To: Admissions Committee
From: Dean of Admissions
To raise the national reputation of The College, a donor has offered to fund a $10,000 merit scholarship to be awarded to an applicant with the “highest academic ranking.” This merit award may be granted regardless of a student’s financial need, and it will increase his/her odds of enrolling at The College. However, if you accept this gift, the financial aid budget will decline by $5,000 (from $75,000 to $70,000) because in past years, this donor contributed that amount to the general financial aid fund, and we would not receive those funds in our general budget this year.
If the Admissions Committee chooses to accept this award, then:
1) Decrease your financial aid budget to $70,000
2) Define “highest academic ranking” and designate applicants who are eligible to receive this award. You may award it to only one applicant at a time.
3) Add this sentence to decision day odds information:
Merit award of $10,000 increases the odds of enrollment by 6 percentage points. For example, an applicant who is offered admission with a merit award (34+6=40%) will enroll if the random number falls between 1-40.
If the Admissions Committee declines this award, then the process remains as-is.