Understand how the merit scholarship system works before you apply.
Learn how from New York Times money columnist Ron Lieber.
Families who know the “Merit Aid” system have the advantage.
Nearly every school offers merit scholarships, aka “Merit Aid” — the discounts and scholarships that have nothing to do with financial need. Many families get offers without even asking. This course is for the families who want to get the most — whether they qualify for need-based aid or not. Where your student applies is the single biggest lever on how much money you’ll get. The course shows you how to build your target college list by value — then how to compare the offers that come in, and how to ask for more.
Real Results: Merit Aid Course Success Stories
“Thank you! The most useful and practical advice we received as part of the college application process. I learned the ins and outs of the whole Merit Aid system (including how the schools use big data and the fact you need to work schools off one another). We wound up saving over $20k per year after taking the course.”
— Karen W., Connecticut parent
“Our daughter ended up with a four-year scholarship to a prestigious women’s college. This literally wouldn’t have happened without the insight and wisdom from this course. Can’t recommend it enough.”
— Veronica, Parent
“I would highly recommend this course to any family that will be sending their kids to college, especially the year before they are applying.”
— Naina, Student
Here’s what you’ll get in the video course
Plus bonus materials
A pdf guide to the most important questions — financial and emotional — that you need to ask yourself about paying for college.
About Ron
Ron Lieber is the Your Money columnist for The New York Times, where his work has received the Gerald Loeb award – business journalism’s highest honor – three times. He is the author or co-author of three New York Times bestsellers, including “The Price You Pay for College” and “Taking Time Off,” a book about gap years.
Ron lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Jodi Kantor (a fellow New York Times reporter) and his two daughters. He received need-based aid in middle school and high school at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago and in college, at Amherst, where his mother flew out each year to appeal his family’s aid package. Ron speaks frequently to audiences of all sizes about what to pay for college and how the system got so complicated.
Back on The Daily this morning to talk about what’s about to change for parents and graduate students when they try to borrow money for tuition. Also, something else is new that we’ve never seen before quite in this way: The government is going to cut off federal student loans for specific majors and graduate school programs that don’t help people earn real money. ... See MoreSee Less
Why Americans Will Get Less Help Paying for College
www.nytimes.com
With new limits on federal lending, many students will need private loans and some could be shut out.I grew up watching WGN Morning News in Chicago, so it's always a thrill when they have me on. This conversation about Merit Aid is one of the best ones I've ever had on television, and Robin Baumgarten and Dan Ponce asked great questions. Have a watch, and let me know in the comments what you learned -- or what you'd like to learn more about. As ever, my course is at meritaidcourse.com. ... See MoreSee Less
Watch More
Paying for College: Understanding Merit Aid
wgntv.com
Tips on which college list prices are meaningful, how to figure out what different schools might ask them to pay and what’s worth paying more for in the first place. New York Times Your Money…The heads of the Judiciary committees in Washington have been reading my work about merit aid and the consultants who figure out what you're willing to pay. And in the wake of my reporting, they issued demand letters this week to these firms plus the College Board wanting to know more about their algorithms and the data they're grabbing when they interact with your kids. We'll see where this goes. Link in comments to my NYT exclusive about their investigation. ... See MoreSee Less