<p>It turns out that the upper class merit awards vary in their impact depending on how much financial aid you’re getting. If you’re not getting any financial aid, then the merit awards have a big effect. If you’re getting a lot of financial aid, the scholarships count as an “additional financial resource” and reduce the amount of grants that you receive. The end result of this is that it’s completely possible (and has happened to several people I know) that after receiving an upper class merit award, you still pay every bit as much as you did prior to that.</p>