<p>^^^
That’s IF you have an offer to counter with.</p>
<p>Let’s step back and consider why schools offer merit aid in the first place. It is to buy GPAs and test scores to improve their rankings in USNWR. How do you get kids with high stats to consider CWRU over say CMU, RPI or Cornell? You make it cheaper. Kids with high marks go to Case and Voila!, their rank goes up.</p>
<p>So, please no offense to the OP, but with an 1800 SAT and “above average GPA,” I am surprised at that merit award, surprised that it is so high.</p>
<p>At most schools you have to be above the 50th percentile and at many above their 75th percentile to expect ANY merit award. An SAT of 1800 sits right on Case’s 25th percentile.</p>
<p>There are many kids who not only didn’t get merit aid with numbers like that. They didn’t even get in.</p>