Every year, about 18,000 Massachusetts students are excited to learn that they have qualified for the John and Abigail Adams scholarship for a tuition waiver at public schools in Massachusetts! However, reading the fine print will temper some of the excitement.

Students qualify for the award when they score in the top 25% of their school district on the grade 10 MCAS test, AND score "Advanced" in either Math or ELA and "Advanced or Proficient" in the other category.

While it is great to receive this scholarship and recognition, students and parents are sometimes disappointed when they learn that the award is not a full-ride, but is worth between $720 and $1,714 per year at these state schools. At UMass Amherst, that is about an 11% discount off of the full tuition cost.

Here is the link to the value of the scholarship at each state school. http://www.mass.edu/osfa/programs/adamstable.asp

So students, congrats on your award, but... keep applying for financial aid and looking at colleges that will offer you even larger merit scholarships. Ask me how.