Please share about LACs newly offering merit, or significantly increasing top merit

Paying for College Financial Aid (Need-Based, Merit Aid, Loans)
1

D27 is seeking big merit from LACs. She has a great preliminary list of colleges of interest, but I have seen recent anecdotes on this and other forums of certain LACs that offered merit that have not in the past (Reed), or have increased top merit offers significantly in this cycle (Oxy, Mac - both $10k more I think, Willamette - new full tuition scholarhips).

Please share if you know of or have seen posts about other LACs that have recently improved top merit or began offering merit when they previously did not. Thank you!

2

There’s tons of schools known for merit on here - smaller like an F&M, Lafayette, etc

Reed doesn’t give merit (their words) but one intl posted $25k that described neither need nor merit. He wrote their text - it’s merit even if they don’t say so.

the big merit schools - go to US News #50ish and go down. The Rhodes of the world, Kalamazoo, Allegheny, Furman, Washington College, Susquehanna and so many more. You’re talking half off or more.

There are also public LACs with low comparative cost like Christopher Newport, Mass College of Liberal Arts, Mary Washington, SUNY Geneseo, UVA Wise, Montevallo, etc.

Don’t forget - merit per se doesn’t matter total cost does some could be cheaper full pay than others with merit.

You can Google each school + common data set section H is financial aid.

H2 row A how many first year Oxy had 509 in 24/25 row N - how many got merit 148 how much - $17397

Furman - 243 of 607 got $31.3k

Some may get need aid and no merit

One thing is for sure and it’s not good for the colleges. There’s less students and more schools are buying deeper. Washington College shows $38k etc. They need revenue - even if it’s less - to stay afloat.

Certain schools just can’t find people to pay full so if cost (not merit) is a concern, do a match me and put down the desired budget. You’ll get a good list.

Good luck

2 Likes
3

There is no definitive list of colleges offering more merit aid than previously. Colleges adjust how much money they give (or not) all the time. Scholarship funds can get depleted, colleges and donors create new scholarships, aid amounts are lowered or raised, colleges decide what types of students they want to award scholarships to, and the list goes on and on.

It’s no secret that higher education is struggling right now, but there are a number of lesser known colelges offering good merit awards. Check out a list like this on USNWR. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-merit-aid

Look at a site like College Data. Search for the school, go to financial data. The site gives numbers on percentages of students receiving non-need based gift aid and the average amount given. For example, Abilene Christian seems to give a substantial amount of gift aid. Abilene Christian University Tuition | CollegeData

Assuming a student receives gift aid, the parents are still on the hook for a substantial amount of money. You will simply have to start by compiling a preliminary list and looking for information about the kinds of financial incentives a particular school offers. You will need to scour the school website to see the scholarships they have. Another piece of the puzzle is that merit awards are generally given by the admissions office, not the FA office. You have to remember that merit awards are a carrot on a stick to convince students to matriculate.

Even then, many many colleges do not disclose the actual amount of their awards, nor how many are available. For example, Colorado College states they offer the Leadership Scholarship, but not how many are available. Scholarships - Colorado College

Other colleges may be even less transparent and not state the value of a particular scholarship. That could be because it depends on how much money is still left in a given scholarship fund and how many they end up awarding in a given year.

In my time on CC (about 12 years now) I have seen colleges such as Penn State and Syracuse offer numerous great scholarships (merit aid/awards) to students in my region, then subsequently offer very few and only to tippy top students. I’ve seen schools such as F&M offer merit awards, then offer none, and recently, go back to offering some. Some schools that used to be well known for giving generous merit aid have stopped altogether. Some would give more merit aid if a student filled out some additional essays by a particular date, then stopped doing that at all. It changes all the time.

There are colleges such as Berea and Deep Springs that are tuition free. Cooper Union was free for a while, then went back to charging tuition.

Bottom line, you need to do some digging and stay on top of the latest changes in merit awards at a college of interest.

In general, be a great student with really high grades and test scores. That’s the best way to get scholarships, if the college offers them at all. The more selective the college, in general, the less likely they are to offer scholarships (barring a few very high profile scholarships reserved for the cream of the crop at a very few elite colleges.) A private college with a higher acceptance rate might be more likely to offer merit awards to a good student.

If getting merit awards is a necessity to affording college, your student needs to have great grades, bottom line. Be sure to have public in-state schools on the list that your child likes and can afford.

4 Likes
4

I don’t know that this is new information, but since you’re at the beginning of the process, it could be new-to-you information. In college searches for two kids, we’ve run across the following schools that offer merit. Some are more significant (Beloit, Sarah Lawrence, Mount Holyoke), some are mid-range, which amounts to a nice discount over four years (Conn College, Oberlin, Macalester), and some are minimal or offered to very few students (Occidental, Scripps). For some, I’m not sure. But here are all the schools I can think of: Sarah Lawrence, Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Dickinson, Bard, Conn College, Oberlin, Kenyon, St. Olaf, Macalester, Grinnell, Beloit, Colorado College, Occidental, and Scripps.

