College tuition poses one of the most important challenges for high school students. We dream of attending certain colleges only to let high tuition scare us away. For lower and middle class families, one saving grace exists: scholarships. Unfortunately, colleges have recently been more inclined to eliminate merit-based scholarships, which has in turn  left students scrambling to plan bright futures without having enough money to do so.

Colleges generally offer two different types of scholarships: need and merit-based. The only way to obtain a need-based scholarship is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online or through the mail. The school then provides money based on income, assets,and other family resources. While need-based scholarships may seem like a good idea, they neglect the well-performing middle class, which makes up the majority of the applicant pool.

Merit scholarships base their awards on characteristics like academic achievement, leadership qualities and artistic ability. A student can receive a merit-based scholarship  through an application, or they can be sought out because of their scholastic accomplishments by a school, as well. Although most colleges do offer merit-based scholarships, several colleges have abandoned these scholarships in lieu of need-based scholarships. Some of these generally high performing colleges include Columbia University, Hamilton College, Sarah Lawrence College, Harvard University, Stanford University and Bryn Mawr College. These top-tier schools refrain from offering merit scholarships because too many of the students applying and accepted are already high achievers, and it would be difficult to single out one well-performing applicant from another.

Giving more money to need-based scholarships sounds like a bright idea at first, but the need-based program directly puts middle-class families in the worst possible position. Most need-based scholarships do not provide any money for a family with an income over $120,000 a year and only partial tuition to families earning over $100,000 a year.

Colleges do not take into account whether or not the family could pay the same tuition after a year. For example, for a family earning $120,000 a year, having to pay $67,273 annually at Columbia University will drop them into the lower bracket of financial aid. In addition, this lack of financial support will drive students into a substantial amount of debt that they will be paying off for the remainder of their lives.

If universities want to attract outgoing, intelligent, top-of-their-class students, then they should support the scholarships that target those students. Merit scholarships improve the reputation of the school by helping bring in the brightest and most influential minds.

Merit-based scholarships give students a reason to work hard in high school, to achieve more, and to work toward a goal. If colleges want the best possible students in their school, then merit scholarships provide a rational and useful way to accomplish it.