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The merit-aid index

Merit aid research, one school at a time.

The best colleges for merit aid, ranked by how much scholarship money is actually in play — verified tiers, stacking rules, and common mistakes, sourced line-by-line to each school’s own .edu financial aid pages and Common Data Set filings. We don’t publish until it reconciles.

Updated Jul 14, 2026 · MeritPlaybook research desk

750Verified colleges
52States covered
5Merit-aid tiers

Showing 1–20 of 750

Abilene Christian UniversityTXAutomatic meritACU automatically considers every admitted freshman for a five-level named merit award of $10,000-$22,000 per year off its annual block tuition, with National Merit Finalists and Semi-Finalists guaranteed full tuition plus a $1,500 room-and-board stipend.$10,000-$22,000Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Adrian CollegeMICompetitive meritAdrian gives every applicant exactly ONE academic scholarship (up to $13,000-$20,000 by GPA profile) plus stackable Scholarship Day, department, legacy, Methodist, and FIRST Robotics awards — but caps all institutional aid at tuition and reduces aid dollar-for-dollar against VA/GI Bill/ROTC benefits, with outside scholarships able to shrink the need-based grant.Verified Jul 2, 2026
Agnes Scott CollegeGAAutomatic meritAgnes Scott's $100K+ Promise guarantees every admitted Fall 2026 student a renewable merit scholarship of at least $25,000/year, with a published weighted-GPA grid scaling automatically up to $32,000/year.$25,000-$32,000 per yearAuto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Alaska Pacific UniversityAKAutomatic meritAlaska Pacific offers merit aid to students engaged in academics, outdoor pursuits, and specialized fields.Amount not publishedAuto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Albertus Magnus CollegeCTCompetitive meritAlbertus Magnus gives every admitted first-year a named merit scholarship currently listed at $20,000-$33,000 per year — marketed as the 'Albertus Guarantee' of at least $40,000 in scholarships — plus stackable add-on awards for Catholic-school graduates, legacies, Honors Program invitees, and extracurricular participation, but only one core merit award per student and no published GPA/test grid.Verified Jun 7, 2026
Albion CollegeMIAutomatic meritAlbion College rewards connection, creativity, and transfer achievement with multiple scholarship pathways.$3,000Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Albright CollegePAAutomatic meritAlbright offers multiple merit scholarships recognizing academic achievement, community ties, and family connections.Amount not publishedAuto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Alcorn State UniversityMSCompetitive meritMultiple scholarship tiers reward academic distinction, with special support for Mississippi community college transfers.Verified Jul 2, 2026
Alice Lloyd CollegeKYAutomatic meritAlice Lloyd, one of ten federal work colleges, guarantees $0 out-of-pocket TUITION for every admitted student from its 108-county central Appalachian service area — but students still owe roughly $5,700/semester for food, housing, and the matriculation fee, and everyone works a required campus job.$500 per year ($250/semester)Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Allegheny CollegePACompetitive meritAllegheny's flagship Trustee Scholarship is awarded automatically (no separate application) to about half of applicants on a holistic basis up to $43,000/year, and—unusually—it renews for four years with NO minimum GPA, only continued full-time enrollment.Verified Jul 2, 2026
Alma CollegeMIAutomatic meritAlma publishes one of the clearest GPA-banded merit grids anywhere — every admitted first-year gets $28,000-$36,000/year by GPA band — and lets students stack a $3,000 campus-visit scholarship, a $1,000 FAFSA-filing award, $1,000 out-of-state money, and a $1,500 legacy award on top, with up to 15 full-tuition Distinguished Presidential Scholarships by competition.$28,000-$36,000Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Alvernia UniversityPAAutomatic meritAlvernia offers merit awards tied to background, program involvement, and campus engagement for both incoming and transfer students.$15,000Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
American UniversityDCAutomatic meritWashington D.C. private with one of the most explicitly documented multi-cap displacement policies in higher ed: a tuition cap on tuition-restricted aid, a need cap with loan-first reduction, and an overall cost-of-attendance ceiling. Merit ladder is automatic at $6,000–$20,000 per year.$6,000–$20,000 per yearAuto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Anderson UniversitySCAutomatic meritAnderson awards an automatic, published merit grid of $12,000-$18,000 to every first-time freshman (even the lowest tier, the $12,000 AU Grant, goes to anyone not earning a named scholarship), topped by competitive Fellows awards up to full tuition, housing, and food.$12,000-$18,000Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Andrew CollegeGAAutomatic meritAndrew College offers merit aid for driven students across academics, arts, athletics, and community involvement.Up to $7,500Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Appalachian State UniversityNCAutomatic meritMountain North Carolina public with a modest automatic Appalachian Excellence Scholarship ($3K in-state / $4K OOS) and a competitive Chancellor's Scholarship gated by Honors College admission — strongest fit for cost-conscious North Carolina residents.Up to $3,000 per year in-state; up to $4,000 per year out-of-stateAuto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Aquinas CollegeMIAutomatic meritAquinas College guarantees every traditional first-year student an automatic academic scholarship of $15,000-$25,000 per year (based on incoming GPA and residency status), layered with an invitation-only competition for a full-tuition-and-standard-room award and an 'Aquinas Assurance' full-tuition program for high-need Michigan residents.$15,000-$25,000Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026
Arizona State UniversityAZAutomatic meritArizona State's merit aid centers on the New American University awards, National Merit recognition, and Barrett Honors College scholarships, with several awards scoped by residency and a renewable structure - the verdict depends heavily on your honors fit and whether you are in-state or out-of-state.$16,500Auto awardVerified Jun 2, 2026
Arizona State University (Barrett)AZAutomatic meritPublic flagship with the New American University Scholarship (NAMU) automatic merit ladder for residents and non-residents, plus one of the richest National Merit Finalist packages when paired with Barrett Honors enrollment. Non-resident NAMU tops out at $17,500 per year; the non-resident National Scholar package matches that for 4 years.$17,500/year ($70,000 over 4 years)Auto awardVerified May 2, 2026
Arkansas State UniversityARAutomatic meritArkansas State offers merit awards to both Arkansas residents and out-of-state students.$6,000Auto awardVerified Jul 2, 2026

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Every verified school, A to Z

All 750 verified merit-aid pages, alphabetically. Weighing two schools against each other? See the head-to-head college comparisons, or how MeritPlaybook stacks up against free scholarship search sites.

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