Maryland's Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has proposed that the state shift millions of dollars from merit to need-based scholarships.

In the past, Maryland had issued nearly half of its financial aid funds (roughly $80 million per year) as merit-based rather than need-based scholarships, particularly through the Hope Scholarships, which give up to $5,000 annually to Maryland students who maintain a "B" average and promise to work in the state agter graduation. Now, the Governor is proposing to freeze all new applications for the Hope Scholarships and shift more than $4 million into need-based awards. Once the ongoing Hope Scholarship recipients complete their studies, this would mean approximately $16 million more would go into need-based aid annually.

Currently, Maryland has more than 5,000 students on waiting lists for need-based financial aid. According to James "Chip" DiPaula Jr., the governor's budget secretary, this proposed shift to need-based funding is "crucial" if "all Marylanders [are to] have access to higher education."

Ehrlich's proposal is also backed by William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, who said, "There's always room for scholarships to recognize merit, but it's a matter of balance and proportion, and in Maryland and across the country we've moved too far to only one part of the equation. This is a step that restores balance."

Ehrlich's proposed budgetary shift would require legislative approval. If that happens, Maryland would be bucking a national trend toward merit-based aid (currently 12 other states, in addition to Maryland, have versions of the Hope program) and terminating a program that was created by former Governor Parris N. Clendening in 1998.

Tip: Are you interested in finding merit-based aid? Then, be sure to check out two of Reference Service Press's award-winning financial aid directories: the High School Senior's Guide to Merit and Other No-Need Funding and the College Student's Guide to Merit and No-Need Funding.