Anonymous
03/02/2026 20:48
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Last year when my son was applying to college, Grinnell offered $20,000 per year for anyone accepted ED. Iowa is a huge downside but the school is really fabulous.
Ultimately he applied ED elsewhere to a T15 LAC who didn’t give any merit aid. They do seem generous with financial aid but we didn’t apply because we wouldn’t qualify.
Ultimately he applied ED elsewhere to a T15 LAC who didn’t give any merit aid. They do seem generous with financial aid but we didn’t apply because we wouldn’t qualify.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 20:43
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Which LACs give a lot of merit aid, not only need-based aid. My DC has high stats but wants small classes, but we can't justify paying $70K a year for a small LAC and we won't qualify for any aid.
Ideally looking for $20+K in aid ... are there any LACs who provide $20K and more to high performing students? Can you share your experiences?
DD was accepted to Macalaster with around $20K in merit scholarships, and we didn't apply for aid. They're really great for merit aid, and Macalaster is awesome too.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 20:37
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
uAnonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Which LACs give a lot of merit aid, not only need-based aid. My DC has high stats but wants small classes, but we can't justify paying $70K a year for a small LAC and we won't qualify for any aid.
Ideally looking for $20+K in aid ... are there any LACs who provide $20K and more to high performing students? Can you share your experiences?
Focus on strong, mid-tier LACs to get the most value. Try looking at these:
Grinnell
Smith
Macalester
Occidental
Mount Holyoke
Colorado College
Scripps
Bucknell
Smith is ranked #13 and gives very little merit aid. Very generous with need based though.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 20:33
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
In addition to some the schools already listed, my kid was offered $45k in merit aid from Dickinson College last year.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 19:14
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Check University of Denver
Anonymous
03/02/2026 19:14
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:DD has very high stats and so far has gotten:
$50K from College of Wooster (and in running for full-tuition scholarship, which would be very compelling)
$40K from Franklin & Marshall
$37K from St. Olaf
$36K from Oberlin
$35K from Kenyon and Macalester.
This puts Wooster in the low $30k range, St. Olaf in the low $40k range, and the others in the low to mid $50k range.
DS gets $30K a year from Conn College. He had good but far from perfect stats.
Most LACs outside the top 30 (and a few in the top 30) give substantial merit aid.
Wow, congrats to your DC that's amazing!!
Thanks! She's an amazing kid and works really hard, so I'm glad some of these schools are recognizing it!
Oooh, she just got into Occidental with $40K in merit aid too! I think it's going to be a hard choice once she gets all of her decisions.
Congrats, we love Oxy! Everyone seems so happy there!
Anonymous
03/02/2026 19:06
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:DD has very high stats and so far has gotten:
$50K from College of Wooster (and in running for full-tuition scholarship, which would be very compelling)
$40K from Franklin & Marshall
$37K from St. Olaf
$36K from Oberlin
$35K from Kenyon and Macalester.
This puts Wooster in the low $30k range, St. Olaf in the low $40k range, and the others in the low to mid $50k range.
DS gets $30K a year from Conn College. He had good but far from perfect stats.
Most LACs outside the top 30 (and a few in the top 30) give substantial merit aid.
Wow, congrats to your DC that's amazing!!
Thanks! She's an amazing kid and works really hard, so I'm glad some of these schools are recognizing it!
Oooh, she just got into Occidental with $40K in merit aid too! I think it's going to be a hard choice once she gets all of her decisions.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:58
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:DD has very high stats and so far has gotten:
$50K from College of Wooster (and in running for full-tuition scholarship, which would be very compelling)
$40K from Franklin & Marshall
$37K from St. Olaf
$36K from Oberlin
$35K from Kenyon and Macalester.
This puts Wooster in the low $30k range, St. Olaf in the low $40k range, and the others in the low to mid $50k range.
DS gets $30K a year from Conn College. He had good but far from perfect stats.
Most LACs outside the top 30 (and a few in the top 30) give substantial merit aid.
Wow, congrats to your DC that's amazing!!
Thanks! She's an amazing kid and works really hard, so I'm glad some of these schools are recognizing it!
