#merit aid

Hi! Smith has variety of merit aid programs that you can check out here! Out all the applications that Smith receives yearly, the Admissions Office only awards more selective programs like The Zollman Scholarship and STRIDE to under 5%. Because you are selected for merit aid based on your general Smith application, there isn’t another chance to appeal or ask for more aid. Don’t worry, though — there are numerous scholarships outside Smith you can apply for based off merit! — Hannah ‘21

HI! I’m so glad you’re thinking about Smith. I actually received a merit scholarship from Smith, and have other friends who have as well! So it definitely happens. If you’d like, message me and I will give you more details.

-Julie ‘21

Hello!

Merit scholarships are competitive in Smith, but it isn’t the only form of financial aid we have! I believe about 60% of students receive some form of financial aid. Many of my friends are work study students who are financial aid recipients, and get first pick to work on campus. So even if you don’t get merit, please know that there are other options in terms of financial aid.

Navigating college financial aid is one of the most complex and consequential tasks families face. With tuition costs continuing to rise in 2026, understanding how to maximize aid eligibility is essential. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of college financial aid planning to help families make informed, confident decisions.

Why College Financial Aid Planning Matters in 2026

The average cost of a four-year college education has reached record levels. Public universities now average over $27,000 per year in total costs for in-state students, while private universities can exceed $60,000 annually. Without strategic financial planning, many families leave significant aid on the table simply because they don't know what's available or how to position themselves for maximum eligibility.

Understanding the Types of College Financial Aid

Financial aid comes in several forms. Need-based aid is determined by your family's financial situation as reported on the FAFSA and CSS Profile, including federal grants like the Pell Grant, subsidized loans, and work-study programs. Merit-based aid is awarded based on academic achievement or talent, regardless of financial need. Institutional aid is money given directly by the college itself — often the most significant source of funding and highly variable between institutions.

The FAFSA: Your Foundation for Federal Aid

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the cornerstone of most financial aid packages. Filing early and accurately is critical — many states and colleges award aid on a first-come, first-served basis. Key strategies include filing as soon as the form opens each October, understanding which assets are considered in the calculation, and ensuring all information is accurate to avoid verification delays.

How Pathfinders Advisors Can Help Your Family

Strategic decisions about which colleges to apply to, how to present your family's financial situation, and how to negotiate aid packages can dramatically change the amount you ultimately pay. Pathfinders Advisors provides personalized guidance that goes beyond generic advice to help each student and family chart their own path to a successful, affordable college experience.

Susan Cornish and the Pathfinders team work with students from early high school through enrollment, helping families identify the right college fit, maximize financial aid eligibility, and navigate applications, scholarships, and loan decisions.

Merit Scholarships: Often Overlooked Opportunities

Many families focus exclusively on need-based aid and miss significant merit scholarship opportunities. Private colleges in particular often award merit scholarships to attract students who meet their academic and community profile — even to families earning well above the thresholds for need-based aid.

FAQs: College Financial Aid Planning

Q1: When should families start planning for college financial aid? Ideally, planning should begin when a student enters 9th grade or earlier. Financial planning decisions that affect FAFSA calculations are most effective when made 2-3 years before college enrollment.

Q2: What is the difference between the FAFSA and the CSS Profile? The FAFSA is required by all federally funded aid programs and most colleges. The CSS Profile is used by approximately 400 private colleges to determine institutional aid, asking more detailed financial questions that can result in significantly different aid calculations.

Q3: Can we negotiate our financial aid package? Yes. If a college's initial package doesn't meet your needs or match offers from comparable schools, you can submit a formal appeal. Successful appeals require clear, specific justification. A skilled advisor can help you craft an effective appeal letter.

Q4: How much of my savings will affect financial aid? Parental assets in standard savings accounts are assessed at up to 5.64% in the FAFSA formula. Student assets are assessed at 20%. Retirement accounts (401k, IRA) are not counted as assets.

