Episode 37: Merit Awards: How Are They Granted?

Episode 37 Transcript

• Episode 37 Transcript

  [INTRODUCTION]

  [00:00:06] BT: Take a moment to consider what you're good at. What achievement are you most proud of? Is there a skill you've spent years perfecting, or an activity or service cause you've passionately pursued? Well, if you're a high school student on the track to college, there may be numerous merit scholarships out there for you.

  [00:00:23] BW: And just like colleges and universities themselves, higher education scholarships are abundant and diverse. But unlike need-based financial aid, many of these merit awards don't consider a student's financial situation. Instead, they're doled out based on the student's accomplishments and talents from academics, athletics and the arts to niche hobbies and interests.

  [00:00:46] BT: I'm Brooke Thames from Bucknell University. In this episode of College Admissions Insider, we're talking all about merit-based awards. Who qualifies? How do you apply? And does a merit-based scholarship have any effect on your need-based financial aid?

  [00:01:00] BW: I'm Bryan Wendell, also from Bucknell. To help us cover all of that and more, we've invited Kevin Mathes, Bucknell’s dean of admissions. Kevin oversees all things admissions at Bucknell and is an alum of Bucknell himself. He's joined us on the podcast before. You might remember his expert insight into topics like GPA calculation, test optional policies, and applying Early Decision and Early Action. We're so glad to have you back, Kevin. Hey!

  [00:01:26] KM: Hey, Bryan. Hey, Brooke. It's good to be here. Always happy to chat with you about admissions.

  [00:01:30] BT: Yeah, we’re so glad to have you back. So we hinted at it in the intro, but right off the top,for those who may not be familiar at all with merit-based awards, can you tell us how they differ from need-based financial aid packages?

  [00:01:43] KM: Absolutely. With need-based financial aid, families are submitting documentation to show their ability to pay for college. That could be through income. It could be through assets. So it's truly based on how much financial support does a student have from their family to attend a college university. Really, the difference with merit is we're not looking at those things. We're really looking at what a student brings to the table, whether it's academically or some other talent that they might have.

  [00:02:11] BW: So for those merit awards that reward that talent, what are the different types that students should look out for as they launch their college search? Also, I want to know, do all schools offer these types of merit-based scholarships?

  [00:02:25] KM: Sure, Bryan. I'm going to start with the second question, which is do all of us offer them. The answer's no. I worked at institutions that do not offer a merit-based awards. I have worked at two institutions that do, Bucknell being one of them. So it depends on each school that you as a student — or if you're a parent or a guardian listening in, your student — is looking for. It's going to vary school by school, so it's important to do the research.

  In terms of the different types, I've seen, I think, at the institutional level, a few different types. There's the academic type. So we're looking for students who have really, really, really strong academic profiles — kind of top-of-the-applicant-pool type of academic work or course rigor. But then you get things that aren't tied to academics. For Division I and some Division II institutions, for athletics, there can be athletic merit scholarships. Then you can see things like talent scholarships for things in the arts, whether that might be singing, playing an instrument, doing theater, dance, creative writing, other forms of English, film. Then I would say there are others that focus more on personal qualities and characteristics. That could be an extracurricular like community service. I've seen some schools that offer leadership scholarships. So I really think that if families are looking for merit opportunities, it's really important to research all the schools that are on your list to understand, number one, do they offer it and, number two, what are the different variations that are out there.

  [00:03:44] BT: So for students who are looking at all these different merit awards from schools that do offer them, what is the application process like? Do they fill out a separate application like they would during the regular admissions process? Or are there some schools that just kind of look at the application and say you qualify for this?

  [00:04:02] KM: It's a really good question, Brooke. It’s, I think, my favorite admissions answer, which we all say all the time: It depends. It depends on the school. It depends how they run their process. I think for those that know me, I love spreadsheets. My biggest recommendation for the college search is to have a spreadsheet with the schools you're looking at and all their different policies and deadlines. This applies to merit scholarships. Students really need to pay attention to when is the application deadline for merit scholarships. Is it at the time that I submit my application?

  So for example, at Bucknell, our application deadline is November 15 for Early Decision I, January 15 for Early Decision II and Regular Decision. When students apply for merit scholarships at Bucknell, they have to submit those by that deadline. There are the other institutions out there that will say, “Our merit scholarship application is actually due before the regular application.” So you need to be on top of that school and make sure you're getting everything in earlier. Still, there are some schools that will say, “We're going to read the applicant pool and then we're going to invite students later on in the process.” So my other advice to students is make sure you're checking your email because you might get an invitation a month, two months after you apply saying, “Hey, we think you're a good fit for this. You should apply.”

