Any decent student can get merit aid, you don’t need 4.0 or even close to it. My older kid got a very nice offer without even applying for it. Alas, the key is that you have to be willing to go to your likely/safety school where your stats are in the top 20% or so. Which is a hard pill to swallow for kids/parents who want the absolutely best school you can get into. Reach schools are not likely to offer you merit aid (the most competitive ones don’t offer it to anyone).