Rutgers University and Seton Hall give tuition break for Merit

[softwareNerd]

Rutgers University and Seton Hall have announced lower fees for students who have good high-school and SAT scores. Hopefully others will copy the underlying principle of making merit more important in their selection of incoming students.

[emorris1000]

Assuming of course you believe that SAT scores and High School grades represent merit. I'm a bit mixed on that. The latter definitely has consistency issues due to non-standardization of grading schema (I mean hell there are 5 point systems out there, makes it a little ridiculous.) The former....probably better.

But its not like this is unique to Rutgers. You already have the National Merit Scholarship and tons of other scholarships.

[softwareNerd]

Assuming of course you believe that SAT scores and High School grades represent merit.

True, and even if this concrete implementation has its drawbacks, the principle is a good one. Its a move in the opposite direction of using race, for instance.

You already have the National Merit Scholarship and tons of other scholarships.

True. So, a bright young kid can get $2,500 from the NMS and also get $10,000 off his Rutgers fee. If he is from a family that could have afforded the fee at a pinch (therefore not eligible for need-based scholarship), but was thinking twice whether it was worth it, this could make a big difference.

To clarify, it is still fine for universities and charities to use ability to pay when giving out scholarships. I'm just glad to see that merit is being given a break as well.