  Then, Brooke, to your point, there are some schools [where] you don't have to apply at all. They will just award them based on your application. They won't ask for anything extra. So, again, going back to my spreadsheet comment, it's really important to pay attention to how those deadlines and the application processes work at each institution.

  [00:05:28] BW: So for those scholarships that do have a more traditional application process — you submit the application, then the school weighs its decision — I want to go behind the scenes there. That's one of the things we love to do on this podcast is take people inside these rooms where decisions are made. Can you talk about that? Because I imagine there's only so much scholarship funding available. So I guess I have two questions: One, are these scholarships more competitive than the admissions decision or less? Then two, how is that decision actually made?

  [00:06:01] KM: That is, again, a great question in terms of how each institution determines it. I will say, from my experience and particularly working at Bucknell, it’s more competitive for scholarships. So to give you an example of one that we have, we have a Community Engagement Scholarship. We typically, in the last two years, have received about 800 applications for that scholarship. We're only looking to enroll three students. So when you think about the number of students who are making offers to get down to three, that's going to be an uber-selective scholarship process. At other institutions, it's the same. You get lots and lots of applications, but you don't have a large number of scholarships to give away.

  I would say, in those situations, we're really reviewing students in a holistic manner like we do an application. So you're looking at not only the scholarship application but then the full application to understand what is the student bringing to the institution, what are they bringing to the scholarship and whatever's involved with it when they get to campus, and finding a good match for the scholarship, the student and the institution. So it becomes a very holistic review process.

  I will say there are other schools out there — and, again, as students are doing their research and can find this — that actually have rubrics out there that will say, “With this grade point average…” and if the school is still requiring testing, “...with this essay to your ACT, here's a chart. You can just match the two up and find out how much you would get just based on that.” So for some institutions, it might not be an uber selective process like I'm talking about. It could be very general and just saying, “As long as you hit these metrics, you're going to get a merit scholarship.”

  [00:07:30] BT: You mentioned involvement once you get to campus. So does that mean that students aren't simply maybe getting a Community Engagement Scholarship based on stuff that they've already done, but are there possibly scholarships at work almost like mini-programs in that a student must major in something specific or participate in certain activities once they receive a scholarship?

  [00:07:49] KM: They can, Brooke. I think that's one of the things to also pay attention to is when you're applying for a scholarship. Is it something that you just if you receive it, you get it? Or are there things that you have to fulfill when you are a student at that school? So I do know of programs where they will say, “If you get this scholarship, you have to major in this subject,” or, “If you get this scholarship, you have to participate in X, Y, or Z organization.” So there are some students that they will receive a scholarship, and then there will be direct things that they have to do at that college or university when they get there. Then there are other scholarships. They say, “We're going to give you this merit award, and that's all you have to do. There's nothing else you have to do when you get to campus.”

  [00:08:26] BW: Interesting. So that's definitely something to watch out for.

  Now, Kevin, as you know, this podcast is really designed for anybody, whether Bucknell is on their list at this point or not. But we've been talking in a lot of general terms here, and I think it might be helpful to talk about a specific scholarship and kind of just give people an example. So since Bucknell is what we know, let's go with the Arts Merit Scholarship. Can you tell us how that works, what the process is like? I think people will be able to learn something from this answer here.

  [00:08:54] KM: Yeah. So our Arts Merit Scholarship Program at Bucknell encompasses a few different areas. It encompasses dance. It encompasses theater, music, both instrumental and vocal. With music, we have a scholarship for majors as well as non-majors. Then there's also different merit scholarships for English programs. So we have literary studies, creative writing and then film/media studies. All of these areas are essentially under the arts program that students can apply for scholarships.

  I would say that the application process is, I think, pretty simple. Students just have to say they're applying for the Arts Merit Scholarships, and then they have to upload a portfolio. So students who are working in the arts can upload a portfolio for theater that they've done. It can be writing pieces. It can be music performances. I did forget to mention a big one — we have studio art and art history, so portfolios for art are also available to upload. Basically, the way the process works is that we are reading applications, and we are passing along those portfolios to our faculty to tell us who they think would be really great assets for talent in our departments. Then we actually fold that into our decision making. So as we're making decisions on who to admit to Bucknell, students who are looking really talented and really good in our pool, we'll make sure we're keeping them in the process so that we can potentially award them an Arts Merit Scholarship as part of their admission decision.

  
  Then with our program, there is a requirement to be involved. So majoring in that area or being part of the department, representing the department on campus is really important.

  [00:10:29] BT: What should students watch out for if they do need to submit a portfolio, or pass an audition, or even maybe attend a competition to qualify for a scholarship? What are some tips for them there?

  [00:10:39] KM: I would say that they need to pay attention to what's needed in the portfolio to make sure that if you're thinking about an arts program or another program that might require you to submit supporting documents, that you get those together ahead of time. I think that's one of my big things is staying on top of deadlines. You don't want to apply for a scholarship on the deadline date and then find out you have to have supporting documents that you don't have ready. So you want to make sure you have recordings, you have pieces of your art, or you have video of what you're doing. Then broadly, if you're not doing arts, other things that may require that, make sure that it's ready ahead of time so, when you apply for that scholarship, you can submit that information pretty immediately.

  I think the other piece is in terms of auditions or competitions, that type of thing, maybe interviews for scholarships, again, it's really paying attention to what is this process at this particular school that I'm interested in? How does it work, and how do I need to manage everything to make sure I'm aware of it? So if I'm applying for a scholarship that's going to require an audition, do I have that flag somewhere so that I know that I either need to follow up with the school to schedule an audition? Do I need to wait for the school to reach out to me because they want me to come and audition? Those are two different things, and I think schools handle them differently. Some want the student to be proactive, and others will say, “Please wait until we have reviewed you and then invite you.”

  I think it's also, for students and families, getting that mental ability to say, “All right, this school is doing option A, this one's doing B. So I know how to manage it moving forward in my process.” Then for interviews, some of them will say, “We want you to interview over Zoom or maybe on campus.” Being aware of that process and making sure that you're carving out time that, if you're invited, you have the time to go and do that, because you don't want to miss out on those opportunities.

  [00:12:19] BT: For students who pass the application process with flying colors and get those scholarships that they’re after…You mentioned watching your email. Is it typically that they'll kind of learn about that via email? Or would that be something that they learn about once they receive their full acceptance to the university? How will students find out that they've gotten what they've been working so hard for?

  [00:12:38] KM: I find, Brooke, that most students find out with their admission decision. So I feel like a lot of these processes will take place in a way that allows an admission office to release a decision, a financial aid award and let the student know if they've gotten the scholarship that they've applied for. There could be instances where students find out ahead of time. Sometimes, they do. I think, earlier on, I mentioned that some schools have earlier application deadlines for merit scholarships. Some of those programs might actually do an earlier release to let students know that they're in that scholarship. So I think that, again, it's going to depend on the institution. But most, I would say, would inform the student with their admission decision.

  [00:13:12] BW: Yeah, because you're going to want to know, “Well, I can go to this school if I get a scholarship maybe,” right? So that's an important piece of the puzzle, and that is a good segue into financial aid. I know that merit scholarships aren't need-based, and that's a differentiator there. But they are still a form of financial aid. So can we talk about how a merit award might affect the financial aid package a student is going to receive?

  [00:13:39] KM: It can vary by school. So some institutions will say that a merit scholarship is in addition to your need-based aid. So whatever you're going to get for need-based aid, if you also get a merit scholarship, it will essentially kind of stack on top. There are other schools that will say your merit scholarship will first be applied to your need-based financial aid, so it will actually replace need-based dollars. Then if you qualify for more need-based aid on top of the merit scholarship, it will be in excess of the merit scholarship. It really depends on the school's awarding policy and how they want to give away those dollars. Frankly, the budget implications for that institution, some of that drives how they're awarded. So it's really dependent on each school on how they're able to do it.

  [00:14:20] BW: It'd be ideal if there was like a blanket statement we could give there, I know. But it's just so different. I mean, is that going to be outlined in the award letter? Like, are scholarships going to be factored into that? Or how does someone know this secret formula that the school might be using?

  [00:14:36] KM: I think it's just going to come from the financial aid award that students receive and, as they look it over with their family, looking at how is my aid award structured. Am I getting need-based financial aid? Am I getting merit scholarships? Am I getting both? Then how is that impacting my family's ability to pay for college? So I think that the financial aid award will become really helpful to families as they start to navigate the end stages to understand the entire package together.

  [00:15:02] BT: We talked a lot about merit aid that comes from the schools themselves. But there's also a wide array of outside scholarships that students can search and apply for, right?

