Schools known for good merit aid

[bethievt]

Well, I should have said, "stats probably have to be very high", Illinois Dad. I have no idea how high they have to be, really. Good luck to your son too. You are wise to keep expectations low until acceptances are in hand and FA decisions too. I will say that both at L&C and Goucher, my son initially got lower merit offers and that they were both increased as time went on without our doing anything, so the initial offer is not always the final offer.

[twomules]

Re: Grinnell awards

My daughter was offered $17,000 last year. They will stack awards.

[collegebound813]

What is the website for merit aid?

[bethievt]

Nice!! I think they would have given my son an extra $2,000 per year for NM, but he got NM through his Dad's employer. We are very happy with his award and, as promised, they increased it when tuition increased.

[csleslie51]

MeritAid.com: Search Merit Scholarships, Academic Scholarships, Merit Awards - Merit Aid - Search is pretty inclusive

[fireflyscout]

For students interested in engineering/technology, I recommend Missouri S&T. I have been quite impressed with their merit aid - my OOS student would be paying less than in-state tuition.

[LC82]

From the College's website:

Academic Scholarships

Lafayette College recognizes its most outstanding applicants with academic merit scholarships of up to $16,000 per year. No special application is required to be considered for a merit-based scholarship. Recipients are chosen from among the most competitive U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the admissions applicant pool.

Marquis Scholars receive an annual award of $16,000 (totaling $64,000 over four years) or full grant-to-need if demonstrated need exceeds $16,000. Other special benefits of the Marquis Scholars Program include:

* program fee for a faculty-led, three-week, study-abroad course during an interim session;
* participation in a number of special activities, including cultural opportunities; and opportunities to work closely with Marquis faculty advisers.

Students admitted under both Early Decision and Regular Decision are considered for this scholarship, with final decisions rendered by late March.
We anticipate, once again this year, enrolling approximately ten percent of the entering class as Marquis Scholars.

Who Qualifies?
Lafayette seeks students who have demonstrated intellectual curiosity in addition to their superior academic achievement. Curriculum, grades, rank in graduating class, and scores on standardized tests are all considered. Furthermore, the College looks for students engaged in independent, creative scholarship who have demonstrated significant accomplishments through involvement in school and community.

Scholarship recipients typically have the following profile: top 3 percent or better of their graduating class in the most demanding curriculum available, with SAT at or above 1400 (critical reading and math). Characteristics vary slightly from year to year, depending upon the strength of the College’s applicant pool.

[Dad'o'2]

Interesting sentence LC82 left out of the Lafayette blurb:

The College is currently reviewing whether it will offer other academic merit scholarships in amounts below $16,000.

Does that sound like they may be looking into enrollment management by tossing smaller amounts here and there?

Lafayette Academic Scholarships

[Dairy State K8]

Here's the link for Grinnell's merit awards.

Types of Financial Aid - Scholarships

Not many LACs in Grinnell's league offer merit aid. Add that to the fact that Grinnell's total cost of attendance is about $5K lower than most of its peers and you have a very good educational value.

[LC82]

Dad 'O'2:
For more than ten years (thru last year) Lafayette had offered two levels of merit scholarships: Marquis and Trustee Scholarships

The benefits of Marquis Scolarship are as described above. The Trustee Sholarship had been traditionally worth half as much in dollar amount of grant, although if the student's demonstrated need is higher than the amount of the grant, they would also be eligible for full grant-to-need. However, the "special benefits" described above for the Marquis Scholars would not typically be offered to the Trustee Scholars.

I figured that I would just delete that sentence so I wouldn't have to explain it, until you picked up on it (good catch!).

[Leenie]

For what it's worth, my son was offered $22k in merit aid from Hendrix and $10k from Whitman, which is more expensive. He's visited Hendrix and really liked it, and I've been very impressed as well. We'll be visiting Whitman for the first time during spring break.

[peppermintyt]

Hello. I'm very new here. I don't see much discussion about Northwest Schools except for Leenie mentioning Whitman. My d is a Jr. with 3.94 GPA and high PSAT scores. She'd like to stay close to home (Oregon) and is looking for small, liberal arts schools. We've visited Willamette U. and will look at Reed, Whitman, Lewis and Clark. Any thoughts about Merit aid in NW schools? We're just starting our search and would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks! (This is a GREAT site!!!)

[Keilexandra]

Take a look at the Pacific Northwest Roadtrip thread.

[HImom]

Consider Seattle U--my friend's D got a much better merit/FAid package there than anywhere else & is a rising senior there now. She did get into most of the schools she applied to but $$ was a factor as she is mostly being supported by single mom.

Univ of Puget Sound is also very popular among HI residents -- is said to be lovely & do a great job educating kids.

[csleslie51]

Willamette is quite generous with merit aid and also has a new forgivable loan program for those who qualify. When D was applying to schools (is now a junior) Willamette far and away gave her the best FA package. In fact in cost less for her than for her brother who was instate at a CSU!