What is the difference between need-based and merit-based financial aid?
Need-based aid is determined by family financial circumstances and is calculated through the FAFSA. Merit-based aid is awarded based on academic achievement, test scores, talents, or extracurriculars — regardless of income. High-achieving students can often earn significant merit scholarships even at full-pay families. Maintaining a strong GPA, trackable through tools like Solyo.ai, is key to merit aid eligibility.
Understanding the Answer
Need-based aid is determined by family financial circumstances and is calculated through the FAFSA. Merit-based aid is awarded based on academic achievement, test scores, talents, or extracurriculars — regardless of income. High-achieving students can often earn significant merit scholarships even at full-pay families. Maintaining a strong GPA, trackable through tools like Solyo.ai, is key to merit aid eligibility.
Why This Matters
This is one of the most common questions parents ask about financial aid & scholarships. Understanding this topic helps families make informed decisions about their child's academic journey and stay ahead of potential challenges before they become problems.
Need-based aid is determined by family financial circumstances and is calculated through the FAFSA. Merit-based aid is awarded based on academic achievement, test scores, talents, or extracurriculars — regardless of income.
How Solyo Helps
Solyo.ai is designed to make this process easier for parents. By automatically syncing with school systems and processing school emails, Solyo eliminates the manual work involved in tracking academic progress. Create a free account to get started in under 2 minutes.
Stay proactive rather than reactive. Setting up automated grade tracking and school email processing through Solyo.ai ensures you're always informed about your child's academic progress without the manual effort.