Merit Scholarships and Your College Search Part 2

Did you know that the most important factor impacting whether a student receives merit scholarships is the list of colleges that they apply to?

It’s true! While strong academics and achievements matter, your college list plays a crucial role in determining how much merit aid you’ll receive. Some schools offer generous scholarships to attract students, while others—especially highly selective institutions—offer little to no merit aid at all.

We explored myths and realities surrounding merit scholarships in Part 1. Now it’s time to learn more about scholarships at different types of colleges and how to incorporate them into your list building.

Merit Scholarships at Public Colleges

The primary mission of public colleges is to serve students in their state; the cost is already lowered for in-state students because it is subsidized by taxes and state funding. They may rely on full-pay out-of-state students to meet their revenue goals and balance their budget. In many cases, state funding has not kept up with rising costs, so scholarship budgets (or the flexibility to give tuition discounts) are limited. Some public colleges give automatic merit scholarships (all students who meet the qualifications receive one). Others award some or all scholarships through a holistic review process; those scholarships are typically very competitive and are used to attract high-achieving students to attend

State Flagships with Great Merit Scholarships for both Residents & Non-Residents (not an exhaustive list)

BONUS Colleges with Big Awards for National Merit Finalists (not an exhaustive list)

Merit Scholarships at Private Colleges

While private colleges typically have higher sticker prices than public colleges, in many cases, they also offer more scholarship money. They may have large endowments and donor support, which provide more money for scholarships and grants

Many private colleges rely on scholarships to attract students, to stay competitive, and to incentivize students to enroll. They may give some automatic merit scholarships (all students who meet the qualifications receive one), or may award some or all scholarships through a holistic review process with a variety of competitiveness.

Merit Scholarships at Highly Selective Colleges

Highly selective colleges also typically have large endowments and donor support, however, they tend to focus the majority of their awards on need-based aid. They are overwhelmed with applications from high-performing students and don’t need to use merit scholarships to attract applicants. As a result, they tend to give no or very little merit aid. The merit “award” at a highly selective college is an acceptance!

The few merit scholarships at highly selectives are very competitive; students who receive them tend to be extraordinary and within the top 1% or so of the applicants to the college. A few examples (not an exhaustive list):

List Building Strategies for Merit Scholarships

1. Clarify Your Priorities

Scholarship money or prestige? You can focus on one or the other in your college search, but you are unlikely to get both.
Scholarship money or specific colleges? For example, if you have your heart set specifically on Clemson, the University of Tennessee, or UNC Chapel Hill, you are likely to pay full price or close to it. However, if you are interested more generally in a public college in the south, consider the University of Kentucky or the University of Alabama for scholarship opportunities.

2. Research Approaches to Institutional Aid

As you research colleges that you are interested in, review the information on the financial aid website. Do they offer merit scholarships, or do they only offer need-based aid?

3. Research How Each College Awards Merit Scholarships

Are merit awards given to all students who meet specific GPA and/or test score criteria? Some colleges will have a chart available that shows the various tiers they award
Are merit scholarships given through a competitive and/or holistic process?

4. Leverage Your Academic Profile

Include schools with financial aid policies that support merit scholarships.
Include schools that offer merit scholarships to 30% or more students (BigJ Consulting charts are a great place to find this data)
Include schools where your academic profile (GPA & test scores) is in the top 20-25% of admitted students.
Aim for schools with admit rates of 50% - 80% (find on CollegeNavigator, Naviance, Scoir, CollegeData, or CollegeBoard)
Avoid or limit schools with admit rates of 25% or less. The more selective the school (or program), the less likely for merit aid due to competition!

5. Research Scholarship Details at Each College

Are applicants for admission automatically considered for scholarships based on their admission application?
Are there separate applications for some or all scholarships?

Tip: Check the Estrela Ultimate List of Hidden Scholarships blog post

Are there any major-specific scholarships available to incoming freshmen?
Are scholarships renewable?

What is the criteria to maintain them?

Are there additional scholarships available to upperclassmen?

How many are typically awarded?

You can find the answers to many of these questions through research on the college’s website, but they are also great questions to ask on your college visits (ask your admissions rep or the financial aid office; student tour guides may not know the intricacies of how scholarships are awarded).

With a merit scholarship-focused college list in hand, you're already on the right track. But there’s still more to explore! In Part 3, we’ll dive into third-party and outside scholarships - another valuable way to supplement your financial aid package. Stay tuned.