how they could jointly reduce merit aid, “This is a merry-go-round that’s going very
fast, and none of the institutions believe they can sustain the risks of trying to break
away by themselves.”
A complicating factor is that merit aid has become so popular with
middle-income families, who don’t qualify for need-based aid, that many have come
to depend on it. And, as tuitions continue to increase, the line between merit and need
blurs.
That’s one reason Allegheny College doesn’t plan to drop merit aid entirely.
“We still believe in rewarding superior achievements and know that these top
students truly value the scholarship,” says Scott Friedhoff, Allegheny’s vice president
for enrollment.
Emory University in Atlanta, which boasts a $4.7 billion endowment(捐赠),
meanwhile, is taking another approach. This year, it announced it would eliminate
loans for needy students and cap them for middle-income families. At the same time,
it would expand its 28-year-old merit program.
“Yeah, we’re playing the merit game,” acknowledges Tom Lancaster, associate
dean for undergraduate education. But it has its strong point, too, he says. “The fact
of the matter is, it’s not just about the lowest-income people. It’s the average
American middle-class family who’s being priced out of the market.”
*A few words about merit-based aid:
Merit-based aid is aid offered to students who achieve excellence in a given area,
and is generally known as academic, athletic and artistic merit scholarships.
Academic merit scholarships are based on students’ grades, GPA and overall
academic performance during high school. They are typically meant for students
going straight to college right after high school. However, there are scholarships for
current college students with exceptional grades as well. These merit scholarships
usually help students pay tuition bills, and they can be renewed each year as long as
the recipients continue to qualify. In some cases, students may need to be
recommended by their school or a teacher as part of the qualification process.
Athletic merit scholarships are meant for students that excel(突出)in sports of
any kind, from football to track and field events. Recommendation for these
scholarships is required, since exceptional athletic performance has to be recognized
by a coach or a referee(裁判). Applicants need to send in a tape containing their best
performance.
Artistic merit scholarships require that applicants excel in a given artistic area.