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:54
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
In addition to the above, Rhodes gives a TON of merit aid. My '25 was offered so much it was the cheapest option last year, even compared to some state schools that offered Presidential scholarship.
In our experience, Rhodes offered significantly more than Macalester or Occidental which were also quite generous.
In our experience, Rhodes offered significantly more than Macalester or Occidental which were also quite generous.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:32
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Which LACs give a lot of merit aid, not only need-based aid. My DC has high stats but wants small classes, but we can't justify paying $70K a year for a small LAC and we won't qualify for any aid.
Ideally looking for $20+K in aid ... are there any LACs who provide $20K and more to high performing students? Can you share your experiences?
Focus on strong, mid-tier LACs to get the most value. Try looking at these:
Grinnell
Smith
Macalester
Occidental
Mount Holyoke
Colorado College
Scripps
Bucknell
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:27
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:DD has very high stats and so far has gotten:
$50K from College of Wooster (and in running for full-tuition scholarship, which would be very compelling)
$40K from Franklin & Marshall
$37K from St. Olaf
$36K from Oberlin
$35K from Kenyon and Macalester.
This puts Wooster in the low $30k range, St. Olaf in the low $40k range, and the others in the low to mid $50k range.
DS gets $30K a year from Conn College. He had good but far from perfect stats.
Most LACs outside the top 30 (and a few in the top 30) give substantial merit aid.
Wow, congrats to your DC that's amazing!!
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:15
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
DD has very high stats and so far has gotten:
$50K from College of Wooster (and in running for full-tuition scholarship, which would be very compelling)
$40K from Franklin & Marshall
$37K from St. Olaf
$36K from Oberlin
$35K from Kenyon and Macalester.
This puts Wooster in the low $30k range, St. Olaf in the low $40k range, and the others in the low to mid $50k range.
DS gets $30K a year from Conn College. He had good but far from perfect stats.
Most LACs outside the top 30 (and a few in the top 30) give substantial merit aid.
$50K from College of Wooster (and in running for full-tuition scholarship, which would be very compelling)
$40K from Franklin & Marshall
$37K from St. Olaf
$36K from Oberlin
$35K from Kenyon and Macalester.
This puts Wooster in the low $30k range, St. Olaf in the low $40k range, and the others in the low to mid $50k range.
DS gets $30K a year from Conn College. He had good but far from perfect stats.
Most LACs outside the top 30 (and a few in the top 30) give substantial merit aid.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:07
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Great info available on these threads:
Your merit aid success story -
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/25/1181115.page
Merit scholarships at top schools -
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1306999.page
Also, instead of focusing on how much merit aid you're seeking, it might be more helpful to decide how much you're willing to pay.
Schools have different "list prices" - some are already discounted while others are ridiculously marked up to the point where they offer pretty much EVERYONE at least some merit aid.
So keep in mind that $20K in merit aid will go further at some schools than at others.
Your merit aid success story -
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/25/1181115.page
Merit scholarships at top schools -
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1306999.page
Also, instead of focusing on how much merit aid you're seeking, it might be more helpful to decide how much you're willing to pay.
Schools have different "list prices" - some are already discounted while others are ridiculously marked up to the point where they offer pretty much EVERYONE at least some merit aid.
So keep in mind that $20K in merit aid will go further at some schools than at others.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:04
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Which LACs give a lot of merit aid, not only need-based aid. My DC has high stats but wants small classes, but we can't justify paying $70K a year for a small LAC and we won't qualify for any aid.
Ideally looking for $20+K in aid ... are there any LACs who provide $20K and more to high performing students? Can you share your experiences?
Tons…just google colleges that provide merit aid to nearly everyone. Quite a few LACs.
Basically, once you get below like the top 20 LACs, nearly all give merit aid to many of the students
Anonymous
03/02/2026 17:59
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Which LACs give a lot of merit aid, not only need-based aid. My DC has high stats but wants small classes, but we can't justify paying $70K a year for a small LAC and we won't qualify for any aid.
Ideally looking for $20+K in aid ... are there any LACs who provide $20K and more to high performing students? Can you share your experiences?
Ideally looking for $20+K in aid ... are there any LACs who provide $20K and more to high performing students? Can you share your experiences?