Tips for those looking for merit aid

Parents Social Lounge
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<p>1) Don't assume you or your kid "will get a scholarship." Look at how much money a school offers (some max out merit aid at $7,000-$10,000 on COA's of $30,000-$50,000; some lower tier state school don't offer merit aid above $1,000 a year) and the listed requirements (stats, rank, NMSF status, etc.) . Just because an applicant has exceptional stats for a school doesn't mean he or she will necessarily receive a full ride.</p>

<p>2) Look at merit aid in relation to COA. $11,000 at a $23,000 COA school may mean "more" than $20,000 at a $45,000 COA school.</p>

<p>3) Examine if the merit money is a set dollar amount or if it is adjustable with regard to tuition, fee, room, or board increases. Yearly cost hikes can add up significantly over four years, making your total out-of-pocket cost thousands (or even $10,000 +) more than the inital calculations may indicate.</p>

<p>4) Look at the renewal requirements. Do they seem realistic? One university in my state requires a 3.7 per semester minimum for top scholarship renewal, even for engineering majors. Keep in mind that college GPAs are often significantly lower than high school GPAs (yes, even for top students!). This is especially true the first year or two of college.</p>

<p>5) Unless you are looking at few "financial reaches," make cost and merit aid the FIRST thing you look at when examining schools.</p>

<p>6) If possible, try to apply to at least a few schools with guaranteed merit aid (based solely on stats) that will be in your price range! </p>

<p>7) Be sure to budget time and money for schools that require scholarship weekends and/or in-person interviews.</p>

<p>8) Apply broadly.</p>

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<p>I would add, don’t get solely focused on merit aid. Your cost after need-based aid may be comparable or less. In GA, students who graduate with a 3.0 in HS go to the state universities tuition-free, though they have to pay for room and board and a portion of their fees. My two Ds at Harvard pay less each year after aid than the cost of room and board at one of our state schools.</p>

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<p>question, excellent points. Also many schools will require a higher gpa to keep larger merit awards. Some will reduce the merit award (not take all of it away) if that gpa is not met, at some you can earn it back, at others it just taken away. Some privates have the gpa bar set as high as 3.3 (have not seen the 3.7, but I believe you) and at other schools you just need to make academic progress and the bar is set at 2.0. Big difference!</p>

<p>Also, for those with finances that do not fluctuate much, FA can work just as well. Here the pressure of meeting a gpa is not there, but the FA can change annually. You might want see how much gapping there is on average, and if need is met mostly through grants, or through loans and w/s. Might want to look at that for freshman and subsequent years as well. You cannot count on the “average” package either.</p>

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<p>True, but for some people, it may be “safer” to rely on merit aid than need-based aid–for example, families who could not meet their EFC or who could but meeting it would be a financial “stretch.”</p>

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<p>Agreed - bear in mind that to successfully get merit aid, you need to be willing to go to a school at which you’d be considered significantly “over-qualified.” After all, that’s why they’re paying your way.</p>

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<p>I’m just starting with some of this for my s.
what does coa mean?
when are the cutoff scores of the national merit being posted?</p>

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<p>COA=Cost of Attendance (Tuition, Fees, Room, and Board–some people include books or travel in this)</p>

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<p>I knew we wouldn’t qualify for need based aid, but I knew we didn’t have enough in the 529 to pay 100% out of pocket for a private school. I looked for schools within Son’s perameters where he was likely to receive merit aid…no need to apply to reaches where he would not be offered merit aid.</p>

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<p>I disagree with both gadad and missypie. A well thought out selection of schools - yes. At the same time why exclude reaches, you never know. My second applied to 3 reaches, 2 matches & 2 safeties. Was accepted at all with great scholarships (merit). You don’t need to be over qualified to end up with merit aid. The annual cost of being at a great school is less than just the cost of being at home without school. Ended up choosing between 3 schools all in the top 15. Would never have known if the reaches had been excluded. In my opinion, the moral is to have a good mix for a final list and then develop a plan of action to achieve your objective.</p>

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<p>ST2, I guess it depends on where you’re targeting. Few if any top tier schools (Ivys, top LACs) offer merit aid; they only offer need-based aid. </p>

<p>My best advice for those looking for merit aid is to visit the CC financial aid forum. My favorite phrase there is check out the stickys on best merit aid schools.</p>

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<p>Erin’s Dad - Final choice was between Duke, WashU & Emory. (Mine had no interest in any of the Ivys). Seemed like pretty top tier schools to us. All with either full or almost full rides. Obviously there were also matches and safeties in the mix, which I believe are a very important component of a final list. My only point was - you don’t know what may be possible, if you limit your options.</p>

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<p>Lists for those who care about such things. ;)</p>

<p>USNEWS Top 20 Uni’s granting merit aid (worthy of the name)</p>

<p>CalTech
Duke
Chicago
WashU
Rice
Emory
Vanderbilt</p>

<p>USNEWS Top Twenty LAC’s (excluding the USMA)
Davidson
Claremont McKenna
Grinnell
Wash and Lee
Harvey Mudd
Smith</p>

<p>These lists used to include Hamilton (moving away from merit to the best of my knowledge) and excludes both Top Twenty schools with active “merit within need” need-only schools and those that give a tiny or token amount (like Carleton for National Merit).</p>

<p>Your definitions may vary. ;)</p>

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<p>Shouldn’t the latter list also include Oberlin, curmudgeon? It is tied for 20th, after all, and does offer merit awards:
[Oberlin</a> College :: Office of Financial Aid :: Overview](<a href=“http://www.oberlin.edu/financialaid/overview/scholarships.html]Oberlin”>http://www.oberlin.edu/financialaid/overview/scholarships.html)</p>

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<p>Does anyone know if merit aid is tied to major? </p>

<p>My son’s academics/test scores are very good and put him in the running for merit aid at some schools. However, he wants to major in theater. Unless it is specified “for pre-med” or some such, can I assume that merit aid will not be effected by desired major? I really hope so because the money available base on being a theater major at these schools is far less than merit.</p>

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<p>Pug, most schools that have performing arts programs offer talent $$ as well. S2 has already been awarded top academic merit $$ at some schools, and we are now awaiting word on music $$ based on his auditions. </p>

<p>SO, look deeper into the fin aid websites of your son’s schools and/or check the theater depts own webpage about talent scholarships.</p>

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<p>Count, I’m unfamiliar with the John F. Oberlin scholarships. Oberlin may very well deserve to be on the list.</p>

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<p>pugmadkate - First, as with many things - it depends on the school. With most of the universities listed by Cur, there is a mixture of general merit awards and major related awards. Most of the schools will list available awards on their website. In many cases, these require a separate application. Some of the schools also have “stealth” awards, available but not listed on their website (eg. Danforth Scholars at WashU).</p>

<p>Also, don’t forget local scholarships in your area. Although they may not be large individually, they can add up to a tidy sum. Some schools may deduct these from school awards, while others let you keep them without a deduction. There are also good national scholarships to look at, a few that come to mind are Toyota, Coca Cola, Elks, Target, Walmart - all of which we have had personal experience with. From what I remember at application time, there was an extensive list that we had compiled. Merit awards are out there, but it takes a bit of work to land them.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much for in the info.</p>