Stacking Merit and Financial Aid

Paying for College
1

Is there a list of schools that give both Merit Aid plus financial aid (need based)?
Furthermore, does a list exist for National Merit $ plus need based aid?
Thanks

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2

You need to understan how need based financial aid works. If the schools reduces the need by giving merit aid, you have less need so they may reduce the need based aid or never award it in the first place. The good news is that many schools will eliminate the loans first (yes, loans are often part of need based aid), sometimes allow you to use an outside merit scholarship to pay for something like a computer or books without reducing the aid from the school.

There isn’t going to be a list as every school handles it differently.

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Yeah, unfortunately this is one of those issues where information is not always as easy to come by as you might wish. Some colleges are better than others about explaining their stacking policies, but if it is not clear after a careful look at their financial aid pages, you might want to contact them if it would be material to anything you are deciding at this point.

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You probably need to look at each particular school you’re interested in. Additionally, some schools will only stack merit and need-based aid up to tuition, while others will stack up to the full cost of attendance. If your financial need is not extremely significant (i.e., the university calculates your need as being greater than your merit award), then the merit award is likely to offset any need-based aid you would receive.

5

If you need money and have NMSF or even better NMF, then you’ll have “aggressive” options - and then maybe don’t need to factor in need aid at all. For example, Tulsa gives a full ride for semi-final. Alabama - for finalist, five years of tuition, a year of housing and yearly stipend.

So and I don’t know your need - there are some schools that can be a safety net for you while you seek others. But yes, each school will have their own philosophy on stacking need and merit.

59 Full-Tuition College Scholarships for National Merit Finalists • College Guidepost

Selective Colleges Offering National Merit Scholarships (â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– â– )