Schools known for good merit aid

Parents Forum
1161

My D’s FA renews the same amount each year as long as the FAFSA figures don’t change drastically. What you have to be aware of is that the schools can increase in cost about 1.5% each year; therefore, your obligated gap that you will be responsible for covering will increase.

Colleges, typically, say they don’t play financial aid match, but catch them at the right times it doesn’t hurt to try. I drove to the school of D’s 1st choice without an appointment to have a face to face meeting. We talked a bit about the colleges she was accepted by and then mentioned our financial award from school B to the FA counselor. She stated she really doesn’t take it into consideration, but she did take it and look at it. After pulling our D’s stats up on her computer, she asked what it would take to get our D to be able to afford their school since they about $12,000 higher than school B. I said if they could come up $6,000 from their offer the gap would equal the other school and we expressed how much more we preferred D in this school.

We were told that a review would be made by a supervisor and get notified in 1 week. My D is now in the school of her choice. :slight_smile:

I felt the unannounced face to face visit is the best thing one could do. If the school is one that is known for their generosity they are likely to help squeeze out some more assistance. I am speaking from a need-based position which I’m sure helped the decision making but I don’t want to neglect that my D’s application was desirable to have as a student.

It doesn’t hurt to try no matter what school it is. Just ask them if they could meet the FA to equal the gap of another school. You may catch someone in a good mood and they may be worried about getting seats filled at a particular time in the enrollment process.

1162

Hey, I’d like to know what colleges we’re talking about! 1.5% increase/year? Try 1,120% over a 30 year period!!! I think I saw the average annual increase to be 8 or 9%!

[Cost</a> Of College Degree In U.S. Has Increased 1,120 Percent In 30 Years, Report Says](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>Cost Of College Degree In U.S. Has Increased 1,120 Percent In 30 Years, Report Says | HuffPost College)

Generally, I’ve observed the less selective (none or shorter waiting lists) are those willing to dicker net cost, i.e. FA vs sticker price.

And here’s somethings to watch in the coming years … mostly dealing with demographic decline and shifting markets due to viable, lower cost alternatives. This will be to the consumer’s advantage, if played properly.

We’ve been hearing from virtually every college in the land about how much increase/growth they’ve seen in apps over the past X# of years. Well, that’s mostly a function of 2 phenomena …

<ol>
<li>Demographic uptick that is now becoming a downtick and it can’t be changed. There will simply be fewer prospects in coming years than there have been over the past 10 years or so.</li>
</ol>

A. AND … no doubt we’ll begin to see more and more marginal students seriously considering more viable, logical, and economical alternatives as the economy continues to shrivel … and it will. We’re going to see the classical no-job possibility fields like psych, communications, drama, performing arts, classics, history, philosophy, etc. become less and less marketable. It will become an ever-harsh reality for kids (and parents) who’ve spent 4 years and tens or hundreds of thousands of $$$ to come out and be unemployable or working at Burger King or McD’s. And then to have to start payback on loans. This is going to be a really painful gut-check time. This is going to seriously impact MANY of the so-called liberal arts colleges (they really are not that, but they hold onto the label.)

<ol>
<li>
The common application that provides for applying to many for a few bucks more and a push of the computer button. That’s led many colleges to perceive their real student pools as delusionally inflated. There are just a whole bunch of students out there fishing with multiple lines in the water, with little intention of going to most of those places absent “let’s make a deal of the century, friend!”
</li>
<li>
Sustainability … they all talk about this, but all of them keep taking more and more students, over-building and re-building to accommodate students who will not be there. But the bills will have to be paid anyway, and guess who will get stuck. Right. Those there. This is one of the seductions of all those nice, new dorms that have been constructed in recent years, based on unrealistic enrollment models.
</li>
<li>
On-line options that are grossly lower in cost and result in the very same diploma. Liberty is the consummate case. They have about 80 or 90K on-liners paying half the tuition of on-campus students. For the same course. Go figure. This will play to the “good” for resident, traditional students in general.
</li>
</ol>

1163

Good post!

I agree that college tuition had a period of unsubstantiated inflation. My tuition at a good Boston College was only $17K in my senior year (1979). That didn’t sound outrageous back then either.

I believe the cancerous growth tumor evolved in part to milk the Gov’t funding to a greater degree. Inflated costs=Larger handouts from the Gov’t Sugar Daddy. Now, who’s your Daddy?

