Merit Aid Helps Lower College Costs
When it comes to paying for college, merit aid is one way to close the gap between the cost of attendance and need-based financial aid. These types of scholarships are non-need-based grants, typically awarded based on academic, athletic, artistic or special-interest merit. Academic scholarships are often awarded by a school or private organization.
Merit aid might cover your entire tuition or be a one-time award of a couple of hundred dollars. Here are 10 things to know about merit scholarships.
1. Ivy League universities don’t offer merit aid.
“All Ivy League schools as well as several other very selective schools like Stanford, MIT and Caltech, do not give any academic merit scholarships. No matter if you discovered a cure, created the world’s greatest invention, won an Academy Award or an Olympic gold medal,” says Mandee Heller Adler, founder and president of International College Counselors.
While they don’t offer merit aid, Ivy League schools are known to be generous with meeting full financial need.
2. Some colleges offer merit aid to reduce costs.
Oftentimes, colleges with large sticker prices offer awards to qualified students who have shown that they can’t afford the school’s full price.
Rhodes College in Tennessee, for example, charged more than $46,500 in tuition and fees in 2017-2018. But in 2016-2017, the Memphis-based school awarded the majority of its full-time students a merit scholarship.
3. Students may need to maintain a certain GPA.
Some non-need-based aid is contingent on certain stipulations to maintain the award on a yearly basis. Usually, it’s a GPA requirement.
In addition to understanding those rules, experts say it’s also important to ask admissions counselors about how many years the merit aid can be renewed.
4. The National Merit Scholarship Program offers millions in aid.
The organization behind the program will offer college students more than $42 million with 8,700 awards in 2019. There are three types of awards: the National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, corporate-sponsored scholarships and college-sponsored merit scholarships.
To qualify, students must take the PSAT and be enrolled as a high school student.
5. There are some full rides for National Merit Scholars.
“Some colleges like Baylor University provide full tuition academic scholarships if the student is a National Merit Scholar and selects the school as their top choice,” says Adler from ICC. “Other colleges like Northwestern and Bowdoin may give up to $2,000 to National Merit Scholars.”
6. Honor colleges sometimes offer merit aid.
Honors colleges at state schools not only offer perks such as registering for class early but often give academic scholarships to students. Select students may even receive a tuition break.
“Mississippi State has awesome merit-based packages,” a student from New York told U.S. News in 2016. “Because I got a 30 on my ACT, they waived out-of-state tuition and gave me half off in-state tuition.” With her ACT score, she enrolled at Mississippi State University‘s Shackouls Honors College.
7. A number of students receive merit aid.
At schools where merit aid is granted, a significant number of students may receive an award.
According to data submitted to U.S. News by 1,111 ranked colleges in an annual survey, schools awarded merit aid to an average of 14.5 percent of full-time students in 2016-2017.
8. Community organizations offer merit scholarships.
Community organizations often award scholarships to local students, experts say.
“Many of these scholarships are not heavily advertised, so you aren’t likely to find them on well-known scholarships search engines. Instead, try a few online sleuthing strategies. Check out the websites of all the high schools in your area and look for a guidance counseling or college advising page, where you may find lists of local scholarships,” says Olivia Valdes, a college admissions consultant and founder of Zen Admissions.
9. You don’t need to be a straight-A student.
“You don’t have to be a class valedictorian to win scholarship money,” Valdes says.
Experts say students with a variety of GPAs may qualify for merit scholarships — and many awards emphasize areas other than academics, such as leadership or school involvement.
10. Private awards are based on certain criteria.
Private merit scholarships are often awarded on the basis of either a submitted essay or other application criteria as outlined by the granting organization.
Students can search sites such as Unigo to find these offerings. According to the site, around $5 billion is available in merit-based scholarships.
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10 Things to Know About Merit Aid Scholarships originally appeared on usnews.com
