We need to alleviate the fears and let people know that there are ways to pay for that education. The Purdue University Academic Success Awards Program will begin granting scholarships for the 1999-2000 school year. Merit-based scholarships, administrators say, are a necessary step to compete for the best and brightest students. For the past two decades, individual schools have offered merit-based scholarships to their top students. More than 700 students received school awards for 1998-99.
Projections are for that number to increase over the next five years.
The amount of the awards varies by school, as does the criteria for eligibility for the scholarships. Co. The school and its departments also offer about 30 other smaller awards. Competition is stiff, says Dennis Sorge, the school's director of academic services. Last year, we had 140 applicants to the School of Science who had the necessary academic qualifications for the top awards. Adding more scholarships is key to attracting top students.