Scholarships: when B's, not need, are enough: at least a dozen states offer merit scholarships to keep bright students from leaving. Should financial aid go to well-off families? (education times).

Kelly Ryan has made good use of her college trust fund. It has bought a trusty Honda, trips to Italy, Argentina, Switzerland, some painful lessons about picking her own stocks, and, if all goes well, maybe even her first piece of real estate after graduation. About the only thing it has not paid for is, well, college.

No need for that. Ryan is a scholarship student. "I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars every semester," says Ryan, 21, a senior at the University of Georgia, where a B average in high school and college earns a free ride, regardless of one's ability to pay.

Ryan's story, though not exactly ordinary, is familiar in Georgia. Campus veterans marvel at all the poolside apartments that have sprung up since the state removed the income cap from its merit scholarship awards. Some professors speculate that instead of increasing college enrollment, the state's $1.7 billion scholarship program has been a blessing for the automobile industry--since so many families roll the savings into buying cars.

"Yep, that was the big incentive," says Kristin McKenna, a senior who once set her sights far and wide for college, eyeing the distant, shiny coast of California, until her mother stepped forward with what is often called the "UGA exchange"--get the scholarship, get a car.

Though income is still a deciding factor in most other awards, particularly federal grants, states and universities are increasingly helping students who were once too well-off to qualify.

HELP FOR THE WEALTHY?

As a result, the percentage of students from families earning $100,000 or more who get state grants grew seven times faster than those earning less than $20,000 between 1992 and 2000, federal statistics show. A decade ago, less than 2 percent of the highest-income families got state grants. That figure surpassed 5 percent by 2000, even before many states started giving grants based solely on academic performance--regardless of family income.

The growth of the merit awards has fueled a national debate over the very meaning of scholarships, and who should get them. "It is inefficient--indeed, inequitable--to give public dollars to these kids when they would go to college anyway," says Donald E. Heller, an education professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Since Georgia instituted its merit scholarships in 1993, trying to slow the migration of students who ventured off to college and rarely returned, at least 11 states have followed its lead.

States are using merit awards to encourage students to stay close to home for college.

The programs pay full or partial tuition for better-than-average seniors who embrace their local universities, despite what their parents earn. The awards are funded mostly from state lotteries and tobacco company payments from the 1998 settlement of health-related lawsuits.

So far, the scholarships do not seem to be helping many more students go to college. In Georgia, only about 5 percent of the money goes to students who would have either left the state or skipped college.

But criticizing merit awards for not inspiring more people to go to college is misguided, some argue. The awards mainly serve as an economic development tool for states eager to retain their college-bound students, with a particular nod to middle-class families who have found scholarships elusive.

If there is one thing on which both sides agree, it is that merit awards by themselves are insufficient. Whittling away at high school drop-out rates and helping below-average students excel--so that they, too, can earn scholarships--calls for a major investment in schools that few educators or politicians would openly argue against.

Still, defenders say, the merit-based movement is consistent with the fundamental changes coursing through the educational system. Eighteen states already have exit exams that students must pass before receiving a high school diploma, and the demand for rigorous academic standards seems to get louder every year.

"I don't understand how anyone could argue that we shouldn't reward performance," says Dane Linn of the National Governors Association.

The programs are popular. More than 51,000 students won merit awards under Michigan's program this year, the highest number yet. In Florida, more than 92,000 students shared $164 million worth of merit scholarships in the last school year.

For all the enthusiasm surrounding them, merit awards have engendered some controversy. In August, seven civil rights groups filed a complaint against Florida's program, contending that its reliance on tests like the SAT discriminates against good Latino and black students who cannot afford exam coaches.

But are merit scholarships merely the domain of privileged students who may not need them? The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators says no, estimating that two thirds of state merit-award winners demonstrate some degree of financial need, usually about $5,100 a year.

Michael Rich's mother works at a cotton mill; his father makes cabinets. His parents gave him no illusions about their ability to pay the $15,000 in tuition needed for the University of Georgia.

