About MeritChart
MeritChart is a data project with one job: show parents exactly what merit money colleges have already published — no more, no less.
What this is
A free calculator and college/state reference built only from colleges' own published merit grids and scholarship pages. Every figure carries its official source link and the date we verified it. Awards are classed the way the college's own wording supports: Class A guaranteed automatic, Class B automatic consideration (amount not guaranteed), Class C competitive (excluded from the calculator). Our nationwide census is checking U.S. four-year colleges state by state; current live counts are on the homepage and computed from the dataset at build time.
What this is not
Not a net-price projector, not a chancing tool, not a directory of estimates. We do not publish aggregator-only figures, ranges dressed up as awards, or averages. If a college publishes no automatic grid, its page says so — several Florida universities are covered exactly that way.
The paid system
The free calculator stays free. The MeritChart System ($397) adds working tools — a list builder, a test-score ROI tool, a deadline & renewal tracker, and an appeal playbook — for families who want a structured process. There are no credential claims here: the system's value is the verified data and the workflow, and colleges alone decide every award.
Contact
Corrections are welcome and acted on: if a figure disagrees with its linked official source, the source wins. Email hello@meritchart.com.