Anonymous
03/06/2026 15:08
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
that makes me think UPS is in financial trouble
Anonymous
03/06/2026 14:59
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:
I think many schools give merit aid so you just need to apply and see. That is definitely a lesson learned when my last kid applies.
I think this is terrible advice. While it's true that many schools offer merit aid, there's no need to make your kid go through the hassle of applying just to "see" — the data is readily available before they apply. Look at the lists mentioned, then check the most recent CDS profile for each school to double-check. (Some online lists pull from outdated information.)
My well-qualified DC wanted to attend a SLAC, but we weren't willing/able to pay more than ~50K per year; therefore, they didn't apply to many of the schools they were initially interested in, including Reed, Vassar, etc., since those schools very clearly do not give any merit awards. We also discouraged them from applying to schools where less than 10% of students received merit aid — knowing that even though they were a strong applicant, the odds of receiving a substantial award weren't in their favor.
Anonymous
03/06/2026 14:40
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
I am not sure why multiple posters mentioned Colorado College? Only 8% of non-need students receive merit and the average merit amount is pretty low.
My "average excellent" DD (4.0 UW, high-rigor, 32 ACT, strong EC's with a few state-wide awards) received the following last year:
Oberlin - 40K
Kenyon - 35K
Scripps - 25K
Bryn Mayr - 7K
Whitman - 40K
University of Puget Sound - 49K
Willamette - 35K
Very expected pattern - awards directly correlated to the ranking of the school. Also of note, Puget Sound originally offered 35K, but then reached out twice and increased the award with no effort on our part.
My "average excellent" DD (4.0 UW, high-rigor, 32 ACT, strong EC's with a few state-wide awards) received the following last year:
Oberlin - 40K
Kenyon - 35K
Scripps - 25K
Bryn Mayr - 7K
Whitman - 40K
University of Puget Sound - 49K
Willamette - 35K
Very expected pattern - awards directly correlated to the ranking of the school. Also of note, Puget Sound originally offered 35K, but then reached out twice and increased the award with no effort on our part.
Anonymous
03/06/2026 08:44
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous 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?
The top LACs (T15ish) that are worth the 70-90k a year do not give merit broadly. A few give a very small number of true merit to very top kids. The ones that give lots of merit, ie more than 15% of the incoming class, are schools trying to buy students: they are in danger of not filling seats and the “merit” is really just a sale price as one does to move a less desired good at a store.
You are better off sending your student to the top school they can get into. If you do not qualify for beed based aid then you make at least 200k and can well afford the in-state flagship and if you had saved properly the 70-90k of a private.
I love you say you can just go to in-state flagship like it is a given. The competition to get into UVA from some of the NOVA HSs is brutal.
I also love how everyone says that on a board where so many live in the District and have no in-state flagship.
Anonymous
03/06/2026 08:21
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous 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?
The top LACs (T15ish) that are worth the 70-90k a year do not give merit broadly. A few give a very small number of true merit to very top kids. The ones that give lots of merit, ie more than 15% of the incoming class, are schools trying to buy students: they are in danger of not filling seats and the “merit” is really just a sale price as one does to move a less desired good at a store.
You are better off sending your student to the top school they can get into. If you do not qualify for beed based aid then you make at least 200k and can well afford the in-state flagship and if you had saved properly the 70-90k of a private.
I love you say you can just go to in-state flagship like it is a given. The competition to get into UVA from some of the NOVA HSs is brutal.
Anonymous
03/06/2026 08:19
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here's a list of the Top 40 National Liberal Arts Colleges (U.S. News), along with the Percent Receiving Merit Aid (Freshmen w/o Need) and Average Merit Award (Freshmen w/o Need) from the College Transitions (https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid).
CORRECTED LIST
Williams College — 0% — $0
Amherst College — 0% — $0
United States Naval Academy — 0% — $0
Swarthmore College — 0.01% — N/A
Bowdoin College — 2% — $1,000
United States Air Force Academy — 0% — $0
Claremont McKenna College — 8% — $23,300
Pomona College — 0% — $0
Wellesley College — 0% — $0
Carleton College — 2% — $15,761
Harvey Mudd College — 17% — $10,457
United States Military Academy — 0% — $0
Barnard College — 0% — $0
Davidson College — 3% — $41,262
Grinnell College — 23% — $26,154
Hamilton College — 0% — $0
Middlebury College — 0.2% — $5,000
Smith College — 4% — $23,348
Vassar College — 0% — $0
Wesleyan University — 0.1% — $20,553
Washington and Lee University — 4% — $59,826
Colgate University — 0% — $0
University of Richmond — 13% — $51,205
Bates College — 0% — $0
Colby College — 0.3% — $2,000
Haverford College — 0% — $0
College of the Holy Cross — 9% — $24,796
Macalester College — 36% — $18,937
Mount Holyoke College — 17% — $25,303
Bryn Mawr College — 17% — $5,438
Bucknell University — 9% — $19,010
Colorado College — 8% — $12,776
Lafayette College — 20% — $19,371
Denison University — 35% — $18,758
Franklin & Marshall College — 25% — $19,876
Occidental College — 29% — $17,397
Pitzer College — 2% — $7,000
Scripps College — 15% — $24,048
Skidmore College — 0.3% — $20,000
Soka University of America — 9% — $7,917
Spelman College — 3% — $25,840
Trinity College — 8% — $23,543
Trinity University — 50% — $27,801
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid
It is still odd to me that the service academies are ranked with the SLACs. But since they are, the zeros are misleading. Each student not only gets free room and board but is paid to attend. As well they should be.
Anonymous
03/06/2026 08:09
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Here's a list of the Top 40 National Liberal Arts Colleges (U.S. News), along with the Percent Receiving Merit Aid (Freshmen w/o Need) and Average Merit Award (Freshmen w/o Need) from the College Transitions (https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid).
CORRECTED LIST
Williams College — 0% — $0
Amherst College — 0% — $0
United States Naval Academy — 0% — $0
Swarthmore College — 0.01% — N/A
Bowdoin College — 2% — $1,000
United States Air Force Academy — 0% — $0
Claremont McKenna College — 8% — $23,300
Pomona College — 0% — $0
Wellesley College — 0% — $0
Carleton College — 2% — $15,761
Harvey Mudd College — 17% — $10,457
United States Military Academy — 0% — $0
Barnard College — 0% — $0
Davidson College — 3% — $41,262
Grinnell College — 23% — $26,154
Hamilton College — 0% — $0
Middlebury College — 0.2% — $5,000
Smith College — 4% — $23,348
Vassar College — 0% — $0
Wesleyan University — 0.1% — $20,553
Washington and Lee University — 4% — $59,826
Colgate University — 0% — $0
University of Richmond — 13% — $51,205
Bates College — 0% — $0
Colby College — 0.3% — $2,000
Haverford College — 0% — $0
College of the Holy Cross — 9% — $24,796
Macalester College — 36% — $18,937
Mount Holyoke College — 17% — $25,303
Bryn Mawr College — 17% — $5,438
Bucknell University — 9% — $19,010
Colorado College — 8% — $12,776
Lafayette College — 20% — $19,371
Denison University — 35% — $18,758
Franklin & Marshall College — 25% — $19,876
Occidental College — 29% — $17,397
Pitzer College — 2% — $7,000
Scripps College — 15% — $24,048
Skidmore College — 0.3% — $20,000
Soka University of America — 9% — $7,917
Spelman College — 3% — $25,840
Trinity College — 8% — $23,543
Trinity University — 50% — $27,801
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid
Anonymous
03/06/2026 07:57
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Here's a list of the Top 40 National Liberal Arts Colleges (U.S. News), along with the Percent Receiving Merit Aid (Freshmen w/o Need) and Average Merit Award (Freshmen w/o Need) from the College Transitions (https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid).
(Format: College — % Receiving Merit Aid — Average Merit Award)
Williams College — 0% — $0
Amherst College — 0% — $0
United States Naval Academy — 0% — $0
Swarthmore College — 0% — $0
Bowdoin College — 2% — $1,000
Pomona College — 0% — $0
Wellesley College — 0% — $0
United States Air Force Academy — 0% — $0
Carleton College — 2% — $15,761
Claremont McKenna College — 8% — $23,300
United States Military Academy — 0% — $0
Harvey Mudd College — 17% — $10,457
Wesleyan University — 0.1% — $20,553
Smith College — 4% — $23,348
Haverford College — 0% — $0
Washington and Lee University — 4% — $59,826
Colby College — 0.3% — $2,000
Davidson College — 3% — $41,262
Vassar College — 0% — $0
Hamilton College — 0% — $0
Grinnell College — 23% — $26,154
Colgate University — 0% — $0
Bates College — 0% — $0
Barnard College — 0% — $0
Macalester College — 36% — $18,937
Bryn Mawr College — 17% — $5,438
Kenyon College — 33% — $24,471
Oberlin College — 51% — $23,035
Scripps College — 2% — $7,000
Pitzer College — 2% — $7,000
Colorado College — 8% — $12,776
Mount Holyoke College — (data not listed in this dataset snapshot)
Denison University — 35% — $18,758
Whitman College — 37% — $21,981
Franklin & Marshall College — 25% — $19,876
Dickinson College — 31% — $32,586
Trinity College — 8% — $23,543
Gettysburg College — 32% — $38,359
Sewanee (University of the South) — 48% — $27,492
Connecticut College — 46% — $28,097
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid
(Format: College — % Receiving Merit Aid — Average Merit Award)
Williams College — 0% — $0
Amherst College — 0% — $0
United States Naval Academy — 0% — $0
Swarthmore College — 0% — $0
Bowdoin College — 2% — $1,000
Pomona College — 0% — $0
Wellesley College — 0% — $0
United States Air Force Academy — 0% — $0
Carleton College — 2% — $15,761
Claremont McKenna College — 8% — $23,300
United States Military Academy — 0% — $0
Harvey Mudd College — 17% — $10,457
Wesleyan University — 0.1% — $20,553
Smith College — 4% — $23,348
Haverford College — 0% — $0
Washington and Lee University — 4% — $59,826
Colby College — 0.3% — $2,000
Davidson College — 3% — $41,262
Vassar College — 0% — $0
Hamilton College — 0% — $0
Grinnell College — 23% — $26,154
Colgate University — 0% — $0
Bates College — 0% — $0
Barnard College — 0% — $0
Macalester College — 36% — $18,937
Bryn Mawr College — 17% — $5,438
Kenyon College — 33% — $24,471
Oberlin College — 51% — $23,035
Scripps College — 2% — $7,000
Pitzer College — 2% — $7,000
Colorado College — 8% — $12,776
Mount Holyoke College — (data not listed in this dataset snapshot)
Denison University — 35% — $18,758
Whitman College — 37% — $21,981
Franklin & Marshall College — 25% — $19,876
Dickinson College — 31% — $32,586
Trinity College — 8% — $23,543
Gettysburg College — 32% — $38,359
Sewanee (University of the South) — 48% — $27,492
Connecticut College — 46% — $28,097
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/merit-aid
Anonymous
03/06/2026 06:52
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Drexel gives decent merit aid.
Anonymous
03/06/2026 00:35
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Focus on these LACs - GIVE MERIT AID:
Macalester
Occidental
Colorado College
Kenyon
Grinnell
Oberlin
Bryn Mawr
Mount Holyoke
Scripps
St. Olaf
SKIP these LACs that give NO MERIT AID:
Swarthmore
Reed
Carleton
Bowdoin
Williams
Vassar
Wesleyan
Pitzer
Pomona
Harvey Mud
Claremont McKenna
Macalester
Occidental
Colorado College
Kenyon
Grinnell
Oberlin
Bryn Mawr
Mount Holyoke
Scripps
St. Olaf
SKIP these LACs that give NO MERIT AID:
Swarthmore
Reed
Carleton
Bowdoin
Williams
Vassar
Wesleyan
Pitzer
Pomona
Harvey Mud
Claremont McKenna
Anonymous
03/06/2026 00:05
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
My DD received 20k a year from Fairfield. Middle of the pack grades but great ECs and huge demonstrated interest. We were not expecting this at all and did not apply for FA.
