Merit Scholarships

Hamilton College in upstate New York announced last week that it will no longer offer merit-based scholarships to students. Instead, more need-based assistance will be provided to students from low and middle income families.

A CNN story had this to say about the decision...

"The move won praise from educators who said they hope it will inspire other colleges to follow suit. The decision... comes at a time when colleges have been criticized for using their resources to lure high-achieving students."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/03/15/merit.scholarships.ap/

This decision couldn't be more misguided. Scholarships should go to the best students, period. The fact that any other criteria is used for determining who gets them is an outrage, as is the fact that any college would ever be criticized for usings its resources to lure high-achieving students. This is proof once again that they don't call them "liberal arts" schools for nothing.