This week, we are talking about merit aid and how to build a college list with affordability in mind. If you missed it, we encourage you to listen to episode 11 first, where we talk about the cost of college and provide a foundation for this discussion of merit aid. And if you want to learn more about need-based financial aid, take a listen to episode 13. 

Whitney and Katelyn talk about the reasons behind the increasing use of merit awards, or scholarships, to recruit students and address 4 big myths around merit aid.

Myth number 1: You are going to get merit aid at every college where you are a competitive application and you have received admission. We want you to be aware of the limitations a student may face in merit aid at an out-of-state public university. There are also several dozen selective universities that do not provide merit aid to any accepted students (though they are very generous with need-based aid).

Myth number 2: The perception that athletic scholarships are among the most common type of merit aid, when in fact last year, athletic scholarships represented less than 7% of all university granted scholarships.

Myth number 3: Merit aid and scholarships are only for straight A students. We have good news for you here!

Myth number 4: Private scholarships are the best way to decrease the cost of college. Again, as a percentage of all scholarship money granted every year, private scholarships represent less than 12% of the total amount awarded.

Time Stamps:

1:16 What Are We Learning This Week?  Katelyn is learning about her students’ favorite meals and treats after asking them to choose an application filing celebration treat. In a busy senior year fall, it’s a good time to reflect on all of your hard work. 

3:30 Big Picture: We discuss 4 big myths around merit aid.

15:05  “Stump the IEC (Independent Educational Consultant)”  Whitney guesses which selective university scholarship requires an essay before invitation to move on in the selection process.

19:55 Tips and Strategies for building affordability into your college search, including a review of some of our favorite resources. 

More Than A Transcript © is a production of Whitney Bruce College Consulting and College Options, LLC. It is supported by Susan Lanigan and Katie Bruce, with artwork by Heidi Rehbock and original music by Will Morrow.

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Thanks for listening!