Affordability

13 September 2023

Keeping Vigil on 2023-24 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2028, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and USC, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a sampling of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

College Kickstart subscribers: full listings of 2023-24 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

21 October 2021

Keeping Vigil on 2021-22 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2026, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and the University of Richmond, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a sampling of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

College Kickstart subscribers: full listings of 2021-22 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

07 October 2020

Keeping Vigil on 2020-21 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2025, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and the University of Richmond, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a sampling of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

College Kickstart subscribers: full listings of 2020-21 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

09 October 2019

Keeping Vigil on 2019-20 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2024, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and the University of Richmond, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a sampling of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

College Kickstart subscribers: full listings of 2019-20 explicit merit scholarship deadlines and schools with generous merit aid are already incorporated into the product.

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

10 October 2018

Keeping Vigil on 2018-19 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2023, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and the University of Richmond, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a list of selected schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

12 October 2017

Keeping Vigil on 2017-18 Merit Scholarship Deadlines

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2022, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and the University of Richmond, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a list of selected schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

16 October 2016

Colleges With Generous Merit Aid

Posted in Your College List, Affordability

Schools offering merit aid to 20% or more of incoming freshmen

moneyIn search of schools with generous merit scholarship programs?

Look no further.  

Here we've compiled a list of competitive 4-year institutions that offer merit aid to 20% or more of undergraduates.  Merit awards are typically not based on financial need but rather on academic performance and other qualities deemed desirable by the institution.  As such, they can make college more affordable for academically gifted students—especially those that are unlikely to qualify for need-based financial aid. 

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships when you submit your application.  

16 May 2016

New Product Update - SAT Conversion and More

Posted in Standardized Testing, College Kickstart, Product Announcements, Affordability

College Kickstart Logo 200x63

A new release of College Kickstart is now available!

This release features:

  • An SAT score converter to help you reconcile new and old SAT scores  
  • Resident and non-resident admission rates for situations where the difference materially impacts how a school is categorized in College Kickstart
  • An updated affordability panel with graduation rates
  • Expanded school coverage

Click on Continue Reading for the scoop. 

29 October 2015

Keeping Vigil on Merit Scholarship Deadlines (Class of 2020)

Posted in Your College List, Class of 2020, Affordability

moneyIf you're in the hunt for merit scholarships, be sure to stay on top of explicit deadlines a school on your list might have.

In some cases, like Boston University and the University of Richmond, it's a hard deadline that you have to meet in order for you to be considered at all.  In others, like Indiana University and many other public institutions, it's a "priority" deadline that maximizes your chances of merit aid before the money runs out.  Either way, merit aid continues to be an excellent way for good students to defray the cost of an education.  

We've compiled a list of schools in our coverage universe with explicit deadlines, along with some stats to help you gauge the size and breadth of the institution's merit offerings.  We've also included links to each school's scholarship page for easy access to the details.

Most of these schools automatically consider you for merit scholarships without the need for an additional application.  

Click on Continue Reading below for the list.

03 October 2014

Is an Elite Education Worth $170,000 in Debt?

Posted in Perspectives, Affordability

The Middle Class Squeeze

logo nbcnewsHere's an insightful article from NBC News about the value of an elite education and the plight of today's middle class in affording it. With most top institutions now offering only need-based financial aid, the article asserts that middle class families are being squeezed out due to affordability and the prospect of graduating with enormous debt.

Click here for the article.

11 September 2014

Private Schools that Practice Need-Blind Admission

Posted in Your College List, Affordability

Full consideration without regard to financial need

needblindNeed-blind schools do not take financial aid into consideration when making admissions decisions.  Knowing these schools can be invaluable for making sure you or your teen's application is getting maximum consideration with regard to financial aid.

Here we've compiled a list of private schools that practice need blind admission for full-time, first year, U.S. citizens and permanent residents.  Please note that not all of these schools offer financial aid to meet 100% of demonstrated need. Note also that the list isn't exhaustive—it's meant to cover the more competitive 4 year institutions in the nation.

This list is integrated into the latest update to College Kickstart. 

 

Need-Blind Schools

SchoolSchool
Allegheny College Amherst College
Babson College Bard College
Barnard College Biola University
Boston College Bowdoin College
Brigham Young University - Provo Brown University
Bucknell University California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University
Centre College Chapman University
Claremont McKenna College College of the Holy Cross
College of Wooster Columbia University
Cornell University Dartmouth College
Davidson College Denison University
DePauw University Duke University
Elon University Emory University (Emory)
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Georgetown University
Gonzaga University Grinnell College
Hamilton College Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College Haverford College
Hendrix College Ithaca College
Johns Hopkins University Kalamazoo College
Knox College Lehigh University
Middlebury College Mills College
Millsaps College MIT
New York University Northwestern University
Pepperdine University Pomona College
Princeton University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhodes College Rice University
Santa Clara University Sewanee: The University of the South
Soka University of America Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University Spelman College
St. Marys College of California Stanford University
Swarthmore College Syracuse University
Tulane University University of Chicago
University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania
University of Richmond University of Rochester
University of San Diego University of Southern California
University of the Pacific Vanderbilt University
Vassar College Wellesley College
Willamette University Williams College
Wofford College Yale University
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