I apologize for have a pity party for ourselves, lol! We knew what we were getting into. We did the NPC before we visited schools and did tell our son that we might not be able to afford it. And we also knew these were top engineering schools and his chances for merit could be slim. If he wanted to have greater chances of having a potential for more merit, he needed to look at other schools where his stats would be at the very top. Those that receive merit do so because they earned it and are exceptional. My son’s were stong enough to get accepted, so they are outstanding, just not exceptional. So excuse my little rant. We will continue to hold on to see how things play out, but will be realistic and understanding of the process.