Q5: What is the best way to find scholarships outside of the college itself? Start with local sources — community foundations and regional businesses often have less competition than national scholarships. Your student's specific interests, heritage, intended major, and location may qualify them for specialized scholarships most families never discover.

Suppose you are asking which good schools offer merit aid to industrial engineering students. In that case, the answer is that several top universities in the United States and abroad provide generous merit-based scholarships, grants, and financial awards specifically for high-achieving students in engineering programs. These schools include well-known names like Purdue University, Georgia Tech,…

Scholarships are on the minds of most parents thinking about how to pay for college.

For many families, merit aid, awarded to a student for their academic or personal achievements, can be an important part of the college affordability equation.

Whether a student is submitting applications in the next week, or just starting out in 9th or 10th grade, there are a few things you should know about merit aid right now.

Read on for 3 keys to securing merit aid –

#1 Start With Your Colleges.

Students and families often think that the best way to gain scholarships is to conduct an online search and begin filling out scores of scholarship applications. While these kinds of scholarships can be a part of a student’s process, the most important place to start is with the colleges you are already considering or applying to. Go to the college’s financial aid website and review all of the available information about what we call “institutional aid,” merit aid and scholarships provided directly by the college to incoming students. Read the details to learn the eligibility requirements and identify opportunities that may be a good fit for your student, and how to apply. While students may be considered for some awards ‘automatically,’ simply by submitting their application, others will require additional steps. These steps may include financial aid applications, even if you think your family will not qualify for need-based financial aid, as well as additional applications, essays, recommendations, or interviews.

#2 Highly Selective Colleges Almost Never Award Merit Aid.

If your student is interested in ‘highly selective’ colleges, those with acceptance rates below 30% such as Ivies, prestigious flagship public universities, and highly selective liberal arts schools, these colleges rarely offer merit aid or scholarships to students. The reasons for this are several. Many of these colleges have prioritized investing their resources in need-based aid. They want to make their education affordable for families of all income levels, and thus many have adopted “100% need-met” financial aid policies. This means that when they review financial aid applications, they assess a family’s ability to pay. Even if that family’s estimated contribution to the education is $0, if admitted, the college will meet that student’s need fully through a combination of grants and loans. These policies create more diverse, equitable campuses, but for middle to high income families these policies generally mean that there are no merit-based aid opportunities. If your student is considering one of these colleges, you should not expect them to receive merit aid or merit scholarships, except for a few very rare, highly competitive academic & leadership awards. Instead, we recommend using the Net Price Calculator for the college to understand your estimated cost of attendance, and contacting the financial aid office if you have questions, especially if your student is considering the binding commitment of an Early Decision application.

The other reality is that these highly selective colleges do not need to offer merit awards to get students to enroll. They have almost endless numbers of applicants to choose from. If merit aid is important to your college affordability plan, research those opportunities, and consider adding selective or less-selective colleges to your student’s college list. Private colleges that accept 50% or more of applicants are more likely to offer merit scholarships as a way to sweeten the deal and encourage enrollment.

#3 Deadlines Matter, Read All The Fine Print.

Merit awards often have early or priority deadlines that require a student to submit their application by a certain date. This date is very often earlier than the regular decision application deadline and some come in the early fall. Carefully review all of the information on both the admission and financial aid web pages at your colleges to determine these deadlines and the requirements. In addition to submitting the college application early, families need to submit financial aid applications such as FAFSA and CSS Profile by the required deadlines, and students will often have additional application materials to complete including essays, recommendations, and scholarship application forms.

You can demystify paying for college… and we’re here to help:

If you’d like to learn more about how to navigate college affordability for your family, and how to find right-fit scholarships and institutional awards for your student, these tools are available, right at your fingertips!

TBU Members, you already have access to all of the tools at no additional charge:

Visit your TBU Member Platform and start our Online Course: Your College Affordability Tool Kit anytime, at your own pace. These interactive videos, and downloadable tools will guide you every step of the way.

