I think an issue not mentiond in the merit scholarship discussion is motivation to succeed in college. Students from the lower class have access to college through financial aide but do not have a track record of competing and learning well with more academically successful students from middle class homes. Tracking in our K-12 school system has seperated out the haves and have nots from early elementary grades on. I agree with those who say we need to address college access and liklihood to succeed in college not by handing out money taken from Peter to give to Paul, but to instill the expectations, skills and ethic that all students deserve. We can start by improving the quality of reading and social skill instruction in grades K-3.

howard, educator, at 8:20 am EDT on July 10, 2007

To parents, merit aid is akin to a price adjustment, which is not inappropriate given the horrendous increase in the cost of college at rates far above inflation for many decades now.

To students being admitted, merit aid is a way for colleges to say that “we really do want you” and separate themselves from other colleges admitting the same student. Attending college and doing well is hard work, and it is nice to start out with a positive feeling that the institution really wanted you as much as you wanted them.

People and businesses “give money away” or discount their goods or services for all sorts of reasons. I don’t see that it is anyone else’s business how a private institution chooses to handle this matter any more than it is anyone else’s business which charities I support.

Lynn Davis, at 11:50 am EST on February 13, 2007

No Merit Aid Entrenches the Elites

Merit Aid is one way that that non-elite schools can try increase the quality of their students. If schools are limited to need-based aid the cost of going to college will be the same for all schools a student gets into, and the currently elite schools will continue to get the best students. These schools love to make sure that there there is no effective competition for students (ask the DOJ), but unless other schools should not. Nor should students. I find it interesting that much of the dismay in this article comes from public universities, whose reduced tuition financed by taxpayers is itself not a subsidy to the lower class, but rather a subsidy to the upper middle classes. On average taxpayers are poorer than the families that send their students to public universities. There is a solution, not supported by any public university that I know of. Raise the tuition at Ole’State U to $35,000 or so (like what a private charges), take no money from the state, and let the state spend all the money that it now spends on the public university and establish a truly need based state scholarship, which in state students could use to attend the college of their choice. This would probably help more poor students attend college.

weinst, at 12:45 pm EST on February 13, 2007

In response to, “the big lie-need based aid".

It does seem to be an unfortunate fact that insitutions use their own need based aid to take from those that have and give to those that have not. Me and my husband have put two children through undergraduate school with no need based aid and little merit aid. The system may be faulty but it is all we have currently.

Here is our perspective on how we have “subsidized” the education of other students simply by paying for the education of our own children: To complete an education usually means (if we are to believe the statistics) a young person will have greater earnings over a lifetime. They will purchase more, helping the economy, and pay more taxes. I also have the hope they give back in some way over their lifetime and encourage others to obtain an education.

Those who do not complete higher education may be more likely to depend on welfare and may even become part of our penal system, thereby straining our tax dollars.

So, having the attitude that I would rather help subsidize someone to finish their education at an Ohio public university by paying full-tuition than pay for them to be on welfare or spend time in prison is what helps me and my husband feel lucky to be able to pay for our childrens’ education. After all, it is their tax dollars that will help us when we reach retirement age.

Sue Goley, Scholarship Manager, at 5:10 pm EST on February 22, 2007

Merit VS Need Aid

I dont totally agree with either Merit or Need based aid concepts. I have sat through a couple of High School Awards Session with my own kids and see things from a real perspective. On average you may have 20 kids out of 600 or 2,000 that will tend to get all the big time scholarships. Most of these students will have an almost perfect 4.0 GPA. These kids deserve a chance to go to college regardless of whether they have a financial need or not, but most of them can get a scholarship if they apply themselves. Generally these young adults dont have problems achieving high grades and will do well in a college environment.

Then you will of course have some very bright children who may also have very low family incomes. They may not have an a 4.0 GPA but only because of their need they get a Zero EFC and get a free ride to college based on their low income level. Some of these will do well and some may not. Some may not even deserve to go to college or even have an interest. However, in the USA we feel obliged to give them a chance to succeed and throw money at the problem.

Then there is everyone else. There is a large population of people whose parents may not be making much over the average of say $40,000.00 a year gross family income, get no special help and can barely afford to pay for gorceries and gasoline so both parents can get to work in their cars that are 10 years old or older and barely run. If you can do nothing for the people that basically are the lower middle class, then you are failing America and dooming them to a meager existence for the rest of their lives. These people in the middle class that are barely above the poverty line are all falling by the wayside. They struggle to earn a living and the average price of a house is now over $100,000.00.

How can these people afford to go to college? They could get a loan but then they can not hardly afford to make loan payments. They have an average of say $10,000 or more in debt on their credit cards and one more debt payment will push them into bankruptcy. I personally feel that the outlook for most people happens to be rather dim. However, I think these people deserve just as much of a chance as the rest of the people in college. If the average American is left behind, we are doomed to mediocracy.

Charles Hammond, System Analyst, at 5:50 pm EST on March 7, 2007