OK, I’ll stand by to get slammed for this, but here goes anyway: merit scholarships are financial aid. Financial aid has two general components: merit awards (academic, athletic, talent) and need-based awards. The reason I point this out (again) is because this is how things are understood in the broader college financial aid world, and using incorrect terminology or definitions can be confusing. To add to the confusion, many colleges label some of their need-based grants as “scholarships.”