If you’re a family that won’t qualify for need-based aid, it’s time to start looking for colleges with merit scholarships.
Merit-based aid is money colleges award that is not based on any financial need.
These scholarships are usually awarded based on academic performance and sometimes based on special talents.
We did a quick sort of our College Insights tool to find colleges with merit scholarships and ranked them by the amount of merit aid they gave to freshmen who did not have any financial need (as determined by the college).
Our College Insights tool has information on merit awards, from compiling Common Data Set information that colleges publish on their websites and crowdsourcing actual financial aid award offers from families with high school seniors.
Unfortunately, not all colleges make this information public, so our college list may not be completely inclusive of all the appropriate schools.
But for the purpose of giving a glimpse into the top colleges with merit awards, this is a good start. The list below was put together based solely on the average amount of merit scholarships offered to freshmen.
| Name | % Freshmen w/out need Receiving Merit Aid (’20 – ’21*) | Avg Merit Award for Freshmen Without Need (’20 – ’21*) |
|
88% | $51,700 |
|
19% | $40,769 |
|
97% | $40,533 |
|
100% | $39,881 |
|
100% | $37,375 |
|
98% | $36,219 |
|
98% | $34,569 |
|
98% | $33,809 |
|
88% | $33,670 |
|
97% | $33,317 |
So you’ll need to also research how many students actually receive the award.
The percentage of freshmen who receive merit-based awards who do not have financial need varies greatly on the list – from a low of 19% to a high of 100%.
If you’re interested in finding colleges that offer generous merit scholarships check out College Insights.
College Insights helps students and parents search, find, and compare over 2,000 colleges.
Filter the information that’s most important to your student as you work together to find merit scholarships and build your perfect college list.
| Name | State | SAT (CR+M) 75th Percentile ('20-'21) | ACT Composite 75th Percentile ('20 - '21) | % Freshmen without need | % Freshmen w/out need Receiving Merit Aid ('20 - '21) | Avg Merit Award for Freshmen Without Need ('20 - '21) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington & Jefferson College | PA | 1320 | 29 | 17% | 100% | $30,666 |
| Webb Institute | NY | 1520 | 36 | 65% | 88% | $51,700 |
| Kalamazoo College | MI | 1370 | 31 | 23% | 97% | $32,970 |
| Seattle Pacific University | WA | - | 27 | 5% | 97% | $33,317 |
| Clarkson University | NY | 1340 | 30 | 22% | 88% | $33,670 |
| Allegheny College | PA | 1350 | 30 | 23% | 98% | $33,809 |
| Susquehanna University | PA | 1230 | 28 | 19% | 98% | $34,569 |
| Hartwick College | NY | - | 26 | 12% | 98% | $36,291 |
| Albion College | MI | 1200 | 27 | 11% | 100% | $37,375 |
| Hendrix College | AR | 1338 | 31 | 24% | 100% | $39,881 |
| Beloit College | WI | 1290 | 29 | 20% | 97% | $40,533 |
| University of Richmond | VA | 1440 | 33 | 59% | 19% | $40,769 |
| Agnes Scott College | GA | 1340 | 30 | 22% | 95% | $32,004 |
| Wabash College | IN | 1320 | 29 | 22% | 96% | $31,287 |
| Lawrence University | WI | 1400 | 32 | 33% | 98% | $31,185 |
| Cornell College | IA | 1253 | 29 | 22% | 100% | $31,069 |
| Coe College | IA | 1250 | 26 | 10% | 103% | $31,003 |
| Southern Methodist University | TX | 1360 | 29 | 67% | 68% | $30,992 |
| DePauw University | IN | 1540 | 34 | 39% | 90% | $30,820 |
| Washington and Lee University | VA | 1490 | 33 | 50% | 11% | $45,742 |
| Stetson University | FL | 1270 | 29 | 21% | 80% | $32,599 |
| Widener University | PA | - | - | 18% | 111% | $30,050 |
| Knox College | IL | 1300 | 31 | 15% | 95% | $30,219 |
| Centre College | KY | 1380 | 32 | 30% | 97% | $30,257 |
| Bellarmine University | KY | 1280 | 28 | 18% | 98% | $30,278 |
| Georgetown College | KY | 1180 | 26 | 9% | 100% | $30,453 |
| Lake Forest College | IL | 1275 | 30 | 16% | 100% | $30,560 |
| St. Catherine University | MN | 1170 | 25 | 14% | 98% | $30,556 |
| Wartburg College | IA | 1200 | 25 | 21% | 98% | $30,603 |
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*Information is based on 2020 – 2021 college Common Data Sets.
This story was originally published in our Paying for College 101 (PFC 101) group. It has been edited for clarity
This story was first published in our Paying for College 101 Facebook community. It’s been edited for clarity and flow.
This story about legacy admissions was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused
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