Merit-based aid is aid offered to students who achieve excellence in a given area, and is generally known as academic, athletic and artistic merit scholarships.

以成绩为基础的奖学金是为在某一领域取得优异成绩的学生提供的奖学金，常见的包括学术、体育和艺术奖学金。

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Merit-based aid comes into play when colleges, especially those out of the top tier, get into bidding wars for desirable students.

FORBES: Paying for College: Merit Aid

The school's financial counselors have shifted to a case-by-case approach to financial aid and to increasing the amount of merit-based scholarships available, she says.

WSJ: Part-Time M.B.A. Programs Lend Students a Hand in Hard Times

But they're less accurate at predicting need-based grant aid from colleges and don't predict merit aid well, says Mr. Kantrowitz.

WSJ: The New College-Cost Calculators: Are They Accurate?