<p>brandeis has been reducing merit aid over the course of several years – “The number of merit aid offered to accepted students has declined by 16 percent since 2006.” but during that same period, the number of students ATTENDING who received merit aid went down 78% – which seems to indicate that merit aid was not being as effective in getting students to choose Brandeis. “The further reductions are due to the fact that many students offered merit aid in recent years declined attend the University.” whereas, they found that offering need based aid had a greater impact on yield. (quotes are from article referenced by OP) </p>
<p>its not clear to me from the article that merit aid is being eliminated rather than just being further reduced – but i have to say the wording of the article could be clearer in that regard. certainly something worth asking about during a campus visit. </p>
<p>DeskPotato (and anyone else hoping for merit aid from Brandeis) – remember that to be considered for any scholarship at Brandeis you have to complete the CSS/Profile – [Brandeis</a> Admissions | Costs/Financial Aid | Scholarships and Fellowships](<a href=“Scholarships and Fellowships | Affordability | Undergraduate Admissions | Brandeis University”>Scholarships and Fellowships | Affordability | Undergraduate Admissions | Brandeis University) – so even if you doubt you’d get financial aid, it may be worth completing it to keep the merit aid options open.</p>
<p>from anecdotal stories, i’ve always been under the impression that Brandeis wants students who really want to be there – so letting that be clearly shown in an interview can’t hurt – and who knows, if they are still giving some merit aid, they may want to be focusing it on those for whom it can in fact make the difference in them choosing to attend, as opposed to just giving it to high stat applicants who they doubt will attend. (purely speculation on my part, but you never know!)</p>