"I need my scholarship to get through school," says Rich, a junior at Georgia. "Granted, people who otherwise could have afforded college are getting merit grants too, but that doesn't take away from the rest of us. I mean, who can't keep a B average?"

States with large merit
scholarship programs

Alaska           Class Rank
Florida          GPA & SAT/ACT
Georgia          GPA
Kentucky         GPA
Louisiana        GPA & ACT
Michigan         State test
Mississippi      GPA & SAT/ACT
Missouri         SAT/ACT
Nevada           GPA
New Mexico       GPA
South Carolina   GPA, SAT/ACT,
                 & Class Rank
West Virginia    GPA & SAT/ACT

SCHOLARSHIPS: WHEN B's ARE ENOUGH > NATIONAL

The Great College Debate: Base Scholarships on Grades or on Students' Need?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Does your state have a merit scholarship program?

* Suppose you needed money for college. Would you encourage your family to move to a state that guarantees it?

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand the growing debate over merit-based college scholarships. Are they simply a reward for students who maintain good grades or do they discriminate against low-income and minority students, who can't afford test-preparation courses?

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

BEFORE READING: Ask for a show of hands. How many students believe college scholarships should be based solely on academic ability--maintaining a minimum grade-point average? How many believe scholarships should focus on students who need financial aid?

CRITICAL THINKING: As students read the article, stop them at appropriate points to discuss the points of view articulated by proponents and opponents of the grade-based scholarships.

Note, for example, the comment of Donald Heller of Pennsylvania State University, Who says it is inequitable to give public funding to students who would go to college anyway. Do students agree that providing equal access to education is a worthy goal? Ask students to suggest one or two reasons why society might profit from broadening educational opportunities.

Then take a different tack. Why is Georgia so concerned about the number of students who have gone to college in other states and have not returned? Did the state have to devise a strategy to entice educated young people to stay at home? What economic and social benefits might accrue to Georgia and other states from a successful college scholarship program?

Next, ask students to discuss the criticism of the scholarship program from civil rights organizations. Do students agree that the use of standardized tests like the SAT to decide who qualifies for scholarships discriminates against Latino and African-American students? Does the fact that some black and Latino students cannot afford exam coaches mean they are discriminated against? (Tell students that a Harvard University study found that students from the wealthiest high schools in Florida and Michigan were more than twice as likely to win merit scholarships than students from the poorest schools.)

Upfront QUIZ 4

MULTIPLE CHOICE > HISTORY

DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter next to the correct answer.

1. More than 23,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in one day in the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. In which state was the Battle of Antietam fought?

a Maryland

b Georgia

c Virginia

d Mississippi

2. What were the property rights of most American women in the mid-19th century?

a Women were owned by their husbands.

b Women could own houses but not land.

c Women could own land but not houses.

d Women had almost no rights to property.

3. Which of the following enabled women of the mid-1800s to create an alias and assume a new identity?

a Most men and women looked alike.

b The military accepted anyone--men and women.

c Americans of the time did not carry identification.

d Women bought fake identification papers.

4. When female soldiers were discovered it was usually after they

a were found out during routine physical examinations.

b were caught by fellow soldiers.

c tried to leave the military without permission.

d had been wounded or killed.

5. When women were discovered, the military

a sentenced them to brief jail terms.

b reprimanded and then transferred them to jobs in the civilian government.

c quickly forced them to leave their units.

d honored them for their courage.

6. How did their fellow combatants regard the women who served as soldiers? They

a recognized the female soldiers for their contributions to the war effort.

b regarded the women as mentally disturbed.

c ignored the female soldiers.

d asked the military to recruit more female soldiers.

ANSWER KEY

1. (a) Maryland

2. (d) women had almost no rights to property

3. (c) Americans of the time did not carry identification

4. (d) had been wounded or killed

5. (c) quickly forced them to leave their units

6. (a) recognized the female soldiers for their contributions to the war effort