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Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                        Robyn Morrow             Chris Elliott                       
                                               John Arterbury       Caitlin Cuppernull

In scholarships, need should trump grades

Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., made a bold move Thursday to improve the distribution of financial aid. The liberal arts college will no longer grant merit scholarships and will instead increase funds for need-based financial aid.

Merit scholarships reward students' academic achievements, usually regardless of their income or financial need. As a result, funds that could go to financially struggling students instead go to those who may be fully capable of not only doing well in school, but also of paying for it.

While good grades and academic achievement are commendable and deserve reward, this should not be the purpose of financial aid -- it should be to assist those who desire to go to college but cannot afford to do so. 

The motives behind merit scholarships must also be taken into consideration. Often, colleges use merit-based assistance to coax higher-achieving students to attend their college, thus making that school look better. A school's goal should not be to better itself, but to better its students.

However, that's not to say that merit shouldn't be taken into consideration. 

Being in need of financial aid is not on its own reason enough to get it, in the same way that doing well in school should not be enough to qualify someone for financial aid -- independent of each other neither factor warrants assistance. Schools should look for both need and academic achievement. 

Aid should go first to students who have done well in school and need help paying for college, and then to those who have done well, yet can afford tuition. Offering financial aid in exchange for high achievement is good, as it encourages productivity and accomplishment, but need should always be taken into account.