  [00:15:11] KM: Brooke, there are a lot of scholarships out there that aren't at institutions. I think that's the other important thing for students to be thinking about as they navigate the merit scholarship landscape. Are you doing searches for merit scholarships that will not be given out by a college university? There's a resource that I know a lot of folks use. It's called Fastweb.com. And Fastweb is essentially a giant database of merit scholarships, and they can range in value, right? There are scholarships that can be $50 or $100 up to thousands of dollars a year. And they can be for lots of different things. It can be for things that we've mentioned today, or it can be very, very specific things like you need to be left-handed, or you need to have a certain color hair, or you need to be a twin. It's interesting how people set up scholarships and what they want students to bring to the table.

  But that's a way for students to be thinking about how to find merit opportunities that aren't at the schools that they're applying to. Again, if you do some research, you can apply for a lot of them and see how they turn out, and maybe get a lot of outside funding for your college education. There are some in your local community too. I know in the area I grew up in, the Lions Club or some of the other local organizations did their own scholarships that they would have students apply for. They would give them the money to then take to their institution with them. So even in your local community, there might be organizations that have scholarships available.

  [00:16:29] BW: I wouldn't scoff at $100, $500 because that's all going to add up, right? Certainly, every bit helps and can add to your financial aid package that you're getting, right?

  [00:16:39] KM: Yes. I would say in most cases, yes. The thing that you have to, again, maybe ask a financial aid office is their outside scholarship policy. I love Bucknell’s; we let students bring in outside scholarship money until it exceeds how much it costs to come to Bucknell. If you have so many outside scholarships that you're actually bringing in more money than you need to attend Bucknell, that's the only time we would reduce a financial aid award. But if a student is getting money from us, and they bring in outside scholarships, we just let it keep adding up until it hits to how much it cost to attend Bucknell. Other schools are not quite in that space and maybe can't be as generous as Bucknell, so I think we're really lucky to work at a place that does that. It’s important for families to maybe understand that outside scholarship policy that institutions have.

  [00:17:21] BT: Yeah. So should students then ask each individual school how they then report the scholarships that they're getting? Or is there kind of a general way that that gets accounted for?

  [00:17:30] KM: I don't think it hurts to ask. One of the things I always like to demystify when I talk to families is that our colleagues at financial aid are just as happy to talk with you as folks in admissions. They want to help just as much as we do. They want to make sure you understand the financial aid office, that paperwork that's required and any policies you have questions about. I think this last topic we're talking about, these outside scholarships that aren't given out by an institution, that's a very specific question to be asking institutions because, if you're going to put in the time and effort to try to get a lot of outside scholarship money and bring it to the college university you're attending, you want to know that it's going to be a big benefit to you. So I think that that's why it's an important question to be asking if you go that route of looking for those outside scholarships.

  [00:18:10] BT: As we round out this episode of College Admissions Insider, I think it'd be great to end with some general advice for students who are exploring merit-based aid awards. How can they get an idea of the scholarships that they qualify for, and how can they put their best foot forward when applying?

  [00:18:25] KM: I think that the best tool that students can use is the college or university website. I think a lot of institutions try to put out information about what the scholarship is, what they're looking for. That helps students then understand how to craft their application. I think the big piece of the puzzle is how are you fulfilling the mission of the scholarship you're applying for. We talked about the Arts Merit Scholarship at Bucknell. How are you fulfilling the mission of the Arts Merit Scholarship? How can you put yourself in a light that then makes it attractive to us at Bucknell to say, “This would be a great student to have this scholarship on our campus or for any scholarship for that matter.” But going back to what is the scholarship, why do I fit the criteria, and what do I bring to the table to represent this scholarship at this school? I think the more that students can do that, the more the institutions will see how the student fits into the bigger picture of the university, as well as that specific program.

  [00:19:17] BW: That's great and that's such great advice. Think about what the university is looking for and what you bring to the table. I love that. Well, thanks, Kevin, for joining us. This has been another great episode of College Admissions Insider, and we just really appreciate your expertise and your willingness to explain all these complex topics to us.

  [00:19:35] KM: Always happy to chat with you both. It's always so much fun.

  [00:19:37] BT: And thanks to everyone out there for listening. If you're a fan of the podcast, please take a moment to rate, subscribe and share this episode with the students in your life.

  [00:19:45] BW: We'll be back with another new edition of College Admissions Insider in just two weeks. In the meantime, please send us your questions, comments and episode ideas to podcast@bucknell.edu. Yes, we read every email you send.

  [00:19:59] BT: We also invite you to follow Bucknell on your favorite social media apps. Just look for @BucknellU on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. We’re everywhere. You can also follow our student-run Instagram account, which is @iamraybucknell.

  [00:20:13] BW: Until next time, keep on reaching for your dreams and your dream school.

  [END]