[ High School and Self-Education Board ]
Posted by Gwen in VA on 19:08 May 2
In Reply to: Merit based scholarship vs. mix of merit & need based scholarship....(m) posted by Lesley
becuase, like Kate said, we didn't know that dd would receive much merit aid.
I would NEVER presume that a child would receive a lot of merit aid, regardless of the child's qualifications. There are a lot of well-qualified students out there!
Most merit aid is given out regardless of financial need. (There are some merit aid scholarships for financially needy families, and I know nothing about them.) My dd received two full-tuition scholarships (tuition, but not R&B), and her merit aid was given regardless of financial need.
If you don't apply for financial aid, the college will not give you ANY money other than merit aid. Unless you are certain that you can cover the entire college cost or your child will go somewhere else if the merit aid is not given, you should apply for financial aid!