<p>From the "Scholarships" section of their website:</p>
<p>"Dean´s Awards
Application Deadline: February 15
$14,000 to $20,500
All students are automatically considered for a Dean's Awards upon succesful completion of their application. Awards are made on the basis of overall academic achievement, extra-curricular involvement, leadership and personal merit. Of the admitted students in 2008-2009, 81% were recognized with a Dean's Award."</p>
<p>And 95% of students receive some form of aid! Merit scholarships are generally used to attract the very top students at an institution, but apparently the 19th percentile student at Wooster got a $14,000 scholarship in 2008-09. Does anyone know why they give so much merit or spread it out so broadly?</p>
<p>Seems they’ve had that philosophy with merit aid as far as I can remember. Rather than giving full rides to a small number of “elite” students, they stretch their merit dollars across a broad spectrum. My interpretation is that Wooster has the same high expectations for all its students, and thus, puts a similar level of resources behind them; in theory, all are scholars. </p>
<p>Contrast that with a couple of schools my daughters chose instead of Wooster. Their top scholarship recipients receive a distinctly superior education as a member of that group versus the typical student. They receive much more special attention, set asides, and benefits as “designated scholars” that are not as readily available to others. Well, Wooster doesn’t do that - everyone has the same opportunity to get the best of what it has to offer from day one. I’m only guessing, but I think that approach also extends to the way merit aid is distributed. That’s my biased theory.</p>