<p>Hello! I was admitted to Rice under ED. I was wondering, do merit scholarship notifications come out the same time as regular decision notifications? </p>
<p>Under what criteria does Rice award merit aid? (I checked the website but the descriptions are so vague.) </p>
<p>Thanks guys! =)</p>
<p>Have you filed your financial aid paperwork?</p>
<p>I filed CSS. No need-based aid. =( (My EFC was higher than the tuition cost. Haha.) Haven’t done the FAFSA yet because my mother has yet to file her taxes for this year.</p>
<p>Have you asked the school? The common wisdom is that the school does not have to give out merit aid during ED since the students are locked in to come. So it is a question of whether they give out scholarships to some along with ED admissions or whether they hold them all until RD for everyone.</p>
<p>I was admitted ED too and from what I understood we would have already found out about merit aid when we found out if we were accepted. Also, if we were told no need based aid based on the CSS, there is no point in filling out the FAFSA, correct?</p>
<p>I plan on filling out fafsa anyways. I was reading through some previous threads and some ed applicants were notified of merit aid after rd decisions came out. I emailed the financial aid office and will post their reply when they do.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure (though not 100%) that you should have been notified that you have received a merit scholarship at the time of your ED acceptance notification.</p>
<p>aethermist, Do you think filling out the fafsa will change the status of whether or not you qualify for need based aid? I’m just asking because I don’t know if I should fill it out or not.</p>
<p>Rice gives out some merit scholarships with ED. The awards show up online (I can’t remember the name of the tab, but it was somewhere near the acceptance for admission). There were also separate letters in the blue folder that came in the mail.</p>
<p>Rice doesn’t lock in students to come if they are accepted. The web site states: If accepted to Rice under Early Decision, you must commit to Rice and withdraw all other college applications by January 1, or you must withdraw your application to Rice.</p>
<p>In other words, you must provide an answer to the school between December 15th and January 1st.</p>
<p>@ScienceGirlMom - Early Decision is a binding agreement. You are locked in if accepted, except in the case of financial circumstances. But even then, it’s difficult, as by applying early decision you indicated that you understood you would need to pay. If you choose to break the agreement, you are breaking a contract. Rice may notify other schools of this, and they may choose to revoke any other offers of admission.</p>
<p>Adamb: I disagree. If its a binding agreement to attend, then why would they give you the option to withdraw your application?</p>
<p>All ED applications are considered binding if admitted. About 98% or so commit (not sure of Rice’s numbers but this seems to be the general trend for top schools). The fine print stated above works for the other 2% who for whatever reason do not sign the contract.</p>
<p>Rice Class of 2016 stats revealed that out of 306 ED acceptances, 291 students matriculated to Rice. What happened to the other 15 students? I’m sure they matriculated elsewhere most likely due to financial reasons (whether they did not get enough FA from Rice and more FA from other universities, etc). ED is binding but I am sure each case is settled individually for their unique circumstances.</p>
<p>Sorry for any confusion - let me clarify. Here’s what you can’t do:
Apply ED to Rice. Get accepted, with too little aid money to afford attendance. Apply to other schools RD. Wait and see financial options. Make decision.
That can get you in the sort of trouble I mentioned earlier. However, if you find you cannot afford attendance, you may cancel your ED contract with Rice before January 15th. But that door closes permanently. Does that make more sense?</p>
<p>Here’s what the [Rice</a> website](<a href=“http://financialaid.rice.edu/main.aspx?id=36]Rice”>http://financialaid.rice.edu/main.aspx?id=36) says:</p>
<p>All incoming freshman applicants for admission to Rice are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships. It is not necessary to apply for need-based financial aid to be considered for merit-based scholarships, and no additional applications are required.</p>
<p>I read that to mean that you don’t need to submit CSS or file FAFSA to receive merit money. Has anyone been told otherwise?</p>
<p>^^ That’s correct, austinpop. My son received merit money and we didn’t submit CSS or file FAFSA.</p>
Was anyone the recipient of merit aid at Rice this year? I’m wondering how hard it is to get it. Got a student with
36 ACT, NMF, amazing scientific research, music, leadership etc. Got in, but NO aid at all. Perhaps it was related to not visiting or showing interest - trying to figure out. Thanks.
Merit aid is pretty difficult to get at Rice and is based on extracurriculars or other personal experiences. There is no real indicator of who gets merit aid.
Additionally, you will be notified of any merit scholarship upon acceptance. You can check on the Esther Website (esther.rice.edu) > Financial Aid Tab > Award Status > Award History
@seniormom3 - I can’t comment on this year’s merit aid, but I can state that in recent years, merit aid was hard to get. My sons had similar stats (but no music!), and neither received any merit aid from Rice. They were both accepted in Early Decision.