Merit-based scholarships trumping need-based awards nationwide

Traditionally, financial scholarships or awards given by state governments were designated to students who needed the most help paying for college. Although these programs required that a student must have proven success in an academic setting, the money would almost always be allocated to individuals who came from middle-to-low income households.

However, as funding for college nationwide has dried up over the past few decades, this has changed markedly. Now, more states are granting awards to students based solely on merit rather than their financial background.

According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, this trend can be traced back to a merit-based scholarship program implemented in Georgia in 1993. This award took funding from other scholarships that had previously been set aside to help lower-income students afford higher education.

Since then, the source has found that 27 states across the nation have adopted similar merit-based programs at the expense of helping students based upon their financial situation. In 13 of those states, more than 85 percent of municipally funded college awards, which have been reduced across the board, are given based upon a student's academic standing.

"The money is being slowly taken away from the students who need it most," says Shannon McGhee, the associate director of financial planning at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

McGhee specifically cites the African-American and Hispanic populations as examples of communities that she believes inherently are given fewer opportunities in her community.

Students now have to work harder than ever to make sure they earn funding from the state for higher education. College Financing Group can provide scholarship assistance to students who are looking for help paying for college.