Just got back to this John, and as the Merit Scholarship list shows some four hundred were going to Harvard, which was in First place. That U of Fla and Ut were in their positions (2nd and 4th) shows that while the Merit Scholarships may have been "need based", it hasen't slowed down the steady march of the state universities past the Ivy League, and the Northeastern elite. And if you examine the lists you will see that there is no "bargain basement" hunting in the school list. Many of the more liberal schools are in the same price range as UF and UT. That UFs number is about FOUR time more than U of Mich - Ann Arbor, and they are within the same price range, shows that your point simply makes mine.