A new study published by the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute shows that private colleges that began offering merit-based aid ten years ago are less likely to enroll Pell Grant recipients and black students than before they offered merit-based scholarships.  The survey, titled "Keeping Up With the Joneses: Institutional Changes Following the Adoption of a Merit Aid Policy," used information from 1987 through 2005 from 93 private colleges. The study found that six to ten years after schools started offering merit aid, the enrollment of Pell Grant recipients dropped by five percentage points. Top and middle tier institutions saw a 2 percentage decrease in enrollment of black students after the first ten years. The study concluded that the decrease is likely caused by offsetting the increases in merit-based aid with cuts to need-based aid. 

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