<p>At our in-state schools, the early bird gets the worm. Students who apply later in the season have a lower chance of getting merit aid and may not get as much because the money’s gone when it’s gone. A fair number of the top students apply last to the in-state college because they’re focused on their other applications and the in-state one (viewed as a “gimme”) gets put off. Perhaps this sort of thing accounts for the experiences of some of your acquaintances, psych_.</p>
<p>*@mom2collegekids: Some schools (such as KU in Kansas) have fixed tuition plans. *</p>
<p>Yes, but the overwhelming majority do not, that was my concern about fixed scholarships.</p>
<p>And, I don’t know of any school that guarantees that the tuition that exists during the application process for the current year (for example: during one’s senior year of H.S.) is the rate that you’ll pay the following year as a freshman. So, nearly everyone faces a higher tuition rate than the one that they had “done the math” with.</p>
<p>This is why a school like University of Alabama makes financial sense for many. They give out scholarships that indicate 2/3 tuition or full tuition. On the other hand, as you mentioned, others off merit aid with a set number, ie; $9,000. This is what we’re trying to make our daughter understand. Her first choice OOS public school might not affordable a couple years from now. And, yet we don’t want her to feel she has to go to a particular school just because they offer the best aid. In other words, if that school wasn’t even on her radar until she heard about the automatic scholarships, then it might not be the best choice. Aaaack! It’s all too much for me right now. I’m up waaaay too late. Night! </p>
<p>Well, since virtually every college is raising rates each and every year, looking at a “set amount” annual scholarship can be deceiving. A $10k per year scholarship given to a HS senior to a school whose CURRENT tuition is $30k, may think that he’ll only be paying $20k in tuition. However, by the time he starts in the fall, that $30k tuition might now be $32k, and sophomore year may be $35k, and junior year may be $38k, and senior year may be $41k.</p>
<p>Scholarships that are for a “set amount” - like $10k or $15k - don’t increase as tuition increases. And, more to the point, the tuition, room, and board costs that students and parents are looking at RIGHT NOW on schools’ webpages, are not the prices that will charged next fall - everything goes up. Typically, the COA pages reflect what the costs are for current students, not future students.</p>
<p>I believe I saw something on a Northern Arizona University brochure that came in the mail stating the same thing. There were so many, I lost track!</p>
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<p>noimagination wrote:</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: Some schools (such as KU in Kansas) have fixed tuition plans.</p>
<p>Psych-
Are these talented local kids you meet applying for the scholarship? As parent56 said, perhaps they didn’t apply, and therefore can’t be considered for the scholarship. Or perhaps it is just a statistical fluke that you haven’t happened to yet meet one of the 20% who do get considered for the scholarship, and offered an interview. Or perhaps in these economic times more are actually applying and the percent considered for it is going down. Just thoughts. Congrats on being one who has it! Quite an accomplishment.</p>
<p>Our in state flagship never offers any merit scholarship to anyone at our kids’ school because they know those kids would only go there as the last resort, and it wouldn’t be because of money. No point in throwing good money at them. D1 got a token 5000.</p>
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<p>I hear you, but why do some schools require applicants for their merit scholarships to complete the FAFSA or CSS profile? </p>
<p>Call me cynical, but I believe that a number of schools bend the meaning of the word “merit” by labeling some of their need-based aid “merit” money or by offering tuition discounts in the form of modest “merit” scholarships to attract otherwise full-pay students.</p>
<p>At my son’s school, there are scholarships that are need-only, merit-only and a combination of need and merit. These are explicitly stated though the formulas, if any, aren’t. He is out of state so a lot of scholarships don’t apply to him but he does have one and will hopefully have another this year.</p>
<p>My son applied to only one state school…smallish (10,000 students, not selective.) He applied for three merit scholarships, but the application also asked questions about our income and I was honest. The scholarship rejection letter he received said there were 2100 applicant for 700 scholarships…his SAT scores were *200 points above * that school’s 75th percentile…he was really near the top of their applicant pool…yet he wasn’t deemed to be in the top third of the scholarship applicants? I can only assume that our income had everything to do with it.</p>
<p>My son was an OOS student at a state school and got automatic merit money tied to tuition rates, so as tuition rose, so did the scholarship. For an excellent OOS student, the highest automatic merit award is (now) about $15K per year of an OOS tuition of $18K per year. That leave $3000 a year tuition - not bad for Mom&Pop’s wallet.</p>
<p>I just keep dreaming about that Alabama scholarship, where with a 32 ACT and a 3.5 GPA, an out-of-state student can apparently get full tuition. Not to mention the riches bestowed upon those who can manage a National Merit qualifying PSAT score… One of my D’s friends is at Alabama. Mental note to self: have her over sometime over break to ask how she likes it (to get an opinion from a kid coming from our neck of the woods).</p>
<p>DD1 has a merit scholarship at Denison. I did have to fill out the FAFSA for the first year, not since, and we don’t qualify for any FA. I think schools may do that to see who to ask for donations. I know I’ve gotten a yearly request for money, and I’ve given some. It only seems fair to me.</p>
<p>MidwestMom2Kids quote: I just keep dreaming about that Alabama scholarship, where with a 32 ACT and a 3.5 GPA, an out-of-state student can apparently get full tuition. Not to mention the riches bestowed upon those who can manage a National Merit qualifying PSAT score…</p>
