<p>My D is a Senior and raised an interesting question yesterday when I handed her an application for a narrowly defined scholarship that she is eligible for. We are well off financially, she is attending our state school (Rutgers) and has already received a modest merit scholarship, however she has pushed herself academically and has great community service ECs (including GS Gold Award). Should she apply and be judged on her merit or should she not as there are others that have more financial need?</p>
<p>I’d say apply. If she has done well enough to compete for merit-based scholarships, then she should certainly take advantage of the opportunity.</p>
<p>Why not? Should I feel guilty paying for something on sale if I would have/ could have bought it for full price? Children are being judged enough by their parent’s income. If those who are giving out the scholarship have decided to open it up to all student’s regardless of income, I would not feel guilty about getting the money. They are clearly awarding merit regardless of the parent’s finances.</p>
<p>Heck yes she should apply. If she has the stats to qualify for merit scholarships she should not feel bad about being recognized for that. (my daughter does get need based aid but also has a merit only scholarship - getting that scholarship meant a lot to her).</p>
<p>First, kudos for your daughter for her concern.</p>
<p>She should apply. She’s competing for the scholarship against students who need aid, and students who (like her) don’t. If she doesn’t apply, the scholarship could still end up going to a student who has no need. Ethically, she is in the clear.</p>
<p>If she wins, she could choose to make a donation to a the school, making it win-win.</p>
<p>If she has the time to apply for merit-based scholarships, she should definitely do so. It’s always worth a shot in applying, and there’s many scholarships that are awarded purely on merit. If she’s done enough to win one of these, she deserves the money - regardless of family income.</p>
<p>College is expensive even on a high income, so she should do all she can to make it less expensive.</p>
<p>Of course she should apply. First, it’s a MERIT scholarship - whoever is offering it is not concerned with financial need. Second, there’s no guarantee that if she doesn’t apply, the scholarship will go to someone with financial need - it could just as easily go to someone who is financially better off than you are.</p>