We are more concerned about losing our best applicants with low or no need. As you know, the University has long had a merit scholarship program, the College Honor Scholarships, with awards equal to full tuition. This past year, we instituted, on an experimental basis, a new merit program called the University Scholar Awards. The program is partially underwritten by a generous donation from John J. Huggins, a graduate of the College in 1980. Consideration is given to students who receive top admissions ratings and who apply for but do not receive a College Honor Scholarship.
Amounts vary and are substantial but are less than full tuition.
The fact that we doubled the normal yield for students of this quality suggests that these awards remove a financial barrier for a significant number of outstanding applicants. I am told that it has always been a pleasure to work in Admissions and Financial Aid at this university. Finding them, advising them, admitting them, aiding them is noble and rewarding work. My wife is a lecturer here in Latin and the Core. After her first few classes, she told me that she felt as if many of her students had been on a pilgrimage, and that they had now found a place in which other students cared as much as they did about ideas.