Noticing less merit aid being offered in general

[Vida Winter]

Has anyone else noticed that many unis and colleges are cutting back on merit awards? Less $$ to grant and tuition gets about a 2K hike per year at most places I have been checking. Thoroughly depressing.

[Crimson Wife]

There has been a LOT of political pressure (especially at taxpayer-funded schools but also at private ones) to give more need-based and less merit-based aid because merit aid is seen as "giving a discount to the rich".

[8filltheheart]

Merit can still be found. It takes researching and knowing how to assess your student compared to the profile of students awarded the scholarship. For a broader range of scholarships, it takes stepping down in ranking.

[Vida Winter]

Interesting article.

 

And yes, I know it can be found, it's just getting harder every year. The trick will be to choose a college where the student is in the upper profile yet still be challenged. There is a lot of pressure for high stats. The situation is not dire, but I find it ironic that many of the schools that look like a perfect fit cannot even be considered.

[8filltheheart]

. The situation is not dire, but I find it ironic that many of the schools that look like a perfect fit cannot even be considered.

I don't think that is much of a change over the past decade or so. If your family fits the donut hole profile, the gap in affordability has been that way for quite a while. It has been that way for our kids since 2007.

[Crimson Wife]

I think there is far more pressure today on colleges compared to a decade ago to target aid to lower-income families.

 

NY State just passed a bill for free tuition to low-to-middle-income families (limit is only $125k) and all I heard about in the mainstream press and social media was how bad it was since it will help middle class families rather than only poor ones. My state's governor wants to eliminate the Middle Class Scholarship (goes to families making $80k to $150k, which in high COL CA truly is "middle class").

 

Here's an example of the criticism (source):
 

 

"The Institute for College Access and Success, a nonprofit advocacy group, has opposed California’s financial aid program for middle-income families since its inception, arguing that the state should direct all public resources to the neediest students.

 

Its vice president, Debbie Cochrane, said she wouldn’t mind seeing the state dismantle the [Middle Class Scholarship] program so long as it uses the savings to help expand Cal Grant [low income] scholarships."

 

 

[hopskipjump]

We noticed that Temple no longer has "automatic scholarships" like they have for the past 3-4 years (just had to meet a certain ACT/SAT score, GPA to receive a full-tuition scholarship plus research/travel abroad stipends). That bummed out dd2. While dd1 was applying to universities last year, Temple really appealed to dd2. But now the scholarships are not automatic, and the required "numbers" aren't posted to see. So. Hmmm...

So many public universities have had their funding severely slashed within the past year. Our state universities were hit very hard.

[Gratia271]

There are some amazing merit scholarships that are admittedly highly competitive and definitely not guaranteed to anyone at high stat schools, but you can shoot for them.  My daughter did, casting a wide net because merit was the only way she was going to get any $$. Now, Ivies and Stanford are out for us because we have 6 children and can't pay $70k per year per kid for school.  Even so, schools like Vandy and others as well as state universities have some highly selective scholarships that set your student apart from the pack.  They are a reach, but it never hurts to try. You can get them! :)

 

  I might add, like 8Fill has said on other threads, when your student is one of a small cohort at a large state university on merit scholarship, they absolutely stand out and have a peer base within larger context, get fabulous opportunities, and are not settling in any way.  In fact, the diverse population they will be immersed in much more closely approximates the business world many will join when they graduate.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Gratia271

[8filltheheart]

We noticed that Temple no longer has "automatic scholarships" like they have for the past 3-4 years (just had to meet a certain ACT/SAT score, GPA to receive a full-tuition scholarship plus research/travel abroad stipends). That bummed out dd2. While dd1 was applying to universities last year, Temple really appealed to dd2. But now the scholarships are not automatic, and the required "numbers" aren't posted to see. So. Hmmm...

 

So many public universities have had their funding severely slashed within the past year. Our state universities were hit very hard.

Temple's story was all over the news. Last yr they had a $22 million budget deficit. Many issues boiled to the surface, but automatic merit was intertwined in the story and the solution was to stop offering automatic merit. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1901666-temple-u-22-million-over-budget-because-too-many-applicants-qualified-for-automatic-merit-aid-p1.html

 

I don't disagree with Crimson Wife that the news spins merit as biased against the poor. UKy might be reducing their merit next yr to shift toward need-based aid.

 

But, as individual universities change their policies toward merit, it doesn't mean that merit scholarships over all have decreased. Many of the automatic merit offers like Temple and AL's are more recent initiatives. They weren't always around. I think Temple's program was rather new. I couldn't find the exact date, but I think AL's started in 2000. It has changed and morphed over time. My ds told me that he has heard that they are raising the required scores for next yr.

 

Colleges are first and foremost businesses. They don't offer large automatic scholarships out of altruism. They are offered to serve a purpose: student recruitment for the benefit of the college. It is why if you go down in rankings, the scholarships are there bc the schools are trying to improve their quality of students. AL's initiative has been hugely successful. The difference is AL has more donations, larger endowment, and athletic $$ contributions to sustain it compared to Temple.

 

Some of the smaller, more select scholarships are altruistic in nature. Their donors have sponsored the scholarships with specific motives in mind.

 

If you have a student who is truly exceptional, even many of the top schools have incredibly competitive scholarships: Robertson, Cornelius, Jefferson, Stamps, etc.

[8filltheheart]

I was typing when Gratia was posting and when I read her post, it prompted another thought. One thing to keep in mind is just how much things do cost in general. Even room and board at colleges can be extremely expensive. So if you have a competitive student, applying widely can lead to lots of scholarships being awarded with a huge difference amg the various bottom line costs.

 

For example, a full tuition scholarship at a school with a $70,000+ price tag might still leave you with a cost of close to $20,000 (or even more when you factor in books, transportation, etc)/yr. That same student might end up with full-ride offers at other schools. Just be aware that full-tuition does not interchange with full-ride.

 

The best gift you can give your sr is a firm budget so that they know going into the process what is realistic and what isn't. Then they aren't surprised in the spring that their acceptances are no's bc mom and dad won't or can't pay for them.

 

(Fwiw, my Dd turned down a full-tuition scholarship at a school that left us with a $20,000 room and board bill for a full-ride offer at a much lower ranked school. She loved what she was offered at the lower ranked school. The program perks are real. She will be our 2nd child to attend on full scholarship.)