Scholarships are on the minds of most parents thinking about how to pay for college.

For many families, merit aid, awarded to a student for their academic or personal achievements, can be an important part of the college affordability equation.

Whether a student is submitting applications in the next week, or just starting out in 9th or 10th grade, there are a few things you should know about merit aid right now.

Read on for 3 keys to securing merit aid –

#1 Start With Your Colleges.

Students and families often think that the best way to gain scholarships is to conduct an online search and begin filling out scores of scholarship applications. While these kinds of scholarships can be a part of a student’s process, the most important place to start is with the colleges you are already considering or applying to. Go to the college’s financial aid website and review all of the available information about what we call “institutional aid,” merit aid and scholarships provided directly by the college to incoming students. Read the details to learn the eligibility requirements and identify opportunities that may be a good fit for your student, and how to apply. While students may be considered for some awards ‘automatically,’ simply by submitting their application, others will require additional steps. These steps may include financial aid applications, even if you think your family will not qualify for need-based financial aid, as well as additional applications, essays, recommendations, or interviews.

#2 Highly Selective Colleges Almost Never Award Merit Aid.

If your student is interested in ‘highly selective’ colleges, those with acceptance rates below 30% such as Ivies, prestigious flagship public universities, and highly selective liberal arts schools, these colleges rarely offer merit aid or scholarships to students. The reasons for this are several. Many of these colleges have prioritized investing their resources in need-based aid. They want to make their education affordable for families of all income levels, and thus many have adopted “100% need-met” financial aid policies. This means that when they review financial aid applications, they assess a family’s ability to pay. Even if that family’s estimated contribution to the education is $0, if admitted, the college will meet that student’s need fully through a combination of grants and loans. These policies create more diverse, equitable campuses, but for middle to high income families these policies generally mean that there are no merit-based aid opportunities. If your student is considering one of these colleges, you should not expect them to receive merit aid or merit scholarships, except for a few very rare, highly competitive academic & leadership awards. Instead, we recommend using the Net Price Calculator for the college to understand your estimated cost of attendance, and contacting the financial aid office if you have questions, especially if your student is considering the binding commitment of an Early Decision application.

The other reality is that these highly selective colleges do not need to offer merit awards to get students to enroll. They have almost endless numbers of applicants to choose from. If merit aid is important to your college affordability plan, research those opportunities, and consider adding selective or less-selective colleges to your student’s college list. Private colleges that accept 50% or more of applicants are more likely to offer merit scholarships as a way to sweeten the deal and encourage enrollment.

#3 Deadlines Matter, Read All The Fine Print.

Merit awards often have early or priority deadlines that require a student to submit their application by a certain date. This date is very often earlier than the regular decision application deadline and some come in the early fall. Carefully review all of the information on both the admission and financial aid web pages at your colleges to determine these deadlines and the requirements. In addition to submitting the college application early, families need to submit financial aid applications such as FAFSA and CSS Profile by the required deadlines, and students will often have additional application materials to complete including essays, recommendations, and scholarship application forms.

You can demystify paying for college… and we’re here to help:

If you’d like to learn more about how to navigate college affordability for your family, and how to find right-fit scholarships and institutional awards for your student, these tools are available, right at your fingertips!

TBU Members, you already have access to all of the tools at no additional charge:

Visit your TBU Member Platform and start our Online Course: Your College Affordability Tool Kit anytime, at your own pace. These interactive videos, and downloadable tools will guide you every step of the way.

List of Colleges Offering Merit Aid

No matter which higher education institution you choose to attend, you’ll do better if you plan ahead — and ask the right questions — in order to get the maximum college financial aid.   “The first question to ask a school is: ‘What kind of financial aid do you offer?’” says Pamela Mason, the Senior Associate Director, Office of Financial Aid & Educational Financing, at Columbia University.  …

Putting under read more because financial information: