<p>Being an applicant for the 10th grade next year, I already know my chances at admissions will be decreased by needing financial aid, so I was just wondering which schools are known to offer generous financial aid. Merit scholarships would definitely be a bonus as well. Here is some FA/merit scholarship information I know of so far:</p>
<ol>
<li>Andover gives full FA if income is below $75,000.</li>
<li>SPS gives if income is below $80,000.</li>
<li>Loomis Chaffee offers the LC Scholars program, but that is for freshman only. Other than that, I've heard that Loomis Chaffee isn't that generous with FA.</li>
<li>Peddie has merit scholarships.</li>
<li>Mercersburg has merit scholarships.</li>
</ol>
<p>What others schools would you say have generous financial or that would be lenient towards a higher financial standing but still middle class, greater than $100,000 but less than $200,000? </p>
<p>Deerfield has a pool of money to award to middle income families (separate from aid to lower income families). The middle income pool is for families with incomes from $80,000-$250,000. They don’t guarantee aid for that group, and whether you get it-- and the amount of the award-- depends on your assets and expenditures, but they do definitely give awards to middle income students.</p>
<p>St. Andrew’s is also known for having an extremely generous FA program.</p>
<p>Two stats to look for:</p>
<ul>
<li>% of students on FA</li>
<li>Average grant</li>
</ul>
<p>I think these help give insight into exactly how generous schools are — are they spreading the wealth around or are they reserving it for a few special cases? </p>
<p>Many of the schools discussed here (I’m trying not to use the word “top” here) do not offer merit aid…IMO, because how does onc choose the most meritorious out of a pool of already outstanding students? </p>
<p>In the case of my school, which is not considered "top"around here, but which is a very good school, Merit Aid is an incentive award offered to high academic achievers who might not otherwise choose us over a school with more prestige. If you really need some financial aid, are a really strong student, and are willing to matriculate at a school where there is a wider range of student abilities (but still top faculty and facilities), do a search on Boarding School Review to see where the merit awards are. Smaller schools can be generous toward a desirable academic prospect.</p>
<p>@Daykidmom , I am currently considering Deerfield and their financial aid program definitely seems helpful! @london203 , that sounds great, but I’m going to be entering as a 10th grader and the merit scholarship seems to only be for entering 9th graders. @mom4kids , I know Groton has very high endowment and I’m looking into the school. Thank you @SevenDad ! That definitely explains why schools like Exeter and Andover don’t have merit scholarships. @Albion , thank you for that suggestion. I am currently using the search tool to look for schools, though many of these scholarships are only for entering 9th graders. I definitely will be applying for financial aid as well!</p>
<p>Andover has an enormous endowment (I believe they recently hit $1 billion or at least are hovering around $900 million) and offer need blind admission. If you get in they will give you however much money you prove you need on the FA forms. Exeter is also almost fully need blind and has a giant endowment as well. Also, Andover does also award some scholarship-type aid. For example I didn’t really need much aid perhaps 50% at most but they awarded me 75% on some sort of founders’ scholarship. Honestly I think you are most likely to get FA from a very topnotch school if you can make it in because theyre the richest OR from a less known one as Albion said because they will be more likely to give merit aid. I don’t know if this made much sense but I hope it helps! </p>
<p>FYI, another stat to consider is not just total endowment…but endowment per student. You’d be surprised how strong a “per student” number many smaller schools have. Also, if you are a girl…Emma Willard has one of the most generous FA programs (if you base it on average grant and percent of student body receiving aid) out there. </p>
@mom4kids , I know Groton has very high endowment and I’m looking into the school. 
Thank you @SevenDad ! That definitely explains why schools like Exeter and Andover don’t have merit scholarships. @Albion , thank you for that suggestion. I am currently using the search tool to look for schools, though many of these scholarships are only for entering 9th graders. I definitely will be applying for financial aid as well!</p>