While there are merit scholarships that require one to have need or an income restriction (like Rhodes’ Bonner Scholars), most merit scholarships I am aware of do not have a need component. Of the 9 “merit scholarships” my D received , 8 (Scripps, Case, UMiami, Hanover, Millsaps, Rhodes, Centre, Texas Tech) were straight merit and 1 (Hamilton - since changed I believe) was a hybrid. It was a stand-alone merit scholarship for 1/2 tuition but for getting that scholarship she received by design very favorable financial aid (no loans, no work study, all grant, fafsa only, and a favorable COA) Hamilton . Even if in the next year we had won the lottery and had zero found need the merit award would remain intact. BTW, Scripps is almost the same way, except it’s considered as strictly merit (but the net effect is exactly the same).
I know of several programs that are merit based but have limitations on first gen, location, major, and income but the majority of schools and scholarships I’ve posted about do NOT require need or a particular race or ethnicity. I always tried to concentrate on those generally available as I never had much faith that need would be found anywhere for us.
As to the larger picture, the whole scheme for the calculation of eligibility for need-based aid is broken beyond repair. It is like it was designed by Brittany Spears.
I concur that Case was not only very clear about their criteria for merit scholarships, they were also very generous. S even got two scholarships at his state school. But of the nine merit scholarships that they offer, five of them are designated as “A scholarship to promote diversity”. Of the remaining four, three of them are various degrees of the big full-ride scholarship and the last one is for engineering students. So, if you aren’t a competitor for the full ride, don’t add diversity and aren’t studying engineering, they have pretty much nothing for you. I imagine that private institutions might have more to offer to the general population.
For students and their families looking for colleges with merit money, they should take a few minutes to check into the criteria for scholarships (be it gpa and/or other.)
cadbury,
As for Brown, it’s not true that they meet need only up to the level of a state college. My son received a very generous pkg this yr. Brown even increased the amt when shown Yale’s better pkg (and we continually have had very high medical bills). Case offered my son the top merit award but NO additional need based aid - same for UMiami but the Singer award was for full tuition so no complaints there. Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason to this process. I guess it’s just how badly the school wants the kid. UVA offered my son an amazing FA pkg, yet UNC offered no $ (merit or FA) but accepted him early and into the honors college.
My son is a H.S. junior, just starting all of this college search. We, too, are looking for a school with a good merit-based package. I think I will enjoy reading (and hopefully contributing to) this forum. Does anyone know how to “subscribe” to this thread?
Ok. I actually found it in the profile options to automatically subscribe to a thread, so I’m good to go! Another question - is there a way to make the thread “flip” so that the newest posts are first instead of last?
Does anyone know what the upper ceiling of income is to receive merit at selective schools? No one probably knows really. Just curious whether it’s worth filling out all the forms.
Also worth noting when looking at college costs – some highly capable students are spending a fair amount on college but emerging in just four years with master’s degres in marketable fields (engineering, computer science, applied math). It’s not just the money going into sending them to college. It’s also whether or not they will hit the ground running in terms of getting jobs when they graduate. I can see spending $200K if daughter will go directly into an $75K job with company that may very well send her through post-graduate school in a few years. Several friends have that exact scenario playing out witht their children and are quite pleased.
mammall, if you’re talking about the Ivies and that tier of schools, there are no “merit” scholarships. All of their aid is need-based.
Of the schools that do give merit money, some schools require financial aid forms showing parental income, but most don’t. Merit money is awarded based solely on the student’s performance without regard to financial need. That’s why a lot of us, who don’t qualify for what colleges consider “need-based aid” but can’t afford, in the real world, to pay full freight for an expensive college, rely on or look for merit scholarships to help make up the difference.
Chedva - sorry, I mistakenly put in the word “merit” instead of “need.” I’m just bad and lazy and don’t want to fill out need based forms if it’s a fruitless effort, which I suspect.
It is impossible to give a definite number for anyone’s specific circumstances, but a week or so ago there was a thread in which someone referenced an MIT admission staffer’s (Matt) blog entry that expressed amazement at the number of families with annual incomes of $200K applying for financial aid, and then related a couple of humorous anecdotes about such folks. So, I guess we can safely say that $200K is beyond the upper limit at MIT!
We sent in the financial aid documents, knowing we probably wouldn’t qualify. But we sent them as a “hedge” against changed circumstances. If something happened in the middle of the year (illness, job loss, whatever), we could contact the FA office and at least they’d have all the paperwork already - we wouldn’t have to scramble to get the information at the last minute.
And some schools specifically state that if you don’t apply for FA as a freshman, but do apply subsequently, you’re at the bottom of the list when it comes to doling out money. That may not matter in a “meet 100% of need” school, but it could at others.
Some of those just-below-the-top schools that offer merit awards as a lure for top applicants are also relatively generous with advanced standing credits for those students, allowing them to move into master’s level courses in time to complete a master’s degree within four years.
When my son (a computer science and math student) was choosing between the last two schools he was admitted to, the ability to move quickly into substantive courses was one of the deciding factors, along with the great merit scholarship. (The money alone would not have been enough to make the decision for him, although it was enough to get him to make two trips to check the school’s offerings thoroughly.)
I think students should be careful about scholarship offers. More than short-term money considerations should be involved in the decision, if that is at all possible. Fortunately, I think some students are able to take advantage of merit money with no loss in educational opportunities.
Actually, when my oldest D was in the midst of her college search and application process, we were told–repeatedly–that, regardless of their personal income, <em>all</em> families should file a FAFSA and related financial aid forms. Apparently, not at MIT, I guess.
To keep up geezermom’s “Ohio” theme, Ohio State University also has some generous merit aid programs for out-of-state students.
Some of the IVY and top schools financial aid reps said that after $150,000 they still give aid to families with other children in college and persons with special circumstances (special needs child at home-generally health related, supporting parents, parent has cancer, etc.). Ditto momonthehill
