Save up to $25,000 a year on college with Merit Aid.
And you don’t need to qualify for financial aid.
New York Times money columnist Ron Lieber’s new online video course distills his years of research and reporting on how to save money with Merit Aid into one comprehensive resource for families who are shopping for college. With his course, you’ll learn that Merit Aid is available at most schools, how it works and how to get the highest amount possible. Already have a Merit Aid offer? The course will help you make the best possible appeal to a school for an improved package with even more money.
Real Results: Merit Aid Course Success Stories
“I thought colleges had all the power in the application process. Your insights helped me increase the Merit Aid for my son by $20,000 over four years, in just a ten-minute phone call with the school. Pretty good return on investment!!”
Connecticut parent
Drexel University
“Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU. Based on your advice, we decided to appeal the financial aid award on the basis of merit. They replaced loans and work study with a four-year merit award, saving us $18,000 over four years.”
Oregon parent
Lafayette College
“Your advice yielded an extra $20,000 over four years!”
California parent
Rensselaer Polytechnic Insitute
“Just finished your terrific course (in one sitting!). I thought it would be a good refresher of what I already had learned, but of course I learned so much more. You definitely make it easier and more palatable.”
California parent
Bryn Mawr College
Here’s what you’ll get in the video course
Plus bonus materials
A PDF guide to the most important questions about saving on college.
More about Merit Aid
About Ron
Ron Lieber is the Your Money columnist for The New York Times, where his work has received the Gerald Loeb award – business journalism’s highest honor – three times. He is the author or co-author of three New York Times bestsellers, including “The Price You Pay for College” and “Taking Time Off,” a book about gap years.
Ron lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Jodi Kantor (a fellow New York Times reporter) and his two daughters. He received need-based aid in middle school and high school at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago and in college, at Amherst, where his mother flew out each year to appeal his family’s aid package. Ron speaks frequently to audiences of all sizes about what to pay for college and how the system got so complicated.
This is one of the nicest bits of feedback I have ever received, from someone who benefited from my 1996 book, “Taking Time Off,” about gap years. He’s now using my book about college and merit scholarships, “The Price You Pay for College,” to help his own kids. I can’t promise that I’ll change all of your lives, but I’ve poured a ton of time and energy into making my course about merit aid and merit scholarships as useful as I can. The link for the course is in my bio. ... See MoreSee Less
NEW! (But not surprising if you've taken my merit aid course!!) Private colleges are now discounting tuition by a staggering 56.3 percent. And do you see how they use the word "discount" in trade publications that parents don't read? Check out that "Revenue Strategies" banner up top, too. People who work in higher ed use merit aid to boost revenue with the help of sophisticated algorithms. It seems counterintuitive, I know. But in my course I explain exactly how they do it, why it often works and how you can get on the high side of that 56.3 percent -- to the tune of $100,000 or more at many schools. See this link for more on the course: meritaidcourse.com ... See MoreSee Less
Syracuse didn't have enough students on May 1, so it sent email to teenagers who had gotten in but decided to go elsewhere saying this: How does six figures of merit aid sound to you?! Many of these same teens had asked Syracuse just weeks earlier for merit aid and didn't get any. 🤬 This saga (www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/your-money/syracuse-merit-aid.html) also suggests a strategy for families going forward: Nobody in the early action/regular decision rounds should commit *anywhere* until the May 1 deadline (unless housing/registration priority is at stake). If we all act in concert, we may well spook schools into making their best offers sooner -- and not after everyone has already done their Instagram sweatshirt reveals. ... See MoreSee Less