Again, I don’t know how much of this information you already had anyway. I know there are plenty to schools that offer merit aid that we never looked into. But for what it’s worth, these are the schools we’ve looked into in the past that offer merit.

3 Likes
5

We have two daughters who are 5 and a half years apart. The older one was applying for fall of 2020, the younger one has applied for this coming fall. They have some overlap in their schools and very similar stats and comparable ECs (the younger daughter has slightly higher stats but not by much). The biggest difference we’ve seen this year was for Macalester and Grinnell (10-15K more in merit than 6 years ago). From other people’s posts it seems that they’ve indeed increased their merit awards compared to a few years ago.

3 Likes
6

I see your name mentions the PNW. Whitman will give you an official pre offer.

If you are limited to the PNW, there will be less schools but you can expand to schools like Carroll (Catholic) or College of Idaho that will be lower in cost than prominent names before you even get to merit.

Or if you are a WUE resident, Southern Oregon will be lower in cost.

7

Thank you for the replies. We got an early start on the college search process so have already done much of the recommended research on which schools offer sufficient merit. Great info for those early in the process though.

I received wonderful feedback on schools in this post of mine from last summer, just for context:

I am just trying to crowdsource info about appealing schools that we may have disregarded due to cost based on our research, that may now be in budget due to improved merit opportunities. This info is too recent to show up in the Common Data Set, for example. I will also continue stalking the results threads from this year as that is likely where the hot tips are. We just don’t want to miss a gem that has newly become a possibility!

4 Likes
8

Is William & Mary’s $10k/year Provost Scholar Award somewhat new, for example?

“Provost Scholar Awards are given to a select group of incoming, first-year out-of-state students. This award includes a scholarship for $10,000 per year for up to four years of undergraduate study at William & Mary.” - from W&M merit scholarship page

9

Are you willing to share more information ? Stats ?

Accepting merit aid from the wrong school can be an expensive mistake.

1 Like
10

I believe this was new last year - we know a Class of 2025 kid who was offered this $10k and wasn’t aware that it was even a possibility, despite a lot of research on the school.

1 Like
11

I briefly posted stats in this reply, but edited to delete them so the thread does not derail into specifics about my D27. I will provide an update about her search in our old post once it is unlocked!

12

Unfortunately, an LAC at $60K will mean - most of them.

W&M goes in the possible, but unlikely to hit $60K bucket. Direct costs today are $69.3K so will be more when you go. So the $10K won’t get you there short of a price freeze.

But like a W&L, Davidson, and more - they have a home run scholarship.

A College of Charleston is a bigger like public LAC. My daughter had 3 scholarships - but yours could certainly be invited to interview for the Charleston Fellows and if interested, the International Scholars - and those would get you well below.

But as far as private LACs - there’s so many - and yes, some will have kids with her stats.

As far as law school, I wouldn’t worry too much.

Look at Harvard Law’s first year class:

Less than 600 kids from 163 schools - like Christopher Newport (a regional public in VA), Elmhurst College, Grand Valley State, Mississippi State, Towson, etc.

You need great grades, a great LSAT and more and more today - a job or program - as 84% of their students are one year out and 69% 2 years.

Georgetown - 672 kids in the first year class from 222 colleges.

Penn - over 200 schools represented in the law school - from College of Charleston to Portland State to SUNY Potsdam to U Tenn Chattanooga.

You can go to law school from anywhere. That she got a 1580 certainly bodes well for law school - which will then be another expense :slight_smile: But for example, a neighbor’s kid went to U Miami law tuition free - not high ranked but turned down top LS Vandy which was full pay.

But that’s in four years.

In the end, with her stats, she can go to school for $20K-ish - and there will be kids like her - because they’re - well - 20Kish. But $60K - there will be lots of schools - LAC and mid size.

While she might feel they are beneath her stats, it’s the stats that give the gift - in essence, schools will buy her in because she helps the profile!!

So even as you crowd source - if you said $40K, the list might be diffferent.

At $60K, you’re not cutting off too much - unfortunately. Some - but not a ton.

So I would go back to which area of the country, etc.

I wouldn’t worry about DC internships (from anywhere) or law school (from anywhere), etc.

Find where she wants to spend four years - and then we can crowdsource that area/region.

Not a worry - but interesting to me as a poli sci person that her Seminar AP score was the lowest she received (and a 4 is not low). Just an observation vs. the math etc.

Hope that helps.

But you need to narrow even further :slight_smile: But we’ve taken off the Ivies, the Amhersts of the world, etc.

13

Thanks for the feedback!
I think I will update my old thread so if folks want to weigh in further about my daughter’s options, we can do it in that thread.
I was re-reading it and noticed the info you shared there - that Franklin & Marshall has recently started offering big merit scholarships. Not sure how recently, but seems relevant to this thread.

14

A few years ago - shocked me…the first I saw was $10-15K because they were a no merit school. Bard had a switcheroo too - I forget which way.