Only once in my life, years back when my business declined and wife pregnant, did we apply for a food stamp handout until I quickly regrouped and got back on my feet within a year. Now my D is getting $40K in Federal & State scholarships/grants. Someone is robbing the henhouse and it’s not me because none of that money ever touched my hands. I have to accept it of course because I can’t afford to play the education game with the big dollar high rollers - Gov’t & Colleges/Universities. They have established a game that’s gone out of control. Gee, and it involves the Gov’t - who’da thunk!

The 1.5% increase was what the FinAid counselor told me I should plan on as a projected annual increase so I can supplement my occupation with a graveyard shift janitorial position to pay my share of the bill.

Gotta’ run and text my D real quick to switch majors to either Political Science or Business Administration with focus in College/University management. I believe those will be the only prosperous jobs left when she graduates. Go where the money is!

1164

As we speak, sorta … today we received the annual “be forewarned” letter. Listen to the baloney … and remember this being sent in a year when average annual household incomes have DECLINED over $5,000. CPI is down. Unemployment is at sustained record highs, and on and on. And here’s what the prexy had the gall to write the poor suckers …

“…like public and private colleges everywhere, we are facing the reality of rising costs” … “…we recognize that the cost can still be a challenge to you and your family. (Duh!)During every budget cycle we diligently analyze how to best utilize university resources to both control costs and aspire to greatness …” (Brought a tear to my eye, and a lump to my throat. Wow! Greatness! Now here’s where it REALLY ramps up!)

“Due to that good work, I’m pleased to report that the coming year’s tuition increase will remain below 5% for the 2nd year in a row!”

We all got up and ran around the supper table! What fabulous news!

In truth, this baloney sounds like the government sequestration. "We’re cutting the rate of increase! Slash and burn! Oh woe is Uncle Sam and this ‘poor’ university! How will we EVER survive on a lousy 4.999999% increase in a year when consumer price index tanked some 7%.

These people think we’re idiots. And in many regards … they’re right. They realize they’ve got captive slaves, and they’re working us to death.

Where is the government in controlling THIS massive rip-off of interstate commerce! It’s collusion.

Just imagine how thrilled we’d have been if the presidential edict had announced a pauperish 1.5% increase! Might as well not even go to work.

Well, I’m no better off fiscally, but I sure feel better! :confused:

1165

In 1979 I could get a Snickers candy bar for a dime. Now they are about $1.25…

1166

Remember when this used to be a thread about Schools known for good merit aid?

1167

lol … Perhaps you are one who thinks you’ve gotten a deal when the car salesman offers you a bundle on your trade-in, sacrificially of course. :wink:

Don’t we wish determining value were that simple.

Better yet is being equipped to determine the “best” institution and fit for the least amount of dad’s outlay. The vagaries and differences among cheap, price, cost, and value can be confounding. “Is” doesn’t always mean “is.” More recently, we’re being reprogrammed that we might be deluded that “balanced” has nothing to do with “balancing.” In fact they are total opposites. :confused:

1168

I’ll be happy to get back to merit aid! The first two colleges my daughter was accepted at both offered significant merit-based aid, I think due largely to my daughter’s test scores & GPA being above their typical range for incoming freshmen. (Both schools have decent U.S. News rankings, BTW, so her dad & I were confident that she’d receive a quality education at either place.) The school my daughter recently committed to offered even better financial aid overall (slightly more merit-based aid, significantly more need-based aid), probably because it seems to have a larger endowment and very active alumni support.

1169

congrats to your daughter Cathy! care to name the schools?

1170

Monmouth College (IL) and Franklin College (IN); she committed to Monmouth. Not only did Monmouth offer great financial aid, they invited her to participate in their Honors Program! I visited both campuses with my daughter when she did her scholarship interviews, and was impressed by both schools, but I’m content with her attending Monmouth.

1171

Not to shake this up again…but this thread was originally started to show what schools give merit aid without a financial aid component. Once you are eligible for financial aid, it is hard to separate the “merit” from the “financial” since schools award money for those with need and those without need differently.

So when someone says that they were awarded $10K in merit money and $10K in financial aid money–in essence they rec’d $20K in financial aid, because more than likely the $10K in merit is only available to those with need and is NOT available to those without need.

For many schools, it’s as if the applications for $ are sorted into to piles. One pile are those whose EFC is above the cost of attending (and they therefore don’t qualify for need based aid.) The other pile is for those who qualify for some aid.

The first pile kids can perhaps receive merit aid,but only if the school gives aid to those without need. However, those schools are dwindling and have less money to offer.

