Episode 15: Paying for College Series, Part 3: Merit Aid and Building Affordable College Lists

This week, we are talking about merit aid and how to build a college list with affordability in mind. If you missed it, we encourage you to listen to episode 11 first, where we talk about the cost of college and provide a foundation for this discussion of merit aid. And if you want to learn more about need-based financial aid, take a listen to episode 13. Whitney and Katelyn talk about the reasons behind the increasing use of merit awards, or scholarships, to recruit students and address 4 big myths around merit aid.Myth number 1: You are going to get merit aid at every college where you are a competitive application and you have received admission. We want you to be aware of the limitations a student may face in merit aid at an out-of-state public university. There are also several dozen selective universities that do not provide merit aid to any accepted students (though they are very generous with need-based aid).Myth number 2: The perception that athletic scholarships are among the most common type of merit aid, when in fact last year, athletic scholarships represented less than 7% of all university granted scholarships.Myth number 3: Merit aid and scholarships are only for straight A students. We have good news for you here!Myth number 4: Private scholarships are the best way to decrease the cost of college. Again, as a percentage of all scholarship money granted every year, private scholarships represent less than 12% of the total amount awarded.Time Stamps:1:16 What Are We Learning This Week?  Katelyn is learning about her students’ favorite meals and treats after asking them to choose an application filing celebration treat. In a busy senior year fall, it’s a good time to reflect on all of your hard work. 3:30 Big Picture: We discuss 4 big myths around merit aid.15:05  “Stump the IEC (Independent Educational Consultant)”  Whitney guesses which selective university scholarship requires an essay before invitation to move on in the selection process.19:55 Tips and Strategies for building affordability into your college search, including a review of some of our favorite resources. More Than A Transcript © is a production of Whitney Bruce College Consulting and College Options, LLC. It is supported by Susan Lanigan and Katie Bruce, with artwork by Heidi Rehbock and original music by Will Morrow.Visit our website at www.morethanatranscript.com for resources or to ask questions.Thanks for listening!