<p>Also bear in mind that signifiant merit aid is tough to get. Very difficult</p>
<p>It can be difficult when the awards are competitive. In those cases, the choice of who got the award can seem odd to the casual observer, but as Cpt notes, sometimes the awards goes to students for a major with low enrollment or for geographic diversity or some other “hook”.</p>
<p>I’ve seen schools like Vandy, which does have some awards, seem to make no sense as to who they award. However, they must have their reasons…more females in eng’g, more students from Hawaii, more male URMs, or whatever.</p>
<p>That said, it’s super easy to get large awards if you have the stats and apply to some schools that FOR SURE give big awards to every student who has the specified stats. For many, applying to a few of those schools is a quick and easy way to have an assured financial safety in one’s pocket from the get-go.</p>
<p>Since your EFC is high due to real estate values, that suggests (to me) that you feel that your EFC is unaffordable since you’re likely not going to sell any assets to pay for college (I understand that, I have rental property as well). </p>
<p>If you want a good sized merit award so that your yearly contribution is more reasonable, then be sure to apply to at least 2-3 schools that will give your child assured large merit. That way, if those safeties end up being your only affordable schools, your child will still have the luxury of making a choice next spring. No child wants to feel railroaded into attending his only affordable school…choice is always good for morale. :)</p>