<p>:) I <3 those scholarships (just make sure you meet the app deadlines!). DS1 has the NMF scholarship, and DS2 has the Presidential scholarship and the Engineering scholarship (which are also given to CS majors). We’re paying so little that we can’t complain at all. Plus, our kids are having a great time (although maybe not this week since it’s finals week, but they’re still in the clouds over last Saturday’s win over Florida. LOL)</p>
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<p>It’s not as simple as that, unfortunately. “Merit aid” comes in many shapes and sizes. A few schools offer fixed packages to all qualifying applicants who met certain criteria—GPA, test scores, National Merit finalist, etc. But most merit aid isn’t as straightforward and transparent as that. Schools often have discretion either as to the amount of the award, who gets it, or both. You might want to believe it’s based strictly on who has the best objective qualifications, but many schools are more strategic than that. They may elect not to offer merit aid to someone they deem overqualified, i.e., unlikely to attend because this applicant is going to get into better schools anyway. They’re generally going to use it to maximize the impact on their entering class, but that may mean spreading around smaller awards to more students, or concentrating bigger awards on a smaller number of students, or perhaps doing both simultaneously with respect to different segments of admitted students. Many will use it it to tweak their reported SAT/ACT 25th/75th percentile scores at the margins; from that perspective, the kids just above their current 75th percentile SAT score are just as valuable if not more so than the kid at a stratospherically high level who they’re less likely to land in any event.</p>
<p>Nor is there always as clean a division between “merit” aid and “need-based” aid as US News and many posters on CC would have you believe. Some schools award some scholarships on the basis of “high academic achievement and financial need” or “academic achievement, high academic potential, and demonstrated financial need,” or some such formula. Are these “need-based” or “merit-based”? Well, they’re both, really, and they could reasonably be counted as either. The school could use them toward a goal of meeting 100% of financial need, awarding these scholarships to the highest-performing accepted students with need, and calling it “need-based” aid. Or it could use these scholarships towards a merit-based strategy of luring the high-performing students it wants, first meeting their demonstrated need with these scholarships and then perhaps sweetening the pot with an additional, purely merit-based component, and calling it all a “merit award.” </p>
<p>I think many people make a naive assumption that if it’s “merit based,” the award will automatically go to the applicant with the strongest objective stats. It ain’t necessarily so. Running a college and recruiting the student body you want is a complex business. Schools are going to be strategic about it, and much of what they do will not be transparent, especially when it comes to discretionary decisions as to how to parcel out scarce financial aid dollars.</p>
<p>*I think many people make a naive assumption that if it’s “merit based,” the award will automatically go to the applicant with the strongest objective stats. *</p>
<p>That’s true if the merit is competitive. However, when merit is awarded by stats (automatically if application is submitted on time), then it is assured as long as you meet the req’ts.</p>
<p>D. has numerous Merit scholarships to cover her tuition. However, I belieive that one of the reasons is that we follow school’s strong advice to file FASFA to get the most Merit package available. We do it every year (takes few minutes to do, why not). There are also Returning students Merit scholarships at D’s school available for those with college GPA over 3.8. She got additional $6500 for sophomore year that covered huge chunk of R&B.</p>
<p>" I just keep dreaming about that Alabama scholarship, where with a 32 ACT and a 3.5 GPA, an out-of-state student can apparently get full tuition. Not to mention the riches bestowed upon those who can manage a National Merit qualifying PSAT score…"</p>
<p>Given the economy and the fact that Alabama is one of the poorest states, I will be surprised if the university continues to offer this scholarship to new students after this year. Since the scholarship presumably is funded by Alabama’s taxpayers, I imagine that the university will have to make it more of a priority to provide more need-based scholarships to in state students. I also imagine that given its relatively low cost compared to that of private universities, Alabama won’t have to offer big merit aid to lure top students to its university. Lots of people are looking for bargains due to the economy.</p>
<p>@jym: Yes, they are applying. I’ve asked casually (because I was practically sure they would have gotten it), and most said that they applied but no dice.</p>
<p>Oh, and these scholarships rise with in-state tuition increases as well, though not with OOS only increases. We end up paying around 7-8k a year tuition, fees, room, and board for OOS. Not bad deal. Feel free to PM me if your curious about the school, by the way.</p>
<p>My son (a tenth grader) is potentially a merit scholarship kid and he is a big college football fan (and a fan of warm weather). It would be nice for our bank account if he decided what he really wanted to do was go to Alabama on a merit scholarship. </p>
<p>I also wonder if those scholarships will be available when he’s applying not next year but the year after that - and of course I wonder if he’d like Alabama and if it (or any really big school) would be a good fit for him. Too early to know but if Alabama keeps offering those merit scholarships, I hope we at least visit there. Ohio kids get merit aid from Ohio State too, so that’s another good price possibility. It is great for kids to have a list of options and it is nice for parents when several of those options don’t break the bank. :)</p>