What is Merit Aid
Merit aid is a form of financial aid given by colleges directly to students, but not based on financial need. Since students do not have to qualify for traditional need-based aid to be granted merit aid, it is the best financial strategy for middle-class families to pay for college without taking out loans. Aid packages range both in the percentage of students without need who receive them and in total dollar amount. This type of aid is not just for stellar students. You don’t have to be a straight-A student to receive merit aid.

Why is Merit Aid important?
Merit aid can be an effective way to pay for college without taking loans and does not depend on your family’s income. Understanding how to maximize your merit aid can make college more affordable. Colleges differ in the amount of merit aid given and criteria for the award. Therefore, you need to compare merit aid data on colleges as you search and apply to colleges.

How Can I Get Merit Aid?
Colleges use merit aid grants (free money) as an incentive l to attract desirable students. Colleges seeking to entice students whose test scores and grades are in the top quartile of their accepted student class will often use merit aid as a financial incentive to convince students to enroll in their college. Merit aid awards are grants and do not need to be paid back like a loan. Most are renewable, so students are eligible to receive them for four years.

Do All Colleges Offer Merit Aid?
No. Not all schools provide merit aid. Top tier colleges (e.g., Ivy League) generally do not need to offer merit aid. However, most other private colleges offer merit aid to attract applicants. Public institutions provide less merit aid than private schools. In some cases, out-of-state students may qualify for more aid than in-state students as their sticker price is higher. However, with generous merit aid packages, sometimes small private colleges can cost less than a public institution.

How Can I Find Colleges that Give Merit Aid?
The process of finding and comparing merit aid packages is not easy. You can research a college’s “Common Data” information to find a particular college’s percentage of merit aid granted and the average amount of aid given. You would have to spend a lot of extra time doing a separate search for each college and recording the information MeritMore allows you to simultaneously search over 1600 four-year colleges for merit aid information and compare those stats against each other.

Looking for colleges that are a good “merit match” can save time and disappointment in the acceptance phase. Finding good “financial fit” schools can be time-consuming and tedious. MeritMore takes the hassle out of the search for merit aid and allows families to search across all schools that offer this form of aid.

How Can I Get Merit Aid?
Merit aid is typically not awarded through a separate application process. Colleges will generally award merit aid along with the admissions cycle and offer students a merit aid package as part of their acceptance package. Most merit aid is renewable, meaning that the school will provide it for each of 4 years, but they typically have GPA requirements and enrollment-status that students must meet to be eligible. It's essential to check for both requirements and renewability when accepting any aid package as these may vary.

What is a MeritMatch®?
MeritMore uses an algorithm based on your profile to determine your likelihood of qualifying for merit aid. This is a proprietary process called MeritMatch®. Identifying colleges that are a good match can save time and disappointment in the acceptance phase. Manually finding good “financial fit” schools can be time-consuming and tedious. MeritMore takes the hassle out of the search for merit aid and allows families to search across all schools that offer this form of aid.