So while CathyM’s D rec’d a package that included a portion of her financial aid that was deemed “merit aid”, it does not necessarily reflect merit aid that would be given to those without need.

1172

uskoolfish–I disagree given that most merit money is awarded before the financial picture is known to colleges, especially at most of the schools on this list. If what you are saying is true, our kids would have gotten NO merit awards. If the merit money came out on a financial aid package only, then it’s possible there was some financial component to that award. Often “scholarships” are listed as aid, but they aren’t specifically for good grades, etc. It’s just listed that way as money that doesn’t have to be paid back. Since most of the schools people are talking about on this tread (until recently anyway) give automatic awards for GPA/test scores, they are not financially based.

1173

The rise in the cost of College has exceeded every category ( including health care) over the last forty years. One poster states a snickers var was 10 cents in 1979 and $ 1.25 today. That would mean a multiplier of 12.5 for the cost of a 1979 candy bar to compare to today’s inflated prices! Although I cannot speak about a snickers bar I can state that the correct multiplier to use to compare the cost of an item in 1979 to today’s cost is 3.2! In other words, based on the CPI, to compare 1979 dollars to 2012 dollars you would multiply the 1979 cost by 3.2! ( this includes all consumer items including the cost of education, health care, real estate, computers, TVs, tobacco products, household goods, cars, fuel, etc). Therefore, a college which has an annual tuition and room/board of $55,000 in 2013 would have the same impact in 1979 dollars as the annual tuition ( along with rm/board) of approximately $17,000 ! I do not recall ANY undergraduate schools costing 17k for tuition, room and board in 1979! When I applied to medical school,the tuition at Georgetown medical school was exactly 17k ( including rm and board ) and that was way above most other private medical schools. Half the class at Georgetown was in the military! Therefore, the cost of college today is way way higher than it was in 1979 for no good reason! Inflation is out of the picture with that multiplier. Our leaders complain about the rise in health care cost ( granted its not for only 4-8yrs of one’s life) but the cost of college/grad school has surpassed the rise in the cost of health care by leaps and bounds! The ROI is dwindling !

1174

SteveMA: Why do you assume that merit aid is given before financials are known?

That is perhaps the case in a some schools that do offer true merit aid. But fewer and fewer schools fall into this category. And even schools that do award true merit aid often require the FAFSA to be filed. I’ve been through the process twice now and know many other students who are in similar situations: searching for merit aid to be able to afford school, but with two salary incomes that are above the benchmark for any financial aid.

Merit aid is often added to aid packages to students that a school really wants. (But if a school’s policy is to give $ to students with need only, students with high FAFSA’s will not be considered.)

1175

^^ Also if you look on the common data set for colleges, you will see which schools offer “merit aid” by my definition (to students regardless of need.)

You will see that some students get what they consider “merit aid” from various schools, but the schools themselves are listing it as part of a financial aid package, not merit aid.

1176

Because true merit awards are given before the FAFSA is filed at a lot of schools. Every school our kids applied to except 1 gave merit information with acceptance or shortly there after (EA). The one that did not doesn’t give merit. I understand that more “merit” shows up on FA statements, we’ve gotten some of that as well but those awards are small-$1000-1500 for us. The larger Presidential type scholarships-$18,000-28,000 in our case, were all awarded last fall. The smaller ones were “hey, we really want you here” awards.

1177

Different colleges do things different ways. We had to give preliminary CSS profiles even with ED and EA applications to some schools. And many schools don’t award merit in these early rounds, especially to early decision candidates.

But in general, the key is to research every school and have realistic expectations based on your specific financials. It’s important to know the different qualifications for awards and to understand that just because someone says they have received a scholarship or merit aid with equal stats to yours, there still may other (financial) factors involved.

1178

Then those are not true merit awards now are they? Those are financial aid awards with a merit component. A true merit award would go to anyone if they have the GPA/test scores to qualify and income is irrelevant. A person with a 3.8 GPA and a 32 ACT from a household income of $500,000 would have the same award as someone with a 3.8 GPA and a 32 ACT with a household income of $10,000.

1179

For this thread to be truly helpful, it should only include merit award and not include any financial component. There are other threads addressing financial aids.

1180

Steve. We totally agree! I’m just saying that many people on this thread and others (and in the real world) often say a school offers merit aid when it isn’t true merit aid.

And once a person speaks about the financial aid a school granted to them as well, it might have been a factor in qualifying.

:slight_smile: