Michelle Kretzschmar 
Merit aid refers to college awarded financial aid that is not based on financial need. The most commonly recognized form of merit aid is the scholarship. Scholarships may be awarded for academic skills or achievements based on talents such as athletic, artistic, or leadership. Other types of merit aid include tuition waivers or institutional grants not based on financial need. Unlike most outside scholarships, merit aid is awarded for all four years of college.
Net price calculators (NPC) are a way for students and their families to estimate how much it would cost to attend a specific college. All colleges that accept federal funds are required to provide Net Price Calculators on their websites. The NPC is supposed to
provide estimated net price information to current and prospective students and their families based on a student’s individual circumstances. This calculator should allow students to calculate an estimated net price of attendance at an institution (defined as cost of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid) based on what similar students paid in a previous year.
There are very few situations when applying for financial aid could possibly hurt your chances for admissions. For your financial aid application to affect your admissions you would need to be applying to a school with all of the following criteria.
ShareTweetFlipEmailPin0 SharesThe maximum SAT test score on all three sections of the test is 2400. This score is based on the combined individual scores for the Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing sections. The lowest score for each section is 200 and the highest is 800. According the College Board, of the 2013 college0bound seniors, the … Read more
A 3-2 program commonly refers to a dual degree program in Engineering and Liberal Arts that is completed by attending two different institutions. Students spend their first three years attending a college without an engineering program, usually a Liberal Arts College. The last two years are completed at an institution with an engineering program and the student graduates with two bachelors degrees.
A suitcase school is college that is a predominately residential campus, unlike a commuter school, but where a significant percentage of students go home for the weekend. Suitcase schools tend to be less selective and have a majority of students who live in a close travel radius to the school.
Self-help financial aid is aid that the student earns through work or is required to pay back. Student loans and work-study are both self-help aid. Many colleges build their financial aid award starting with self-help aid.
Problems can occur when the institution doesn’t meet the student’s full-financial need, often referred to as “gapping.”
An honors college is more likely to exist in large research university setting with many other existing colleges such as engineering, business, agricultural, natural sciences, etc. Honors programs tend to be at smaller institutions that don’t have college divisions or only two or three such colleges.
Many honors colleges evolved from university honors programs. Becoming an honors college is important in terms of structure and funding at universities.
Even if you think your parents make too much money to qualify for financial aid, you should still fill out the FAFSA. There are certain loans that don’t rely on income such as the unsubsidized Direct Loan and the PLUS loans for parents. And depending on the school, you may qualify for work-study jobs.
Some colleges will not provide scholarship money without the FAFSA and it can also make you eligible for some state aid.