I think many schools give merit aid so you just need to apply and see. That is definitely a lesson learned when my last kid applies.
I think many schools give merit aid so you just need to apply and see. That is definitely a lesson learned when my last kid applies.
Anonymous
03/04/2026 10:24
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:You are better off sending your student to the top school they can get into. If you do not qualify for beed based aid then you make at least 200k and can well afford the in-state flagship and if you had saved properly the 70-90k of a private.
But a kid who wants to attend a small LAC probably isn't going to be happy at a huge state flagship, in classes w/ hundreds of students. I would argue that it would be better to attend a lower-ranked LAC that will still provide a terrific education than try to pigeonhole a kid into a huge school based solely on the price tag.
So far, the schools that have offered great merit aid to my DD have been Kenyon, Oberlin, Kalamazoo and Wheaton College (MA). Brandeis offered her a $45k Presidential Scholarship, but the COA is still much higher than the other options. All fine schools, we're waiting to hear on the rest of her apps, but most of those will only provide need-based aid.
Anonymous
03/04/2026 08:19
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?
The top LACs (T15ish) that are worth the 70-90k a year do not give merit broadly. A few give a very small number of true merit to very top kids. The ones that give lots of merit, ie more than 15% of the incoming class, are schools trying to buy students: they are in danger of not filling seats and the “merit” is really just a sale price as one does to move a less desired good at a store.
You are better off sending your student to the top school they can get into. If you do not qualify for beed based aid then you make at least 200k and can well afford the in-state flagship and if you had saved properly the 70-90k of a private.
Anonymous
03/04/2026 08:00
Subject: Which LACs give a lot of "merit aid"?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Here's a few more I haven't seen mentioned yet:
Furman
Gettysburg
Sewanee
Wofford
Early on in the process I ran the net price calculator for these schools. He isn't a top stats kid. Only Furman indicated reasonable merit was likely. He applied and got merit and financial aid (only school to give financial aid but we do have another son in college). Overall, it was/is a great offer.
+1 same for my kid. Typical high stats, nothing special with EC’s and had generous merit aid from Furman.
Anonymous
03/04/2026 00:42
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.
That is amazing, congrats! Would you mind sharing your students stats? I wonder if my junior is in the running for those kinds of numbers.
Also, curious if you visited all of those schools? or if you did virtual visits to learn about them and show demonstrated interest?
Sure. She's at a highly regarded public school in a Northeastern state, not in the DC area. No hooks. 4.0 UW and takes hardest classes in all subjects. All 5s on 6 APs so far (AP World, APUSH, BC Calc, Chem, Macro, Lang). 1550 and 35. Strong XCs that show commitment and leadership, but nothing earth-shattering. Solid essays and I'm assuming good recs.
Kind of the prototypical "average excellent" student. Probably won't get into Amherst/Pomona/Williams because she doesn't meet any institutional priorities and hasn't curated her profile to within an inch of its life. I think she expressed interest in studying chem/biochem and sociology and wants to be pre-med.
We have not visited any of these schools (yet) but she showed demonstrated interest in other ways. Did all the optional essays and tried to tailor each application as much as possible. Did interviews when offered.
PHEW! I feel better now after seeing your DD’s stats! Mine got some money at Oberlin, maybe like 15,000, but not nearly that much. Her stats were nowhere near as good as your DD’s though. Your post just saved her for getting yelled at for a weaker than expected junior spring. I mean, she was never going to be anywhere close to those stats. So I feel pretty good about what she got in comparison now!