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March 19, 2007

And Speaking of Colleges and Need - Hamilton Eliminates Merit Scholarships

Davidson drops loans from its aid-packages for those who can demonstrate need (see my post about that), and Hamilton College (which is in Clinton, NY, while Colgate University is in Hamilton, NY - welcome to the Wonderful Geography of Upstate NY Colleges and Universities) has decided to eliminate merit scholarships.

Here's their press release:

HAMILTON, N.Y., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Hamilton College will no longer offer merit scholarships, beginning with the first-year class that enrolls in the fall of 2008.

"We are discontinuing our merit scholarship program so that we can provide more need-based aid," said Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer. "We believe we are the first college or university in the U.S. to abandon its merit scholarship program."

Approximately 5 percent of Hamilton's $21 million financial aid budget is spent on merit aid, according to Inzer. The new policy will reallocate about $1 million each year for additional need-based aid.

Inzer said demographers predict a college student population with greater financial need in the coming decade, and colleges and universities must prepare for that reality.

"We have been and plan to continue being a college that meets the full demonstrated need of each student we accept," Inzer said. "Our intent is to grow our financial aid resources over time, and this is another step toward accomplishing that objective."

Hamilton has awarded a limited number of merit scholarships since 1997. On average, 15-20 students out of a first-year class of 470 have received merit scholarships of up to half tuition.

Inzer said Hamilton is in a strong position to make the change in policy now. She cited the college's record numbers of applications and the increasingly stronger academic credentials of entering students. The college recently announced that it had received 16 percent more applications than a year ago and 8 percent more than its record total in 2001. The average SAT scores for entering students is approaching 1350, and nearly three-quarters graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school
class.

"Hamilton has a reputation for being a school of opportunity," Inzer said. "A larger percentage of Hamilton students receive need-based aid than nearly all of our peer colleges. This change in policy will help us sustain that legacy."

More than half of all Hamilton students receive need-based financial aid. The average financial aid package (grant, work-study, loan) for those students exceeds $26,000. The College's current capital campaign seeks to raise $35 million for additional student scholarship endowment.

Students currently receiving merit aid and those members of the Class of 2011 who receive merit scholarships will have those commitments honored for the duration of their undergraduate career at Hamilton. My emphases

Note that while Davidson has about 33% of its students demonstrating need Hamilton has more than half.

Hamilton's total estimated cost:
Undergraduate Fees (2006-2007)
Tuition and Fees: $34,980
Room and Board: $8,910

Davidson and Hamilton each have about 1,700 students.
Davidson - about $420 million in endowment.
Hamilton - about $658 million.

And the facts here at These Colleges - about 1,900 students (and headed to 2,000 if we have our way), merit based scholarships, and loan packages.
Costs 2006-2007: tuition $33,730
room and board $8,828
fees $958
total of $43,516
Endowment - about $156 million. Huge sigh. Wanna kick us some change? We have a capital campaign on.

Posted by CrankyProfessor at March 19, 2007 6:25 PM