Colleges taking another look at value of merit-based aid
Good grades and high test scores still matter — a lot — to many colleges as they award financial aid.
But with low-income students projected to make up an ever-larger share of the college-bound population in coming years, some schools are re-examining whether that aid, typically known as merit aid, is the most effective use of precious institutional dollars.
George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for example, said last week that it would cut the value of its average merit scholarships by about one-third and pare the number of recipients, pouring the savings, about $2.5 million, into need-based aid. Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., made a similar decision three years ago.
Now, Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., says it will phase out merit scholarships altogether. No current merit-aid recipients will lose their scholarships, but need-based aid alone will be awarded beginning with students entering in fall 2008.
Not all colleges offer merit aid; generally, the more selective a school, the less likely it is to do so. Harvard and Princeton, for example, offer generous need-based packages, but plenty of families who don't meet need eligibility have been willing to pay whatever they must for a big-name school.
For small regional colleges that struggle just to fill seats, merit aid can be an important revenue-builder because many recipients still pay enough tuition dollars over and above the scholarship amount to keep the institution running.
But for rankings-conscious schools in between, merit aid has served primarily as a tool to recruit top students and to improve their academic profiles. "They're trying to buy students," says Skidmore College economist Sandy Baum.
意思是好成绩和考试分数仍然高的问题 -很多 -为他们许多高校奖助学金.
但是预计在未来几年弥补了一个上大学的人口越来越大的份额低收入家庭的学生,一些学校正在重新审视是否援助,通常以优异的盛名,是珍贵的体制最有效地利用美元.
乔治华盛顿大学在华盛顿特区,例如上周表示,它将削减约三分之一,其平均价值奖学金价值和parE的收件人数,浇的储蓄,约250万美元,为有需要的援助.美维阿勒格尼在宾夕法尼亚州大学三年前作出了类似决定.
现在,汉密尔顿在克林顿,纽约大学表示,将逐步完全值得奖学金.没有电流择优的受援者将失去他们的奖学金,但需要的援助将获得单独与学生在进入2008年秋季开始.
并非所有的大学提供奖学金的,一般情况下,更有选择性的一所学校,就越有可能是这样做.哈佛大学和普林斯顿大学,例如,提供慷慨的需要为基础的包,但许多家庭谁不\'吨满足需要的资格都愿意付出任何他们的大牌学校必须.
对于小区域高校的斗争正好填补席位,择优援助可以是一个重要的收入建设者,因为很多人士还是付之上学费的奖学金数额美元,以保持足够的机构运行.
但在排名之间意识的学校,奖学金的主要是作为一个曾招收优秀学生,并提高他们的专业型材工具. \“他们\'再试图购买的学生,\“说斯基德莫尔学院的经济学家桑迪鲍姆.