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I could be wrong, but I could not find a single merit-based scholarship at Yale, Harvard, Stanford. Certainly, not for undergraduates. It does not seem the righ

I could be wrong, but I could not find a single merit-based scholarship at Yale, Harvard, Stanford. Certainly, not for undergraduates. It does not seem the right message to send to the students.

collegeburner 5y ago
I know people who are true prodigies who have gotten deals worked out with one of those schools, but they are not advertised to most people and it is very very rare, when I say prodigy I mean it. I went to a "tier 2" school for exactly this reason and got a great merit scholarship deal, ivies didn't offer me shit because all their money is in "need-based" or diversity aid. Perversely, I qualify for "diversity" based scholarships that are restricted to some groups but I didnt think to apply, then my younger sister did and she got almost as much money as I did even though she wouldnt have qualified for the merit scholarships. Part of me is glad for her, but part of me is mad af about it.
MontyCarloHall 5y ago
That’s because all of those schools have such huge endowments that their financial aid programs are insanely generous. They can afford to waive tuition entirely for families making less than ~$150k/year, with a generous sliding scale for families making more. There’s simply no need for merit based scholarships because they are affordable to anyone who can get in. ~50% of people at those schools pay full price, so their financial aid is not just some token program. If you can get into an Ivy-tier school, it will almost certainly be more affordable than your local state school.
MattGaiser 5y ago
They consider every accepted person meritorious and give out generous financial aid to everyone if they need it.
- g42gregory 5y ago
  My understanding is that if you are a middle class and sending several kids to these institutions, you won't get any financial aid. Financial aid programs, literally, were not designed for the middle class families.
  - mercutio2 5y ago
    I can't tell if you're using the "all rich people who aren't Bill Gates are actually middle class" definition of middle class, or if you are misinformed. But top tier schools have extremely generous financial aid packages for students whose parents are not very high income, including any reasonable definition of middle class.

I could be wrong, but I could not find a single merit-based scholarship at Yale, Harvard, Stanford. Certainly, not for undergraduates. It does not seem the right message to send to the students.

collegeburner 5y ago

I know people who are true prodigies who have gotten deals worked out with one of those schools, but they are not advertised to most people and it is very very rare, when I say prodigy I mean it. I went to a "tier 2" school for exactly this reason and got a great merit scholarship deal, ivies didn't offer me shit because all their money is in "need-based" or diversity aid. Perversely, I qualify for "diversity" based scholarships that are restricted to some groups but I didnt think to apply, then my younger sister did and she got almost as much money as I did even though she wouldnt have qualified for the merit scholarships. Part of me is glad for her, but part of me is mad af about it.

MontyCarloHall 5y ago

That’s because all of those schools have such huge endowments that their financial aid programs are insanely generous. They can afford to waive tuition entirely for families making less than ~$150k/year, with a generous sliding scale for families making more. There’s simply no need for merit based scholarships because they are affordable to anyone who can get in. ~50% of people at those schools pay full price, so their financial aid is not just some token program. If you can get into an Ivy-tier school, it will almost certainly be more affordable than your local state school.

MattGaiser 5y ago

They consider every accepted person meritorious and give out generous financial aid to everyone if they need it.

g42gregory 5y ago
My understanding is that if you are a middle class and sending several kids to these institutions, you won't get any financial aid. Financial aid programs, literally, were not designed for the middle class families.
- mercutio2 5y ago
  I can't tell if you're using the "all rich people who aren't Bill Gates are actually middle class" definition of middle class, or if you are misinformed. But top tier schools have extremely generous financial aid packages for students whose parents are not very high income, including any reasonable definition of middle class.