don’t have enough money to go around.
That said, they don’t usually give out thousands of dollars over EFC, it is just how they decide who to offer $ to.</p>
<p>In our case his #1 school gave us the right #'s according to the EFC , another school was not even in the ballpark. More than $forty k difference!</p>
<p>I dont think she said she had received a merit scholarship. This is really my question. Did you get a merit based scholarship? What school offers such a scholarship to a candidate with 82% SSAT? I didn’t even say it’s impossible. I said it’s not that common. And I understand if you don’t want to share that info.</p>
<p>I think the debate falls under the heading of a semantic distinction. Newebs, you are offending others by insisting on equating generous FA offers with “merit scholarships.”</p>
<p>Full FA (no matter how generous) is not a merit scholarship. As I understand it, Exeter and Andover (for example) distribute FA to accepted students. The student’s need, as determined by the external agency, determines the size of the award. A school might be more generous to the top-ranked accepted candidates, and less likely to meet full need for accepted candidates who do not meet whatever unique needs the school must fulfill. In neither case, however, is it a “merit scholarship.” </p>
<p>A “merit scholarship” is usually used by schools (and colleges) to persuade very impressive students to enroll. It is understood that the student might deserve a place at a more prestigious school. The scholarships are usually named, drawn from endowed funds reserved for the purpose of drawing outstanding students with defined characteristics to the school, and frequently awarded without considering a candidate’s need for FA. The funds used for “merit scholarships” are not distributed among the student body at large.</p>
<p>The merit scholarship (as I understand it) was the original form of financial support offered to deserving scholars (back in the dark ages). Some schools may still have a few named scholarships. This is most likely to occur when a school’s administration could not persuade the donors (or their designees or a judge, as many of the donors will have shed this mortal coil) to change the original terms of the gift. Unless you have been told that you are “Daddy Warbucks Scholar,” or, “we have awarded you a merit scholarship,” you have not received a merit scholarship. </p>
<p>A candidate may receive very generous financial aid, and the schools may want him or her very badly. That does not transform financial aid into a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Let’s not forget…balance. A balanced community.</p>
<p>My d applied as a 2nd yr student, SSAT 90%, Great Recs, All A’s,(except B in PE-no hand-eye-coordination–lol) 100+ hours of community service 8th and 9th grade. Dancer since age of 3.</p>
<p>Now the 'balance"—English/Humanities/philosophy strength, though very strong in math and science—no passion, Chinese and Japanese are he languages of choice, editor of current school’s newsletter, and a classical ballet dancer, avid reader, not particularly a born leader, but never a follower, unless she truly believes. </p>
<p>I forgot to say…from the Midwest…lol.</p>
<p>We were full FA, one school gave full FA + travel, another school full FA no travel, her favorite, I will have to pay $5500, what SSS suggested. All tier one.</p>