Eight days ago a poster put up this head scratcher about Reed - which is obviously the merit they give that they claim not to:

They said: “My letter today is to offer you financial support to attend Reed with the hope that you’ll add your strengths to our own. [my name], I’m offering you $25,000 annually for four contiguous years when you attend Reed College.

This non-negotiable Reed Scholarship is not a merit scholarship but a testament to our confidence that you will make a special impact on our community. As with all Reed-sponsored financial support, it is contingent upon satisfactory academic progress at Reed.”

btw - Reed at $25K off is still sizably above your budget.

F&M says up to $35K merit on their website. They have some fellow (I don’t see $$) and a Diplomat Scholarship ($15K) - is it stackable, I dunno.

F&M today is a little over $90K direct costs - today. So if you get $35K and that’s a big if, today is $55K….plus getting there (not easy).

In the last CDS, of 477 first years, they gave 121 less kids a tad under $20K on average.

So if costs stay flat and you’re willing to get right up to $60K, you can put on the list as unlikely….but you never know.

You need buckets:

  1. Assured admit and will get under budget

  2. Assured admit and reasonably will get under budget

  3. Likely to get in (which will be most) and unlikely to get under budget but could

  4. Can’t make it work - don’t apply (Ivies, Tufts, Williams, Amherst, etc.

F&M would be the third bucket - so don’t fall in love.

What do you like - the nearby town?

So for under budget - you could look at - and don’t hate me because I’m using budget:

Mary Washington is in the heart of Fredericksburg - a regional public with 2026/27 costs to you of $46K. of $9K - so today under $40K - and walkable, like an F&M. Both are regional schools but obviously F&M is a wealthier kid experience. I only know one who went - and struggled before he became a speech writer.

Charleston - mentioned earlier - is in the heart of the tourist zone. Much bigger than Lancaster or Fredericksburg but also easy and inexpensive to access (fly). Today, direct costs are about $55k but there’s merit of up to $12K - but I think your student would be invited to interview weekend - for more.

Trinity in San Antonio - may work.

Others to check out is Agnes Scott in Atlanta (all female - can take classes at other ATL schools like Emory and Ga Tech). Ogelthrope is an LAC in Brookhaven (Atlanta) and Brookhaven is close. They will give you the tuition of your public. I work with a grad - she has rocketed up quickly!! Very smart!!

I think you have to put aside - she needs a big name - honestly, F&M is a great school but not a big name.

But you have to realize - to hit a budget figure - it’s often (not always) the academics that get you there. Or in some cases, like Mary Washington, put you far below budget.

You might say - but Mary Washington - that’s way too unknown or low ranked. Not your major but this was just five years ago. See link below.

And my daughter at Charleston interned for our state government, at a prestigious thinktank in DC during her DC semester and now works in a competitive entry/ selective public service program. And many in it don’t last (I wondered that about mine but looks like we’re off to year two).

So kids from many places can go toe to toe with kids from the highest prestige places. And we see this in the news too - when you look up where certain people went, you find schools like Christopher Newport or Kent State (from the Trump Jan 6 hearings) as key players.

But budget budget budget.

I made this entire post on - F&M is in the town so that is something you are looking for. If that’s not why F&M - well then the entire post is yuck :slight_smile:

When you have a budget - you have to be crafty!! And if you think law or grad school is in mind, you have to price that in as well - so if you think - we can pay undergrad but then we’re done - well maybe $40K is better so you can hold $20K each year for grad school, etc.

Mary Washington Classics Program Shines as No. 1 Among Student Rankings - News

1 Like
15

Do you have the sense of whether or not the merit increased as tuition increased or that merit outpaced tuition increases?

16

Merit won’t increase year to year once you have. If you get $20k a year, then you’ll get $20k a year.

Next years kids might get $25k but you’ll be locked in. Some could go down - for example if $5k was tied to living on campus and you move off.

Need aid at many will adjust upward but typically not merit from what you were given.

17

Clemson has gotten stingy with Merit this year. Sorry I don’t have any specific other intel to share. I do think it is a fascinating topic to follow. Basically, colleges who are generous with offers of admission are generous with merit. Colleges that are stingy with acceptances are also stingy with merit.

My “rule of thumb” for merit is:

Class rank + rejection rate + merit =90

So for a kid that is “top 10%” merit awards would be

$0 at Duke (rejection rate 90+%)

$15,000 at Scripps (rejection rate 65%)

$25,000 at St. Olaf (rejection rate 55%)

$55,000 at Willemite (rejection rate 25%)

Like the “4% rule” for retirement, a crude formula can’t capture the complexity of every situation, but it did help us ballpark it. :slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes
18

I’m not sure, but it’s possible that the merit increase reflects the tuition increase in the last few years, good point.

19

But it won’t move with increases YOY.

I think you’re not looking at red states but another poster just showed $40k at Stetson.

Next year it’s about $82k so it’s very realistic for you.