Everybody wants to be awarded merit scholarships — and not just any ol’ merit scholarship, they want a ‘good’ one. But what, exactly, does that mean, and how do you search for one if you’re not sure?
Recently the parent of a college senior and a college sophomore in our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group, Sheila Jones, shared this great advice about merit scholarships, and we think it’s worth sharing.
“Often you will hear people say their child received a ‘good’ merit scholarship, and many families regularly say that they need a school that offers ‘good’ merit, but what exactly does that mean?
Here are two things to keep in mind:
- Make sure you define what ‘good’ merit means to you and your family as you start your college search.
- Once your child receives a merit scholarship offer, make sure you have a clear understanding of what is required for your student to keep that merit scholarship each semester or year BEFORE accepting.
Let’s define what constitutes a ‘good’ merit scholarship:
Let’s say the Cost of Attendance (COA) at a school is $75,000 per year (including tuition, fees, room and board, and meals) and your student gets $30,000 per year in merit. This means your family will owe $45,000. Is that $45,000 doable for your family? If so, then that $30,000 per year scholarship is ‘good’ merit for your family.
Now let’s say the COA at another school is $30,000 per year and your student gets $10,000 per year in merit. Your out-of-pocket expense will be $20,000 a year. Is that $20,000 per year doable for your family? If so, then that $10,000 is good merit!
Once you’ve defined ‘good’ merit for your family, it’s time to consider what may be required to maintain a merit scholarship — because merit scholarships come with strings attached. Here are some examples.
- Many schools will require students to maintain a certain GPA to keep merit scholarships. That can range from as low as a 2.0 GPA to as high as a 3.75 GPA, or higher,Find out how your student’s GPA compares to the required level and if it’s lower than they’d like it to be or toeing the line, find out how much time they have to raise their GPA before losing the scholarship.
- Some schools may require students to stay on campus all four years to maintain a scholarship, but many eventually want to move off campus.
- Some merit scholarships apply only to specific majors, so it’s important to consider how committed your student is to said major before accepting a scholarship.
- Some schools require students to perform a certain number of hours of community service or be in attendance at different events throughout the year to maintain their scholarships.
These are just a few of the rules and restrictions of some merit scholarships. Each school and each individual scholarship will have its own set of criteria. All of that is key to know as you go searching — and eventually, accepting — merit scholarships.” — Sheila Jones, Paying for College 101 Facebook Group member
Get more tips about merit scholarships and so much more from parents just like you by joining our Paying for College 101 Facebook Group — it’s free and takes just seconds to join.
Top 20 Colleges for Merit Aid With SAI Under $30,000
This crowdsourced data shows which colleges have offered the most merit aid to Road2College members so far with an SAI under $30,000. It is for the 2024-25 academic year, and much of it is repeatable in subsequent years.
College Merit Aid Offers to Members
Under $30K SAI# of Offers Avg Offer
Susquehanna University $508,500 12 $42,375
University of Arizona $418,500 18 $23,250
University of Scranton $404,000 14 $28,857
University of Alabama $394,986 17 $23,234
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute $392,500 11 $35,682
Rochester Institute of Technology $369,800 14 $26,414
Wheaton College $368,400 10 $36,840
University of Vermont $334,000 18 $18,556
Miami University-Oxford $330,000 21 $15,714
Ithaca College $328,300 12 $27,358
University of Dayton $327,150 11 $29,741
Quinnipiac University $325,248 11 $29,568
Stonehill College $324,000 9 $36,000
Hofstra University $301,500 9 $33,500
Xavier University $268,682 9 $29,854
University of Hartford $259,000 9 $28,778
DePaul University $252,000 10 $25,200
Seton Hall University $243,500 11 $22,136
Loyola University Chicago $242,000 9 $26,889
Stevens Institute of Technology $238,000 9 $26,444
Top 20 Colleges for Merit Aid With SAI From $30,000-$60,000
This crowdsourced data shows which colleges have offered the most merit aid to Road2College members so far with an SAI from $30,000 to $60,000 It is for the 2024-25 academic year, and much of it is repeatable in subsequent years.College | Merit Aid Offers to Members From $30K-60K SAI | # of Offers | Avg Offer |
---|---|---|---|
Susquehanna University | $649,000 | 15 | $43,267 |
Fordham University | $528,835 | 19 | $27,833 |
Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute | $522,000 | 14 | $37,286 |
Loyola University Chicago | $480,999 | 19 | $25,316 |
Case Western Reserve University | $460,000 | 13 | $35,386 |
University of Arizona | $446,000 | 18 | $24,778 |
University of Alabama | $443,525 | 21 | $21,120 |
Loyola University Maryland | $435,500 | 13 | $33,500 |
Seton Hall University | $434,500 | 17 | $25,550 |
Miami University-Oxford | $431,000 | 22 | $19,591 |
University of Hartford | $429,000 | 14 | $30,643 |
Saint Joseph's University | $422,000 | 14 | $30,143 |
Drexel University | $394,100 | 13 | $30,315 |
University of South Carolina-Columbia | $387,006 | 23 | $16,826 |
Quinnipiac University | $387,000 | 13 | $29,769 |
Rochester Institute of Technology | $386,500 | 18 | $21,472 |
DePaul University | $369,000 | 16 | $24,600 |
University of Scranton | $358,534 | 12 | $29,878 |
Ursinus College | $339,580 | 10 | $33,958 |
Hofstra University | $325,500 | 8 | $40,688 |
Top 20 Colleges for Merit Aid With SAI Above $60,000
This crowdsourced data shows which colleges have offered the most merit aid to Road2College members so far with an SAI over $60,000. It is for the 2024-25 academic year, and much of it is repeatable in subsequent years.College | Merit Aid Offers to Members Above $60K SAI | # of Offers | Avg Offer |
---|---|---|---|
Fordham University | $1,138,032 | 41 | $32,147 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | $1,085,050 | 29 | $37,416 |
University of Vermont | $959,500 | 45 | $21,322 |
Rochester Institute of Technology | $781,650 | 32 | $24,427 |
Case Western Reserve University | $772,500 | 24 | $32,188 |
University of Alabama | $765,825 | 32 | $23,932 |
Drexel University | $727,000 | 31 | $23,462 |
Fairfield University | $723,500 | 30 | $24,117 |
Clark University | $701,500 | 24 | $29,229 |
Quinnipiac University | $699,500 | 24 | $29,146 |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute | $686,500 | 26 | $26,404 |
Wheaton College | $681,000 | 16 | $42,463 |
Loyola University Chicago | $666,500 | 23 | $28,978 |
Dickinson College | $627,220 | 15 | $41,815 |
Miami University-Oxford | $602,000 | 32 | $18,813 |
Seton Hall University | $544,400 | 20 | $27,220 |
Ithaca College | $543,500 | 19 | $28,605 |
Loyola University Maryland | $542,500 | 16 | $33,906 |
Hofstra University | $530,500 | 15 | $35,367 |
University of South Carolina-Columbia | $501,529 | 28 | $17,912 |
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Use R2C Insights to help find merit aid and schools that fit the criteria most important to your student. You’ll not only save precious time, but your student will avoid the heartache of applying to schools they aren’t likely to get into or can’t afford to attend.
Other Articles You Might Like:
“We Went From $0 to $24,000 in Merit Aid Just for Asking”
How to Play the College Waiting Game to Maximize Merit
Merit Scholarship Guide: Factors, Tips, Full List and Search Tool
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