<p>*But for rankings-conscious schools in between, merit aid has served primarily as a tool to recruit top students and to improve their academic profiles. “They’re trying to buy students,” says Skidmore College economist Sandy Baum.</p>
<p>Re-evaluating aid </p>
<p>Studies show merit aid also tends to benefit disproportionately students who could afford to enroll without it. That’s where demographics enter the picture.
*</p>
<p>I don’t believe that is the case for schools that use merit to entice students from regions of the country who would not otherwise consider that school.</p>
<p>I can see why some NE (and Calif) schools don’t offer any or much merit…they already get enough local (& national) kids clamoring for seats. But, for schools in areas where students often aren’t looking, merit can inspire students to broaden their self-imposed geographical restrictions.</p>
<p>Furthermore…schools like to be able to say that they have students from all 50 states because it suggests a broader diversity on campus…so, offering merit can help get those distant state students on campus. It’s rather easy to get OOS students from bordering states, the trick is to get them from 750+ miles away.</p>