What colleges stack need-based and merit scholarships? I am only referring to the school’s own money, not outside scholarships or Pell Grants. I know it is rare. So far I know of two colleges that stack: University of Chicago and St John’s College in Annapolis.
Teddad, ypu will need to ask the schools. There are 3000 or so colleges in this country. I don’t think there is a list of schools that allow aid to be stacked. Plus policies change from year to year sometimes.
But to add to your list…last I heard, University of South Carolina allowed stacking of aid up to the cost of attendance.
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What colleges stack need-based and merit scholarships?
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What are you trying to do? You are saying “school’s own money” and not outside awards.
I don’t think even the schools you mention do what you’re saying when all aid is coming from them. I do think that there are some schools that will allow you to stack OUTSIDE merit to their own need based aid…but the stacking in those cases usually replace loans and work study.
The aid process usually works this way when dealing with a school’s OWN money…
FIRST merit is awarded (for instance, the student is awarded a $20k award.
So, if cost is $50k and $20k is merit, then remaining cost is suddenly $30k
THEN, need is looked at. If your EFC is $30k, then no need based aid is given.
You seem to think that “need based” aid is applied first (in the above scenario, you’re thinking that there is $20k of need, which would first get $20k of need based aid…and then get awarded a $20k merit award for a net cost of $10k. I don’t think UChicago does that. I don’t think any school does that.
The Admissions Office (usually thru Enrollment Management) usually awards merit at the time of admission…and those awards usually come with or close to the time that the Admissions letter is sent.
@thumper1 Are you talking about USoCarolina stacking merit or stacking need based aid with outside merit or stacking institutional need and merit? Does USoCarolina award need based aid before merit? I wouldn’t think that they do that since merit would be awarded around the time of the admission’s letter.
Some schools will use merit to replace other amounts in this order:
- Unmet need and student contribution (federal direct loans and work earnings expected of the student).
- Need based grants.
- Expected family contribution.
Check each school for its policy.
Kenyon College met our need and then gave merit on top of that. Most of the need-based award money was an institutional grant and then a small federal loan that brought us down to the EFC. Then a science merit award was given on top of the need-based. Several places replace the need-based awards with merit as ucbalmnus and mom2collegekids (Case Western for example) stated but Kenyon “stacked” them which was very nice. I had no clue that was even an option.
^^^
If that happened, then that fed loan became an UNSUB loan and then the loan ceased to be “need based aid.”
@GDadwith3more how big was the merit that was added “on top”
I think what confuses people is that “need” can be met with grants and scholarships (meeting need)…and then a fed loan (unsub) can be stacked on top which can go towards EFC.
that is not the same thing as what the OP is talking about.
WashU
Michigan State stacks merit awards. This is how it broke down for our family:
1.) National Merit Finalist OOS Scholarship: room, board and $4,000.
2.) OOS Honors College Invitee: In-State tuition
3.) Additional Honors College Scholarship: $3,000
4.) Engineering Scholarship: $1500
5.) OOS child/grandchild of alumnus: $3,000
6.) College Sponsored National Merit Scholarship: $2000
7.) Pell Grant: $1200
total amount: room, board and $14,700 towards tuition/books/etc.
In-state tuition = $475.00/hr.
15 hours/semester = $14,250.
FAFSA EFC was $4400.
Private schools that met 100% need offered grants and scholarships that left us with very close to the EFC.
The institutional grant was need based which brought us down to the EFC and then the scholarship which was substantial was on top of that. I don’t want to disclose too much but Kenyon definitely stacked those.
Maybe the financial aid office at Kenyon gave me incorrect information yesterday! They gave my son a Kenyon “grant” (need based) and loans to get to EFC. He was notified yesterday of a NM scholarship. They told me they would just replace some of the “grant” with the scholarship and it would change nothing but the tag on the money.
@GDadwith3more Great, but any sub loan would have become unsub.
Does Kenyon use CSS Profile? If so, then it doesn’t matter what your FAFSA EFC is (except when it comes to fed related aid), it can decide what your need is and meet that. If your FAFSA EFC is $20k, but their CSS calculation says that it’s $10k, then that’s what they will try to cover.
with CSS schools, they get to define your need, not FAFSA.
Kenyon does use profile. Do they ever!
That was exactly what I expected Kenyon to do with my daughter’s award - Case did that with her $25K merit award which reduced the need-based awards to get down to the EFC. Maybe our PROFILE made Kenyon realize how little that we could afford relative to the EFC? My daughter got a renewable science scholarship for 25K at Kenyon on top of 31K in institutional need-based grant and our EFC was 22K. Maybe the science scholarships are treated differently in how they are applied?
greeninohio: Congrats on that Michigan State deal!
My fingers are crossed that the nice lady who answered the phone was mistaken. She was not 100% sure.
Good to know about the CSS PROFILE, thanks mom2collegekids! I have 3 more kids to send in the next few years and we will definitely pay attention to whether the college they apply to use the PROFILE. Oh and yes the federal loan was UNSUB for a few thousand each year which means we are passing on those.
Mom2…when my kid applied to U of South Carolina, she got an estimated merit award with her acceptance which came well before Thanksgiving.
Yes, the school allows stacking of aid…up to the cost of attendance.
Here is the evidence that U Chicago stacks:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-chicago/1678792-does-u-chicago-stack-need-and-merit-aid.html#latest
St John’s College’s Net Price Calculator returns a lower net price if the student has a high SAT/GPA . I emailed them and they confirmed that “St. John’s College does stack need-based and merit based scholarships.”
That great to hear about Kenyon! We were interested in it but the NPC returned a number that was too high. mom3030 - National Merit is an outside award so the policy may be different.
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Mom2…when my kid applied to U of South Carolina, she got an estimated merit award with her acceptance which came well before Thanksgiving.
Yes, the school allows stacking of aid…up to the cost of attendance.
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Yes! That is what I would expect. Merit applied FIRST, which then reduces “need”…and then any need based aid that the school can offer to fill need.
When a large merit is applied first, a student could easily end up with an EFC that is shrunk !
My daughter applied to Soka 2 years ago. But since she didn’t go there and certainly don’t have the offer in front of me, I’m going by memory. But I recall they gave her an offer that I would consider “stacked”. Anyway, while most colleges would do something like (using mom2collegekid’s numbers) COA-$50k, Need $30k and a merit of $20k then only $10k of need would be granted so it’s still an out of pocket cost of $20k. However, Soka (using the same numbers) did something like COA - $50k, need of $30k bring the the cost to $20k with merit of $20k the out of pocket cost would be $0.