I’m sure this has been asked before (sorry) but I need to help my son make a list of NESCAC-competitors that offer merit aid. (It is my understanding that the NESCACs offer only need-based aid. Correct?) We are especially interested in National LACs that offer Div3 men’s lacrosse. Thank you in advance for your help!
Hobart, Dickinson, Susquehana, Muhlenberg, St Lawrence, Grinell, Wooster
Thanks!
Kenyon, Denison
Union, Gettysburg.
Mentioned above- but my D got excellent merit aide from both Kenyon and Denison
Rhodes, Trinity in San Antonio.
My understanding is that Kenyon and Grinnell will only give merit to students that are competitive for HYP and the like. If your son has stellar stats, those are worth applying to.
Adding Oberlin to the list.
Macalester also offers merit aid to a significant number of applicants but it is limited to three categories of students: URM, National Merit Finalists or Commended students, and International Students.
Grinnell stated in their info sessions this fall that 40% of the class of 2020 received merit aid. Also, all Iowans admitted automatically get a $10,000 Founder’s Scholarship.
Washington and Lee
Denison has a top ranked lacrosse program, so if a student is competitive as a recruit, the merit money for high achieving kids can be very good there ($16/20/24/48 k). St Lawrence and Dickinson both offer merit up to about $20k per year. Rhodes, Centre College offer merit for a student willing to leave the northeast. Anecdotally, we’ve heard of $10-15k merit at Kenyon, Oberlin and Grinnell to highly sought after students. Vassar, Haverford, Swarthmore, Franklin & Marshall do not give merit. Skidmore offers music scholarships, I’m not sure if it offers other merit. Bard seems to award merit only when there is also financial need, it is somewhat confusing. Trinity in CT also seems to offer some kind of merit, it seems to be the only NESCAC which does – I thought as a group they did not, but the Trinity website suggests it does. Washington & Lee has highly competitive merit awards, I’m not familiar with whether they offer lower tier awards more generally.
Very helpful. Thank you.
My daughter was offered significant merit scholarships at Oberlin (through an early read) and Macalester (applied ED).
Here is a link to the Centennial conference: http://www.centennial.org/landing/index
Many of these schools give merit aid, Washington College can be very generous.
Up to 25k/year at Gettysburg.
My kid wasn’t quite HYP level, and neither was her friend (a notch below my kid in test scores). Both got merit at Kenyon. So it isn’t quite that competitive. 
Lafayette College
Son was not HYP level and got merit at Grinnell, Macalester, Wooster, Dickinson, Beloit, Muhlenberg and St. Lawrence. He was accepted at Hamilton (which does not give merit) and waitlisted at Haverford (also does not give merit).
He is not an athelete. I do think it helped that he was a boy and was willing to go to school beyond the East Coast.
As a division 3 school, Denison doesn’t offer any athletic money. A recruit is eligible for the same aid any other student would get, and shouldn’t expect more.
@twoinanddone regarding Denison, I didn’t mean to suggest there was athletic scholarship – only that, if someone brings high stats to the table and is also a recruited athlete, the academic achievements will warrant very good merit award.