Mostly though, merit aid is academic in nature and if you have the grade, you get the aid.

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Since a lot of merit aid awards are based on GPA, and typically the criteria is 3.75 or higher, the potential exists for the kid with the 3.71 to NOT have the grade, and NOT get the aid.

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And, yes, this is the same Senator Grothman who wants to defund kindergarten programs for 4-year-olds because, argues Grothman, any academic benefits disappear by the fourth grade, and the program is used by school districts to pad their budgets to get more state aid.

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