UT-Austin pulls out of National Merit program

Parents Forum
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<p>University of Texas pulls out of National Merit Scholarship program to focus on need-based aid</p>

<p>JAY ROOT Associated Press Writer
11:45 a.m. CDT, September 1, 2009</p>

<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The University of Texas at Austin is pulling out of the National Merit Scholarship Program to focus on needs-based financial assistance.</p>

<p>The university — second only to Harvard in the number of merit scholars enrolled — said budget pressures were causing it to end its participation in the merit-based program, which awards scholarships to top high school achievers.</p>

<p>Colleges nationwide are struggling to meet higher demand for financial aid amid fewer resources from states and their own endowed scholarship funds.</p>

<p>"The financial constraints brought about by the economy on families and the university require the redirection of resources to ensure accessibility to UT Austin by all qualified students, regardless of ability to pay," the UT Office of Student Financial Services said in a statement Tuesday.</p>

<p>The university will redirect the scholarship money to financial assistance programs designed to help students who have a hard time paying for tuition and fees. It had 281 National Merit Scholars enrolled last year.</p>

<p>University</a> of Texas pulls out of National Merit Scholarship program to focus on need-based aid -- chicagotribune.com</p>

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<p>Is this a trend at other large state schools?</p>

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<p>I’m betting that they didn’t cut out any of their football scholarships.</p>

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<p>University of California stopped giving Nat’l Merit scholarships several years ago. They felt that basing a scholarship on PSAT scores alone didn’t make a lot of sense.</p>

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<p>Football is usually self-funding. UT football makes a ton of $$$$ after all expenses-enough to support all the other sports. Probably around $40 Million net profit including donations…</p>

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<p>I’m not sure how I feel about it. The kids I know who are val/sal/NMF don’t go to UT anyway. It’s a good safety for them to have, but they’re opting for Ivies, USC, top LACs. I don’t think that amount of money would be make or break for us.</p>

<p>I do wish we could funnel some of that football money into academics, however.</p>

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<p>There is another thread on this in Financial Aid Forum. </p>

<p>My state (not Texas) is pulling back on merit money overall, not just for National Merit.</p>

<p>FWIW, NM Scholars and Finalists are selected after submitting applications including transcripts, SATs, ECs, recommendations, awards, essays–it is like a college application–the qualifying PSAT score is just the beginning. The scholarships some colleges give to semifinalists are the only ones based on PSAT scores alone.</p>

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<p>I don’t remember their NMF scholarships as being all that great. Nowhere near what other schools offered.</p>

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<p>Have to agree with this as my daughter had the qualifying score. She then had to submit an SAT score that confirmed her PSAT score as indicative of her ability, hs transcripts, ECs and awards, job experience, school recommendations, and a 500 word essay telling about herself. Would have been nice if Finalist status had been based on PSAT score alone.</p>

<p>UT gave some merit money, but by no means what was offered by other schools. It’s not like taking away a “free ride” scholarship, but rather several thousand per year.</p>

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<p>UT football may be a money maker, but if they put as much effort into getting donations for their academic programs as they do for their athletic programs they could offer better merit scholarships. I’m a big college football fan, but I still can see that universities are there to educate our “best and brightest” not just as a form of entertainment.</p>