Merit aid shifting to need based aid

[BelknapPoint]

So this scholarship which makes zero mention of financial aid would to you be FA?
Office of Student Financial Assistance / Massachusetts Department of Higher Education

Yes, because as I’ve tried to explain to you twice already, financial aid is any money provided by another that is meant to assist with the costs of attending college. It’s really that simple.

As I mentioned previously, if you are going based on the report from the college which includes scholarships that have no FA basis but are listed as such that is your business and certainly understandable.
As a high income family, we would not be expected nor provide any financial info to win the scholarship above should our kids pursue it. So would you say that someone who is a billionaire( we are not) and get the above is receiving financial aid? Lol.

Yes, I would (LOL), because I’m not using your skewed version of the definition of the term “financial aid.”

And, you might/might not know this, but many very high income families fill out a FAFSA because they want their kids to be eligible for awards which are not based on family income but other factors. Many schools require this to be in the pool of candidates. Again many of these folks are full pay minus the scholarship, if any.

Yes, I am aware and have known for a long time that for some awards that are strictly based on merit, the completion of FAFSA is required, and for legitimate reasons.

Call it what you will. I’m calling it merit.

Ok, merit aid is merit aid. It’s also financial aid.

You seem really stuck on the idea that the term “financial aid” can only refer to need-based aid. That’s incorrect. You should get over this mental block, because it’s doing you a disservice.