What is Merit Aid and how can I obtain more information about these opportunties?
Merit-based aid is based on recognition of special skills, talents, or past academic success. Merit aid sometimes is tied to need. Although the vast majority of financial assistance is in the form of need-based aid, there are many, many scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial assistance available. The College Counseling Office has books with information and advice to students describing how to “win” that aid. Additionally, colleges are happy to provide information about grant and scholarship programs they maintain. Some of these programs are highly competitive. Some are virtually automatic if a student has certain academic credentials. Consult the college’s admissions literature for information. Your College Counselor can help locate the information for you if you are having trouble. There is a great web site, fastweb.com, which is a major source of information and also has warnings about the many scams which unfortunately exist. In general, if you need to pay to apply for a
